somewhere beyond

incandescent_osi

2011-02-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

_' cinders '

incandescence
the word is soft on the senses
its meaning grows upon me
light born of a heated object
so i look at your being
losing myself in your thoughts
till i surface in your irises
a tear like liquid gasoline
dousing the cinders of sorrow
aglow with my agonies
your incandescence

..

original / zg ..

in memoriam

2010-12-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

since her passage on november 23rd 2010 my mother is physically absent .. her love for flowers, plants, theater, the arts , life and people is all around me.. in every expression of love that i come across i should find her resonance ..

( smt. pragnya mukerjee b: 31st august 1927 )

in memoriam

2010-09-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

my father always thought of himself as a theater person - { first and last ) --

his livelihood or occupation was that of a bureaucrat

his acting endeavours spanned from 1934 to 2004

it is safe to describe him as a passionate amateur theater artist

i am a part of him and he remains a part of me ..

in remembrance

shashank shekhar mukerjee ( april 7 1922 - september 9 2010 )

aura. osi

2010-03-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

' insomnia '

tranquilizing voicings with a tender aura
anesthetic, analgesic, soporific

the phonetics were simple,the diction was soft
the cadence was warm and the season was summer

captives to a melody we heard in silence
the psychedelics of the moon on the sea shore

the night was a denial of reality
erasing the nightmare of a sweltering day

it is not tactile and it is not tangible
and only with closed eyes can i see that aura ..

original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 10 - and i have to close my eyes to see that aura ]

Note :

Dear friends & co-writers at OSI ,

Unavoidable circumstances compel me to take leave from participating further at our Dear Meme for an indefinite period. Writing at my Blogs Somewhere Beyond & Insanity in Sanity is also on a halt.

While feigning to be a writer all the while I learnt so much from each one of you, & there is not a single writer to whom I do not owe my thanks , so kindly forgive me for not mentioning any of you by name. I think of all of you as my worthy classmates
& owe my gratitude to each one of you.

Please believe me when I say that I do not have the heart that would hurt a Poet .Still if you have reason to believe that I have caused you pain I believe you will forgive me with a smile .

I am sure you will continue to bring joy and richness to the lives of your readers through your contributions to One Single Impression _ The Meme I was always proud to be a part of ..

Zoya Gautam

Monday March 29 2010

http://horizonnext.blogspot.com/

http://insane2bsane.blogspot.com/

murmur.osi

2010-03-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

' laundry '

i have often seen them
dangling from the clotheslines
something worn or worn out
a woman's flimsy gown
voicing an unknown longing
those blue collared denims
articulating toil
a toddler's nappies
shouting unrestrained joy
old faded pyjamas
rumbling of arthritis ,
that wild floral t shirt
oscillates adolescence ,
while the wind goes along
each pocket and hollow ,
through the pillow covers ,
reliquaries of truth ,
or blueprints of aches
and ecstatic moanings
made of ordinariness
murmured to oneself
and vaporized in thin air ..

original / z.g.

[Ed: Line 13 - oscillating adolescence
Line 14 - the wind does go along ]

hesitation.osi

2010-03-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

' azure agonies '

i let my thoughts go
winding across ground zero
from an empty nothingness
down a labyrinth of blues
through the twin towers
of many stories
of many voices
of many colors
where they held the placards
where they lit the candles
bracing the something-ness of life
from where a dove flies
and merges into the ether
of a limitless blue space
i know it looks the same
from wherever you are ,
i open the window
unsurely, hesitatingly
to let the sky in ..

original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 4 - down a labyrinth of pain ]

Ref :

( To - - - mark the International Day of Peace, renowned primatologist and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall - - visited Ground Zero with a small group that included the Reverend Lyndon Harris, formerly of St. Paul’s Chapel - - the little chapel that stood through 9/11 and served as a relief center for workers who toiled many months at Ground Zero.The group flew Giant Peace Dove puppets at the site, to express their desire for a world where war and violence are things of the past - - )

running .osi

2010-03-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

' marathon '

the bills go through the roof
prices sting like a bee
costs pinch like a cranky shoe
paucity tries to hide
beneath a frayed carpet
the curtain is opaque
but the news slips through
the hole in the pocket
cleverer than a stitch
the steam in the oven
cooks up the tempers
running out of hand
with no finishing line
when you run a family ..

original / z.g.

( Ed : line 1 - bills go over the rooftop
line 7 -but the news gets through )

insomnia .osi

2010-02-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

[ To Every Child Affected By War ] _

^{' psychosis '}_{- [ baghdad ]}

a thousand wailing violins
the din of rusted noises
gestating silences
the wolf moon of winter
empty deserted streets
of a war torn city
countless luminous blinks
flickers in an ageless night

nameless agonies
plain faced sorrows
fireworks of a shooting star
sirens of the night patrol
a little child shrieking ,
what keeps them awake ,
while sleep intrudes reality
with a dream or a nightmare ..

original / z.g.

gold .osi

2010-02-20T00:54:00.000-08:00

' life '

they all come in gold
foxes and fishes
birds and the flowers ,
i live in a children's story ,
a blonde priestess of hope
hands me the morning ,
crooked magicians play
tricks in a shadowplay ,
toy soldiers like gi joe
keep track with the sun
buddies like pinocchio
letting lose the fun ,
time enters
on a trojan horse ,
yellowing me with age ,
i keep growing old
but never grow up ..

original / zg

[ Ed : Line 1 - scattering the gold ]

single.osi

2010-02-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

' addresses '

jackals howl a mystery
the leaves rustle with longing
the winds sigh for no reason
crickets talk to the heavens ,
a maze of stars shimmers
like fireflies burning
a night of moonlessness ,
it could be anything
love , illusion or nothingness ,
just what is it ,
roads of black tarmac
like a dark night
insomniacal
run through the city
from house to house , door to door
where the answers live ..

original / z.g.

[ Ed ; Line 4 - the crickets add a chorus ]

blowing the curve.osi

2010-02-06T05:07:00.000-08:00

' ECG '

an arc , a line and a dot
build a question mark ,
to understand curves
see how the river flows ,
find that the clock is still
but the pendulum swings ,
trapezing through dawn and dusk
light and shade boomerang ,
watch the skyscraping neons
stabbing the night with purple
with fluorescent blues ,
like spectral cardiograms,
like jagged price indices
shadowing the passers by ,
who turn and twist and bend
negotiating the curve
of the cost of living ..

original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 4 - flow like the river ]

sunny days

2010-01-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

' sunflowers '

drop this vacant straw of thought
into a lemonade noon
let the clothes evict dampness
while the seagulls keep diving
for a sun below the sea

let the robins rob the day
a shilling's worth of brightness
and squander it for nothing
on the eldritch rooftops
of forgotten barnhouses

shifted from the pavements
and sidewalks of the city
without the power to act
to speak , think or change things
watch them bloom and wither

like a smile on the faces ..

/ original / z.g.

chaos

2010-01-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

' vacuum ' -

haiti ,
the quake fractures everything
splitting the earth
collapsing the brick and mortar
like loose trousers
sliding down a child's legs ,
wherever you look
disintegration
chaos ,
the words have cracked too ,
i slip through the chasms
get past comprehension ,
soaked into the eyes of a kid
with no inkling of death
or life ,
i am trapped inside
a still(-ed) image ,
incoherent
disjunct
numb ,
the questions
they would come ,
where is mom
where is dad ,
not finding them around
she would look for her doll ,
buried below the debris
with the memories . .

/ original / z.g.

[ haiti _ tues jan 12 - 2010 - quake ]

( Ed : Line 18/19 - paralyzed / disarticulated ? )

indurated.osi

2010-01-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

' earthen '

ruddy waters flow
to the beat of an udu
the rhythm of the djembe
breaking the shales of sorrow ,
feel the rusty brown mud
in the kiln of a potter ,
arroyos of fire and air
run through the clay ,
crushed,kneaded and burnt,
as if in a volcano ,
to reach a creation
a void of fullness
indurated but tender ,
bearing the salt of life ,
turning my breath into song
an ocarina
this ancient flute of clay ..

/ original / z.g.

( udu - djembe : drums of clay
ocarina - clay flutes with origins going back to the mayan civilization )

[ Ed : Line 5 - into rusty brown mud ]

wings .osi

2010-01-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

' airborne '

darkness
burns a candle
melting icarean dreams ,
on the earth
the white wings of winter
a goose carved in snow ,
undulating greens
fields of wheat , fields of maize
parrots in the sun ,
verses in terracotta
bathing in the dust
mud colored sparrows ,
how the shadows grow
see crow after crow ,
the first roseate ray
a golden eagle freed ,
on the earth
my childhood scrapbook
without any wings
just fallen feathers
and a pageful of sky ..

/ original / z.g.

( edited & rearranged )

wanderlust.osi

2009-12-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

' conundrum '

his wanderlust is dead
or so i suppose
having seen it all ,
grave gigantic granites ,
viscous hazy ambers
glued as dusk to a vineyard ,
brooks springing out of nowhere
to let the beavers be ,
road-mapping the dirt tracks
to reach where the rainbows don't ,
he ties his laces yet ,
where to i quiz
he answers in riddles
- where i find myself
grounded as the tree
whose driftwood i am ..

/ original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 3 - he has seen it all ]

junction.osi

2009-12-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

' the pub owner '

the brackish taste of his own sweat
begs a parole from the gulag
of daily drudgery,
of the mayonnaise
the ploughman's grub
the bittersweet cocktail,
served to the visitors
filling his space ,
where laughters intersect
the inside atmosphere ,
so he moves outward
to throw birdfeed
to the passerine
to the meadowlark
perched on their cherished haunt
a tree without a leaf
without a shade
of schadenfreude ..

/ original / z.g.

[ .. to everyone-everywhere -

` a very merry christmas ! ]

spider-web . osi

2009-12-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

' idiomatic '

then - , pony tail flying
' dancing in the dark '
garbed as spiderman
her weird tomboyish ways
couldn't make head nor tail

of spider- phobias -

now - , spins into a maze
her silken flowing hair
the fear of spiders
and a teacher's utterance -
cobwebs in the head ..

/ original / z.g.

( Ed:- Line 6 - of arachnophobia )

- ' dancing in the dark '/ Springsteen / rock
: - arachnophobia - the fear of spiders

lighthouse.osi

2009-12-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

' the ( immigrants' ) lighthouse '

like all my sorrows
they start from the earth
in pristine africa
hit by the winds and the waves
smuggled like chattels
dumped on a broken raft,
they melt , like contrails
behind the reality
of some aircraft in the sky,
like flotsam on the sea
drifting through the dusk
and into the night ,
to find an abode of light
on a distant shore
bright as hope in the heart ,
unaware
that the rationale of being
must tie them to handcuffs ,
and deport them
to where they come from ,
like all my sorrows

they stay inside me ..

/ original / z.g.

[ human smuggling from africa to The EU or The US
takes its own toll of human life - people die in transit.Gangsters charge app 1500 USD per illegal immigrant.Millions have migrated while others keep trying - and the light house beckons ]

migration.osi

2009-12-02T04:15:00.001-08:00

' migratory birds '

_ ( to medecines sans frontieres )

they come to claim the planet
without passports and visas
winters, not of their making
just question their life on earth

birds fly , sans frontieres
in their world without fences
above the limitations
of conflict and survival

where , another war is on
a son would die in combat
the population would run
to a point of no return ..

/ original / z.g.

creative.osi

2009-11-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

' relationships '

together

holding the broken journeys

tidbits rocked the rocking chairs
ploughed through the writing tables
confession boxes echoed
to the taps on a dead tree

whether cut , crafted or burnt
in the fireplace,or elsewhere

where, without any body
what simply lay on the earth
was kind of spiritual
the calming shade of a tree

holding the broken journeys

together ..

/ original / z.g.

[ Ed :
Line 5 - confession boxes , listened ]

reincarnation.osi

2009-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

' calling names '

theta tends to zero
before resurrection
something must have died

in the calculus of life
death entered the equation
like a partial fraction

didn't kill our ' yesterday '
that was already dead
' today ' was a phoenix

dead hallucination
live actuality
wings of agony & joy

you called it perception
they called it a ghost
i called it life

was it civilization ..

/ original / z.g.

[ Ed -
Line 6 :- it didn't kill ' yesterday '
Line 11 :- sums of agony or joy
Line 15:- wasn't that civilization

:- restructured stanza 1 /
re-titled - - ' calling names '
( IST 14:10 nov.17. tues.2009) ]

[ Web Ref - - Theta / :-

1. Theta is most often used to represent unknown angles, especially in the study of trigonometry.

2. In Scientology, theta means thought or life force

3. theta n. The eighth letter of the Greek alphabet. / Greek theta , of Phoenician origin

4. Also called time decay. theta - - financial-dictionary

5. as the time value declines - - the theta tends toward zero - -Robert T. Daigler - 1994 - Business & Economics

6. _ theta tends to zero _ Mathematics / Calculus ]

departed.osi

2009-11-09T03:56:00.000-08:00

' missed calls '

mbote na bino
hello to you all

it speaks every language
russian, chinese, lingala
bridges minds,connects hearts
civilization's toy
responding to touch
unleashing life

' iko kufa - birth is death '

the horizon splits
to reality and dreams
on five million tombstones
of heat tolerant coltan,
another cell phone
toys with civilization

bonjour tout le monde
hello the whole world ..

/ original / z.g.

{ Ref :

In The Democratic Republic of Congo DRC ( Official Languages- Lingala & French )
Coltan Mining [ Heat Resistant Mineral required for Capacitors used in Cell phones , Laptops , Pagers Etc ] has caused the Deaths of More than Five Million People -
surpassing the number of lives lost in World War Two }

shift in time.osi

2009-11-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

' syncopation '

skipped circadian rhythms ,
listened to a busker
right time , a speaker cooed
i heard his song , still

a moment of harmony
rummaged through a lifetime
holding what had been

at sixes and sevens
with all status - quo
clocks at the terminus
reflected , what is

my train had gone
another would come
that's what , would be

i kept getting lost
to timelessness ..

/ original / zg

[ / Stanzas - Restructured /
-Ed : -
Line 3 - right time , they announced
Line 4 - i heard a song , still
Line 5 - that moment of melody
Line 7 - and held the had been
Line 10 - those digits on a clock ]

elusive.osi

2009-10-27T01:17:00.000-07:00

' relic '

not even an iota
i am
of the earth
my whim is a mountain
splattered by the rain
slashed by a waterfall
grazed by the moaning winds
pierced by the grass
creation and corrosion
elude each other
the scree and the debris
allude to me
a jot and a tittle
pebble on the foothill
i'm the reliquary
of a sacred thought
that is life ..

/ original / zg

[ Ref:
Jot or tittle
A tiny amount.

Origin

The phrase 'jot or tittle' is somewhat tautological, as both jot and tittle refer to tiny quantities. It has passed into English via William Tindale's translation of the New Testament in 1526. It appears there in Matthew 5:18:

A jot is the name of the least letter of an alphabet or the smallest part of a piece of writing. It is the Anglicized version of the Greek iota - the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, which corresponds to the Roman 'i'. This, in turn, was derived from the Hebrew word jod, or yodr, which is the the smallest letter of the square Hebrew alphabet. Apart from its specialist typographical meaning, we still use the word jot more generally to mean 'a tiny amount'. Hence, when we have a brief note to make, we 'jot it down'. ]

conquer .osi

2009-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

' one '

surrender , to the rain
filling thirsty rivers ,
to the spark of a firefly
enlivening the night ,
a canorous bird call
alive in a symphony ,
imagine
a raven saying hello
dream
of a wild rose laughing
feel
the heat of a forest fire
embrace
a starry moment
from the timeless galaxies
that need to conquer nothing
nobody
but simply belong to me
as i belong to them ..

/ original / zg

postman

2009-10-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

postman

a paper plane

chasing
butterflies
finds a boy

unfolds
a message
no from no to

what if
love be
an accident

courtesy
serendipity
a drunken postman ..

/ original / z.g.

[ not happy with my original post > Here /
edited the same to find that it sounded like a bad joke made worse
then rehashed it into something school - boyish ..]

Ref : Sr No.19 / gotcha babble - linked > / >Here /

( :- the donts of poetry )

talisman.osi

2009-10-12T03:35:00.000-07:00

faith

wanting a talisman

but finding a leaf

still dancing in the breeze
a dead leaf swirling in the whirlwind
its miracle of life ended
consecrated by the sunrays
that moment of green
was an anonymous breath
inside somebody's chest
letting live

wanting a talisman

but finding a leaf ..

/ original / z.g.

descent.osi

2009-10-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

seesaw

clad in a white haze of transience
watch the glorious niagara
falling simply to rise again
water descends but clouds ascend

fragrant agonies burn inside
the petals shrouded in the mist
a tear from heaven is the dew
water descends but clouds ascend

what pearls of sorrow in those eyes
to reach them i just want to sink
like a river into the sea
water descends but clouds ascend ..

/ original / z.g.

colors.osi

2009-09-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

refraction

her changed contact lenses
transparent as truth
see through opaque lies
the charred black surfaces
of burnt out grasslands
till a green alphabet
sprouts on the parched earth
the goldenness of the corn
makes breakfast of the day
the porcelain cup of the moon
serves a drink of purplish grapes
her vision is colorless
like pure water or air
colorless
as the prism of my mind
it could bend the truth
or find a rainbow
in the black and the white
of her eyes that i read
like the verse that she is ..

/ original / z.g.

fog.osi

2009-09-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

fogs hollywood

leafless branches and twigs
craft out a sign language
delicate fingerwork
weaves patterns into the mist
the autumn lexicon
articulates loneliness
the wind voices that story
a smoke without fire
descends upon a city
of burnt desires
a cloud understands
the fall of spirits
renounces the sky
and settles on the earth ..

/ original / z.g.

" Fog has a mystical feeling.
Like the heavens have come down
to envelop the world and soften it "
~ Lisa at Greenbow
( excerpt from her cmnt at sandy carlson's poem for this prompt )

[ Ed -
Lines 1 to 6 - Rearranged
Line 3 - that delicate fingerwork
Line 7 -the wind voices their story
Line 13 - renouncing the sky
Line 14 - settles on the earth ]

thirst.osi

2009-09-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

thirst

these breakers are granulated
wave after wave of them
sands shift like liminal spaces
primitive skeletons
question life and death
in the kalahari of existence
i play with the illusion
not to let a hope die
drinking in the mirage
in search of what is real
on the right side of the mind
i believe as you do
clear waters of the soul
flow as a brook there
what's left of the brain
remains unquenchable ..

/ original / z.g.

[ Edit :

Line 5 -form surreal images / deleted
Line 6 -questioning life and death
Line 7 - like goya's black paintings / deleted
Line 11 - going after that vision / deleted
Line 12- seeking what is real
Line 18 -what's left of my mind ]

romance.osi

2009-09-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

^recession_ (2009)..

read between the wrinkles
oneirophrenic tales
in the cafeteria
geriatric voices
discuss the recession
i pretend not to hear
won't last long, she says
might outlast us, he laughs
an argument ensues
over chicken rolls
her favorite dish
but wants his ordered
fall's almost here
must save for the winter
she explains,he yields
like a leaf in autumn
to a living gravity
my cup of coffee, like life
blends into a romance
the bitter and the sweet
around me ..

/ original / z.g.

(editing- line 17 -to the pull of a being ,
like life - moved from line 19 to line 18
added line 21 -around me )

blue .osi

2009-08-30T01:55:00.000-07:00

' stones , flowers and blues '

you are right
life can't run on poetics
the porridge and the soup
that's real substance
lapis lazuli
the hair of the sun god re
a solar promise , that's it
but the pendant
has a price tag on
me and my blank verse
for a moment go blank
'cause i'm but an abstraction
a mere thought
almost nothingness
like thin air
turning to dew at times
on your morning glory ..

/ original / z.g.

{ lapis lazuli_ is a blue, greenish blue or purple blue rock ..

_ lapis lazuli stones are considered a stone of universal truth and friendship. A power stone for those who seek spiritual development ..

( source - web )

morning glory ..
blue colored flowers }

allow.osi

2009-08-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

' cosmos '

their blood has tainted the sky red
their hunger burns like many suns
the birds speak a prayer for them
it's their thought on the door pharaoh

allow

the day crumbles into shadows
of depression , like anthracite
till a nebular spark somewhere
should burn this coal to dawn somehow

allow

/ original / z.g.

( just words _ dedicated to poverty )

copse . osi

2009-08-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

' living on an oak tree '

oneiric scenarios
the badinage of birds
eyes like tranquil ponds
where otterish thoughts dwell
racoons scavenge on boredom
listlessness like sluggish hedgehogs
the impishness of rabbits
the toil of the beavers
the craft of the tailorbirds
the tenderness of fawns
the storybook mysteries
of li'l red riding hoods
in ordinary houses
girls ,wives,moms,grannies
whenever the chips are down
come up with the acorns
of laughter or other goodies
that they hide like squirrels
in the copse of their small worlds ..

/ original / z.g.

ocean.osi

2009-08-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

^{yo también espero} ( i also hope )

ocean to ocean
palindromical tides
on this shore of nescience
i crush my tibia fibula
build the keel and the hull
with a drop of my blood
draw one heart
on this paper-boat
sailing into the unknown
only to sink and drown
become the ocean
for that moment of trance
when you hear me in the wave ..

/ original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 2 - the meaning too , a palindrome ]

windows.osi

2009-08-06T00:15:00.000-07:00

window

defenestrate the darkness
ofcourse
but some times you need the darkness
away from the glare
when you require sleep
or try to meditate
it becomes a bridge
to your own self
till a tchotchke brings you back
the windchimes jingle
one returns to the world
or the world returns to one
a bumblebee trapped in the lotus
finds release at dawn
so open the sashes
blossom ..

/ original / z.g.

[ ref:

in ancient sanskrit literature it is stated that a bumblebee gets prisoned inside a lotus flower
... at first light when the lotus opens there is hope of freedom .. but then an elephant uproots the lotus , alas ..
( ie - no release for the bee ) .. but in the above writeup - yes ]

{ Ed : line 6 - or when you meditate }

fragrance.osi

2009-07-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

' of woods in the winds '

walled by a silken tablecloth
'neath the dining table
its carved legs of oak
her susurrus woods
smell of deodorant and varnish
from that dreamy retreat
as life woofs and wefts
a toddler crosses the patina
of those ' wonderland ' silks
breaks free of the chrysalis
facing the hints and the scents
of thyme, birch, or balsam
holding inside her lungs
that forest in the breeze

( in about half a breath ) ..

/original /z.g.

inner voice.osi

2009-07-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

' no contest '

shape shifting thoughts transfigure
like chameleons camouflage
a trial is on
blindfolded , the heart , adjudicates
there is no colored vision
blows away that smoke screen
my breath
a plea is moved
of nolo contendere
the din of arguments dies
standing on the shores of time
i touch a grain of sand
washed by the waves of life
it coruscates with emotions
seems silent and speechless
speaking the lingo
of every inner voice
seeking a song of love ..

/ original / z.g.

thinking .osi

2009-07-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

' dishwashing '

coriander and cardamom
a dash of ajinomoto
the thought'd been deep or shallow fried

morsels of dust from shooting stars
aromas of rain-drenched fresh grass
the salt of the high and wild tides

a solar grace had cooked it all
the dessert of moon was optional
every yummy breath was savored

she washed her dishes with laughter ..

/ original /z.g.

[ Ed :her pulse cooked like a solar flame- line 7 \
the dishes were washed with laughter - line 10 ]

the stranger.osi

2009-07-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

' marbles '

inside her marble eyes

diaphanous darkness
perfunctory quiescence
she wonders where she lost
that rainbow on bubbles

in those eyes her daddy
felt the constellations
marbles in the backyard
games of the galaxies

now she is a grownup
in the realm of the my
the me , the mine, the i
the boundaries have been drawn

in her eyes like marbles ..

/ original / z.g.

( Ed : last line - inside her marble eyes )

blue rain .osi

2009-06-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

' truth '

this transparent bubble
holds a river in flux
a sea in its stillness
the buoyancy of clouds

reflecting a moment
crimson,violet,orange
look how the raindrop feels
on colorful petals

the moon shades it silvern
a sun paints it golden
it could even be blue
if you wear toy glasses

and run like an urchin
through the streets of nowhere
as he finds what he wants
shouting blue rain. , blue rain ..

/ original / z.g.

assimilation.osi

2009-06-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

' consciousness '

a molecule of pain splits
into iridescent photons
in the dark waters
a moon splinter
like a doppelganger, quakes
fallen from its apogee
crafting chimerical expressions
the branches of fir,cedar or aspens
touched by the light
from a hundred light years away
it all permeates my existence
in one single instant
become i
the brokenness of the moon ..

/original / z.g.

walls.osi

2009-06-17T00:15:00.000-07:00

' walled '

[ echoes " another brick in the wall " ]

a school , prison or exalted court room
brick by brick they form
a visible blankness
a writer reads between the lines
the poet builds up a metaphor
an artist manipulates color
the architect bends the ceiling

inside the sancta sanctorum
an eternity immured

while in the decrepit shantytown
plaster flakes off, on the walls
a palimpsest of wounds
seepage teases geometry
the cracks of reality stare
but an anonymous occupant
finds a yin yang wallpaper ..

/ original / z.g.

[ ED- lines 2 & 3-brick by brick they rise
in the visible blankness -
pink floyd ~ british rock band *]

" We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone " ~ excerpt from the song ' another brick in the wall ' * part 2

osi.intersections

2009-06-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

' the attic '

motes of dust prick her eyes
forming a liquid film
a shaft of light intersects the shadows
inside the attic
gaze transfixed on an old lawn-mower
she remembers
her father's voice
rumblings of warm laughter
merged with the drone of a machine
where they stood watching
through unseen pathways of the wind
a shimmer of flowery wings
zigzag across the dahlias
to land on nasturtiums
the crisscrossing of ifs and buts
pollinating life
she wipes the lawn-mower
fondly ..

/ original / z.g.

denouement.osi

2009-05-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

' iris '

watches the writing on the wall
in the gray color of the clouds
the scribbled flashes of lightning
make a veiled threat to his hutment

dyslexic eyes falter with words
unable to read the warning
in plottings of the thunderbolt
and conspiring skies scarcely lit

with the rain gone a rainbow shines
he gazes in fascination
at the seven wonderful shades
of do re mi fa sol la ti ..

/original/ z.g.

[ Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by problems with reading, spelling, writing, speaking, or listening.
Recent studies have shown that incorporating music in learning can help to increase language skills in children with dyslexia / iris ~ greek goddess of the rainbow ]

( ED - line 3 : the flashes of lightning scribble
line 4 : 'nother veiled threat to his hutment
line 8 : and conspiracies in the sky )

dropped.osi

2009-05-24T01:29:00.000-07:00

( to all the folks of my hometown ~ bhopal )

' in cold blood '

i hear my voice speak to myself, is that being alive
an ordinary question that segues into the dark
i think of the cows mooing sorrowfully, a bird crying
the dogs wailing and running like mad into a blind street

it was the dead of night and the eyes of the people burnt
the wind , a farrago of rumors , shrieks split the silence
one old man wanted to run , was shackled by arthritis
an ailing wife could not stop coughing , till her lungs burst

two wheel-chairs, a daughter on one , a son on the other
their scared mom and dad , helpless , could not run , could do nothing
the MIC , methyl isocyanate,was in the air
a factory's gas chamber of death was knocking the door *

like hiroshima memories , a tree sprouts yellow leaves
unborn children , still , pay with birth-disorders , their pulse drops
carbide , with a new name , rationalizes a drop in profits
and the victims they die slowly , if that's being alive ..

/original/ z.g.

[ union carbide usa , maker of eveready cells , in the december of 1984 dropped a shroud of death on the unsuspecting citizens of bhopal - infamous as - the bhopal gas tragedy ..

web ref :

methyl isocyanate (MIC)

On December 3rd, 1984, thousands of people in Bhopal , India , were gassed to death

Remedial measures were then taken at Union Carbide's identical MIC plant in West Virginia, USA, but not in Bhopal. December 2-3, 1984: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/toxic-hotspots/bhopal-timeline- 63k -

u can click here - to reach the said page

the plant released 42 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500000 people to toxic gases. ./ the ecology has been hit - the disaster carries forward into f2 , f3 / the company takes a new 'avatar ' ]

[ ED - ' a factory had opened its gas chamber of death ' * / sprouts replaces grows ]

tolerance .osi

2009-05-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

ny ny

so the clouds of dank thoughts
compressed inside her head
get her steaming again
like a pressure cooker

but she whistles it out
tolerates , lets it go
the vaporous notions
they cook the grains of life

and the controlled burning
leads up to 'nother meal
willing her to survive
the rising systolic

of 42nd street ..

/ original / z.g.

what's it like .osi

2009-05-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

( the pain is a - ) phantom

what's it like to be like him

he had viewed pornography
and had read erotica
but also read the bible
and heard the bhagwad gita

he thought of zarathustra
and also of yom kippur
of socrates and qur'an
and existentialism

he knew they knew everything
the thought, yearning and belief
of the poetry of words
the words where he searched for life

and he wondered how they knew
for he was still wondering
'bout him who lived in his mind
someone so much like himself

someone human as you are ..

/original/z.g.

tactile .osi

2009-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

~ ' her gaze in braille ' ..

i keep groping for words

a tangy nothingness
this palpable ether
it leaves language behind
but works out the meanings

a ripple of rainbows
reverberates with scent
it is only her gaze
that has touched my insides

with no baggage of words ..

/original/z.g.

word.osi

2009-04-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

' blah blah '

hermeneutic complexities
dissolve into a gurgling stream
of onomatopoeic giggles
kids of the world laugh as kids would

any place on the planet earth
caw cawing about little things
tick tocking through the drudgery
of dull classroom expositions

hee hawing through an argument
oink oinking about the boredom
plop-plopping or wheezing across
the meanings that lie with the words

ka-ha kuh-uk-ing like a coot
pipit-pipit-ing like pipits
they don't care 'bout the blah blah blah
but live and love as the kids would ..

/original/ z.g.

one word .osi

2009-04-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

' hardly a word '

it is merely a syllable

bottling up the largest oceans
housing the hills in shoe boxes
the smallest word of a language

i

wiping all the labels and tags
no matter what the origin
in resonance with all sorrows

i

and when you say that i am small
and dark and silent and lonesome
a wish to see you rising high #

i

for the expressions of one love
this wind,water,fire,earth and sky
go on filling an emptiness

i ..

/original/z.g.

( ED-a wish that wants to see you high / 'rising' replaces 'reaching' # / line 15- 'an' replaces 'this' )

live water .osi

2009-04-12T03:52:00.000-07:00

' rain '

beads of honest labour
the poor man's shining pearls
trickle down to the earth
to join a cloud some day

hanging in the darkness
the heat of frozen tears
like drops of molten wax
clinging to a candle

but written in sparkles
the dew is a language
the words that flowers speak
to say they are in love

so hear the live water
its raining cats and dogs
meows and happy barks
of life's pitter patter

this sweat that dew that tear ..

/original/z.g.

LISTENING. osi.

2009-04-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

' love '

written or spoken it's love

inaudible undertones
inside alcoholic eyes
reciting every silence
the sorrows soliloquize

the addictive harmonies
of such unquenchable thirsts .
resonating with heartbeats *
fill up the empty glasses

a halcyon moment burns
as a darkness drinks the dusk
one fire dowses another
till the night's awash with dawn

written or spoken it's love ..

/original/z.g

[ED-the different amplitudes-of an unquenchable thirst
-that resonance of heartbeats *-stanza 2 -1st 3 lines
/ last line-just love]

smoke. osi

2009-03-29T00:18:00.000-07:00

' fumes '

an arson without fire
minus matchstick or flame
keeps her heart smoldering
as the eyes gather smoke

rings,not always golden #

adrift the rings of grey
are lies being puffed out
of burning cigarettes
forming vicious circles

fumes, in many ways, fog *

cloud on a hill far off
the magic of distance
enhancing the beauty
but one knows volcanoes

have a mind of their own ..

/original/z.g

[past cmnt 10 /# *addendum-rings,not always golden/fumes, in many ways,fog]

equals. (osi)

2009-03-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

..' and a poem dies '

this is an african poem

minus anti retrovirals
just blank verses on blank paper
hiv is an eraser
word by word vanishing it all *-

till a blankness equals blankness #-

no,not a jewel in the crown
this blade of grass that glints with dew
from the toils of the earth below
reflecting a dazzling glory

unlike drugs , it's available ..

/original/z.g.

[ ED-

-the words without immunity
get erased by the hiv *-
-and a blankness equals blankness #
--with due respect to sue's pov-just trying to improvise /
line no. 9 : from the mirth of earth down under
line no. 9 :re -ed : dec 18.2009.fri /
- from the toils of earth down under ]

[ the jewel in the crown- a paul scott novel ]

farewells. (osi)

2009-03-16T00:07:00.001-07:00

' leaves '

i cannot say farewell
to this splash of color
the perfumes born to spring *
a surprise on my breath

the jazz in the birdcalls
this razzmatazz of green
i know it turns to rust
as it did last autumn

and i said just nothing ..

/original/z.g.

[* ED:-" to the perfumes that spring "]

fork in the road-(osi)

2009-03-07T23:06:00.000-08:00

'fragrance'

this seed of existence
forks out into roots
a survival logic
invents its options

thus a living quest
keeps branching upwards
the bifurcations lead
maybe to a dead end

or a destination
of the vibrant green leaf
a happy flower
springing from the earth

on the road to fragrance ..

/orignal/z.g.

circles.(osi)

2009-03-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

' adolescence '

little boy time spinning his top

turning the gold and silver wheels
of a teenager's bicycle
rolls on till the end of the road

a pebble of adolescence
drops into the deep still waters
stirs life's unknown eternity

reaching out to embrace the earth
a magical exuberance
ripples in concentric circles

spinning his top little boy time ..

/original/zg

[ED-stanza 3-
' ripples in concentric circles
a magical exuberance
reaches out to embrace the earth ' /

addendum-/ line 1- little boy time spinning his top]

twilight. (osi)

2009-02-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

' twilight art '

ballet of the haves and have-nots
visible and invisible
a darkness tangoes with the light

his chiaroscuro options
let the day's hard earned dollar find
some orange juice or black coffee

each dusk is a glowing art work
but alchemies of poverty
simply convert that gold to coal *.

/original/z.g.

[ED-simply convert his gold to coal *..]

spectral .(osi)

2009-02-14T23:58:00.000-08:00

' sands '

this trampled sand's a lesser known canvas
here hearty laughters live without a fence
quaint vocabularies of winds and waves
lend to the low profile sorrows credence

so tread lightly over the love stories

soothing this crumbled detritus of time
washing the haunts of a spectral beauty
caressing the lines of a lover's name
written on the shores of a raging sea

waves erase the phantoms of yesterday ..

/original/z.g.

movement.osi

2009-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

' wall street (2009 AD) '

so the refracted words
let bent realities
ride tergiversations
to travel past meanings

the train alongside moved
static on a still train
commuters sensed a shift
carried by illusion

trusted waters burst banks
the street,a wall to climb
but a bear and a bull
grappled with dance movements ..

/original/z.g.

SLOWLY. (osi.)

2009-01-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

' the elusive antithesis of haste '

slowly breaks the dawn,slowly builds the day,slowly thaws a dusk,slowly

kids humanize ' the wall '
graffiti vent kafka
ghettoes upstage beckett
and search for life slowly

slowly raps the wind,slowly rants the rain,slowly grasps a love ,slowly

a chewing gum bubble
how much truth does it hold
young thoughts memories old
exhaled inhaled slowly

slowly steps the soul,slowly flows the pulse ,slowly rocks a breath ,slowly

bach strains in peacock cries
flowers with van gogh hues
passions in the fragrance
would come to life slowly

slowly falls the night ,slowly skips the moon ,slowly rolls a star,slowly

/original/z.g.

['the wall':pink floyd ~musician ~ " We don't need no education - We dont need no thought control -
- No dark sarcasm in the classroom " - -
// Franz Kafka (1883-1924). -. ' Czech-born German-speaking writer whose posthumously published novels express the alienation of 20th century man & whose works explore the existential philosophy of the absurd and the surreal ' // Beckett, Samuel : playwright-poet~ "he presents the experience of waiting and struggling with a pervading sense of futility" & portrays "The anguish of persisting in a meaningless world " ]

if only i had time.(osi)

2009-01-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

' fractured hourglass '

face the blues in irises fine
gaze at an infinitude shine
interface with galactic joys
without purpose,reason or rhyme

if only i had time

hitchhiking on nomadic clouds
a way away from 'madding crowds' *
join a shamen or the maci
shadow a lion in his prime

if only i had time

grasp the fun of a grizzly roll
watch a giant panda cajole
and bend a bamboo shoot so green
as laughter becomes life's enzyme

if only i had time

count the stairs at khajuraho
ascend the hills of idaho
in a consciousness of no curbs
echo that one moment sublime

if only i had time

assimilate the words unfurled
in an ordinary people's world
and look for splinters of the heart
in a rubble of dreams and grime

if only i had time ..

/original/z.g.

[khajuraho~temples of india built during 9th-11th century AD -divinity sculpted in intimate postures~symbolizing 'the attainment of the spiritual through the physical'/khajuraho hosts a festival of classical indian dance forms annually * Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)~ Thomas Hardy]

fading memories.(osi)

2009-01-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

' that sepia autumn'

a pulse reverberating
with the whims of the lifeforms
a heart's wildernesses locked
in love's untoned negatives

till the darkroom of those eyes
delivers the living truths
washed in the lunar silver
done positive as daylight

letting crestfallen vowels
inked on my paper-boat fade
and drown in the amnesia
of time's lethean drop of dew ..

/original/z.g.
[image courtesy:designedtoat]

a summer's day. (osi)

2009-01-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

' whims on my paper boats '

inverting winter's viduity
this highway is a golden ray
changing lingos of the earth's spin
a warm cadence of gypsy winds

all icy unspoken sorrows
become warblers or the swallows
in a festival of twitters
the banter of aster petals

ripples home a blue resonance
distant yachts like boats of paper
etched with the solar alphabet
of a summer day's nostalgia ..

/original/z.g.

skin .(osi)

2009-01-04T02:44:00.000-08:00

' underneath an onion '

for love poured from a cloud's skin
souls drenched like a rainforest
wet clothes set beings afire
so green was the yellow leaf

earthy sensualities
the impulse of a caress
fondled by a gentle wave
every craving grain of sand

from behind the freckles peeked
winter suns and summer moons
each wrinkle a narrative
voicing an ode,lament,song

the mind peeled an onion *
skin after skin after skin
searching for elusive truths
existing somewhere beyond ..

/original/z.g.

*
[the notion of 'peeling an onion' can be referred to-

1Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa~Precepts (1836-1886)
2Gunter Grass's Peeling the Onion / memoir
3Ruth Gordon Peeling the Onion: An Anthology of Poems
4Peeling the Onion - Wendy Orr
5Peeling the Onion; Poems of Spiritual Awakening: George, E James
& possibly more] (-lines 3,4,7 &15-edited/april18.09 /-
-further ED - peek & peels > peeked -peeled -april19.09 )

stardust .(osi)

2008-12-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

' breathing in the dust ' ..

an arctic of loneliness
the mystical grief of hills
separation a desert
but a merger is the sea

trees of yearning rise and sway
fondness in field and fallow
with stardust in earthen eyes
touches the gaze of the moon ..

/original/z.g.

[ Ed : Line 5 _ trees of desire rise and sway ]

a winter's day. (osi)

2008-12-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

..'a warm winter'

a path clad in velvet white
naked branches unashamed
a cantata in stillness
it sings of you, i sing too

the sun on a hiatus
the coming home is early
so a fire crackles with glee
togetherness to sing to..

/original/z.g.

distractions. (osi)

2008-12-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

' vegas '

chance is a hotel blind
an armchair of habit
senses mortgaged to hope
a creditcard of words

dine on a course of fears
do smoke a pipe of whims
but time's cost is rising
to be paid for with life

vegas undistracted
obfuscates semantics
this dialect so dicy
just lies undeciphered ..

/original/z.g.

doodles. (osi)

2008-12-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

' mundanity '

a puny sun trots on paper skies
that squelching on the slush
laughs with the gurgle
of a washing machine ,
thoughts of antibiotics
mingle with the school-time rush ,
with the white and yellow ,
give the omelette a tan ,
and talk of the summer ,
under a cloud's doodle
moms' daily artwork
alive and kicking ..

/original/z.g. (dec10.2008.wed)

[embarrassed with the protracted stupidity of my original entry, transferred "here' (the brave can click 'here' to see it), felt i had to edit it & try to be less punishing on the reader(s)/regret the inconvenience caused]

{ Re- Ed :- / dec 18.2009.fri
- Line 6 :- and school are whipped up
- Line 8 :- the tan on the omelette
- Line 9 :- talks of the summer }

welcoming .(osi)

2008-12-02T05:33:00.000-08:00

'diners'

poured out of a kalashnikov
food for the diners
the floor of the restaurant
a canvas of death
bullets scratch the wall
calligraphing the terror
a grenade explodes
throwing up in flames
a dream,a hope,a life
forming a cloud of smoke
outside a man awaits
afraid and fearful
will he be welcoming
his wife through the carnage
a rattle of gunfire
colder than november..*

(*november 26.08_terror attacks mumbai)

/original/z.g.

childhood memories .[osi]

2008-11-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

'graffiti'

the mirror throws back
harry potter faces
a ghost in the attic
hip hops as a shadow
the backyard tells-tales
of alien hideouts
a sleuth of a dog
smells the neighbor's intent
mom rides a broomstick
when she's not an angel
dad's an utter monster
or a gothic hero
truthful graffiti
hands my childhood back..

/original/z.g.

courage .[OSI]

2008-11-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

[courage ~(is to go on when you know you can't:school mag quote) ]

' watchin' the sunset '

ever seen a dyin' sun
dropping slowly,so slowly
into the unfamiliar
and a face crimson with pain
as the red of one's own blood
pales into colorlessness
fades away the dusk
a mom holds her son
with a sundowner's syndrome
words dissolve into silence
shouldn't i melt with the sunset
for my dwindling courage does
just watchin' the sun go down
and i feel the going down ..

/original/z.g.

paradox. [OSI]

2008-11-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

' breathing a paradox '

what ought to be ought not to be
this matter of the mind is grey
society's a different jungle
look-alike predators and prey

touch now the birth touch now the death
teeter-totter contradictions
wonder why the sober dodder
undiscernable addictions

clings to the ground grasping the sky
my house is on the horizon
bits of a night bits of a day
twilight embers,burn,in autumn ..

/original/z.g.

disguise.[osi]

2008-11-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

' light '

the night consumes my existence
just a quaint nothingness
flickering echoes of my mind
like a chant voice your name

but through the blackness i see still
your myriad hues of love
the mutational colors of life
in undisguised beauty

as this lonely moonless darkness
a blessing in disguise
an absence defining the glow
of the light i crave for ..

/original/z.g.

gift.(osi)

2008-10-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

' the page turns '

this light
no prisoner to the moon
the night stabs me
with a whispered tremor
of reflection
silhouettes of sensuality
dance
with the flowers & seasons
of your being
no price attached
no transaction this
just an endowment
a jewel hangs
from black eyelashes
you read a page
from erich segal's
love story
in resonance
with different autumns..

/original/z.g.

never ending.(osi)

2008-10-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

'never ending'

it has all the names and no name
no clock ticks to no dimensions
merges happiness with sorrow
inside the senses but beyond

smaller than nano yet immense
how was it born when will it die
tied to belief still free of it
it is inert and kinetic

becomes the form and the formless
at once manifest and hidden
exists in life and lifelessness
an expression lighter than light

sought after yet seeking to be
at one with the infiniteness
constant in the momentary
unfathomable eternal..

/original/z.g.
{~ideas of the 'brahma' or the eternal~who was, is and always will be -from indian theology -[vedas,puranas,upanishads,the bhagwad gita]-the word-'an expression'-is brahma}
/reference:
Frawley, David. “Gods, Sages, and Kings” Salt Lake City, Utah: Passage Press, 1991
Frawley, David. “Astrology of the Seers” Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Press, 2000 /

gold .(osi)

2008-10-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

sunflowers and callendulas
let this gold sprout,spring and blossom
drink and dance on the flaming hues
what hummingbirds what butterflies

memories like a retriever
fetch the spinning frisbees of time
they wag a golden tail and bark
to fill silences with fondness

a sundowner's glowing amber
sipping the dusk till it is dawn
a river of gold becomes the bridge
across the night and sees it gone..

/original/z.g.

Serendipity.osi

2008-10-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

'Serendipity'

Café conversations
Day to day contemplations

See?
See through
The insinuations of colors
Hear the bossa nova
Of the giggles
Changing step
With the aromas
Dancin’ around

Try
to Feel
The inexplicable touch
Of warmth and tenderness
(alluded to as life)
Cradled
In the palms
Of affinity

Willingly
One
Sips the brew
This ink
Never dries
I savor
The yummy taste
Of someone’s poem

Looking for expressions
I find life..

/original/z.g.

fleeting .osi

2008-09-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

'fleeting'

Got caught

In this quirky circumstance

Of the unlit alleys of distraught emotions

And unexplained phobias

Where drowsy eyed 'gators of depressive thoughts

Yawn wide open in their readiness

To gobble up an entire being

Where wave after wave

Of hushed,hypocritical corporate conversations

Sound like deafening cacophonies

Where you become a kid once more

Wanting to cling to someone

Or something that's never there

The day after a school shootout

Where closed mindsets decide what 'good' is
Which is actually not

Where..the colossus of gigantic business interests

Feeds on a collection of puny little solitary dreams

Like a whale devouring those shoals of tiny fishes

Where.a.tight lipped, hawk eyed jury

Chills you

To the marrow of your bones

For an opportunity that you lose out upon

Where relationships are deemed to be investments

That fluctuate with current price indices

Yet somehow

Out of this 'black hole'..

My thoughts and ideas escape

Like unchained,playful bumblebees

And butterflies seeking to interact with wild flowers

Me?

'nother faceless nobody

Trapped

In the fleeting twirls

And the crazy swirls

Of an ephemeral whirlwind

Inside my TV..

/original/z.g.
[from an earlier draft]

autumn.osi

2008-09-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

'autumn'

swollen pumpkin dreams turn to frost
choreographing the loneliness
bare limbed trees mime abstract dance forms
one shaky leaf enacts the fall

summer leaves a different color
this rusted brown amber of wine
see his sad alcoholic eyes
just the autumn every season..

/original/z.g

:footnote~
{:before assuming the pen name " zoya"// -noun:fem:_ [ internet sources ~ translate "zoya" as-life-alive- "searcher"- or God's gift-] //- i had penned ~ ages back~ [in college] my first ever ' poem? '* in english~between then and the commencement of my blog in feb 2008, i had not written a single poem - none ( in english).~{"do not write poetry if you can help it"is a quote i like to remember.. this sombre (scribbled at 17) 'poem?-'autumn memories'*-posted > here(click)] - could make u laugh!~(incidentally, i'm born to hindu brahmin parents ,with a liberal mind set :.ref :long time ago question by Geraldine[MPP] "like ur first name"- 'zoya'~ (-it holds no religious connotations)- }
{ps:{sep22-12.14am IST}the said poem? 'autumn memories' can be read at:
http://peerpressurized.blogspot.com/2008/02/autumn-memories.html.-thanks.}

seeds~osi

2008-09-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

'seeds'

the optimism titanic

sinks inside my whimsical bones

panic inside a closed cabin

the voyaging maverick yearnings

the chaos of impending doom

strips bare the facades and the truths

hanging on to the most precious

beauty of a beloved's dream

from the wreckage emerge stories

of unending love and desire

within a survivor's heartbeat

seeds of resilience blossom

become the flowers of laughter

alive with the fragrance of life

my pessimism's nemesis

this optimism titanic..

/original/z.g.

'defenses down'

2008-09-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

the soft drizzles of hope
no thwarting umbrellas
sunshine,a clear truth
need no colored glasses
chuck the wind cheater off
the spirit rides the breeze
roll n roll on the snow
earth's creamy playground
defenses down greet
the wind, rain and snow
and a beaming sun
see,the children can
while the grown-ups dream *..

*[revised:our dream is their world-
/sun07.'08]
/original/z.g.

spectacle

2008-08-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

sensuous breezes croon
and touch a leaf with song

flower the sun and moon
every moment fragrant

an ocean's mystic tune
seen the sea in the wave

the aching heart would swoon
so taste a cuckoo's call

the summer skies of june
hear the radiance laugh

the five frolicking flames
set alight the senses

for love is all around..

/original/z.g.

homecoming

2008-08-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

christmas is a long way away
she is planning the homecoming
the turkeys and the surprises
the baloons,the curtains,the toys
the cards,the dresses and the shoes
but you cannot plan the laughter
or the happy chaos that spreads
across a sizzling dancing floor
to the rythms of flamenco
the sounds of the roma gypsies
the homeless wandering minstrels
christmas is some distance away..

/original/z.g.

~unresolved~[ spectacle]

2008-08-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

[last week jumped the gun for "spectacle'.
this week it's 'resolve'.trying to address both.]/AUG 24:/OSI 'RESOLVE'

"Unresolved"~[spectacle]

behold the appearance of love
resolve a monalisa smile
the tajmahals carved of the moon
as dawn drops her tresses of gold
or dusk blushes, her cheeks on fire
the beauty of nirvana's truths
fill a grand canyon of desire
blindfolded,see a blind man's view
through the vision of sightlessness
the visual of the within
it was never invisible
perhaps red,green or blue on show
whoever caught a glimpse would know
behold the spectacle of love!..

/original/z.g.~and-
RESOLVE(2)[IF time permits!]
'A Brush With Goya'*~

a wrinkled carrier
like a leather kayak
capsized,and frozen #
unworldly lifelessness

an overturned shoe
grief had bitten through
its' sole to open up
poverty's hidden doors

a cheap cigarette butt
lying alongside
voicelessly narrates
the burnt out hardship

will the brain resolve
to step into that shoe
for 'nother spectacle
of a so called conscience..

/original/z.g.
/[*Goya:spanish artist]/#modified:capsized,it faces-aug25

stairways

2008-08-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

the blind solitude of the night
the 'stairway to heaven' fades out #
your whispers arrive in ripples
talk of the sun's drizzling gold
the fluid silver of moonshine
azure joys where the souls sail free
the green of life on lithe branches
my mystical lotus eater
for less than a moment hear me
there's a world of persephone
of penia and hades and plutus
each day descend thirty thousand
the children WHO* die of hunger
who could not ascend the stairways
to a distant planet called earth

the hieroglyphs of poverty
the flowers that do not blossom

my mind,save a whisper for them..

/zg/original..
[*world health organization
#Led Zeppelin]

folly :/{the freedom & civil rights movements}

2008-08-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

not distinguishing
first person singular
from third person plural
peculiar grammar

where the punctuation
was the hope and struggle
the idiom was pain
the syntax was a dream

luther king and gandhi
their obtuse expression
the folly of a tongue
where "i" stood for ' them'

they stood for liberty
La langue d'amour

../original/z.g.

face

2008-07-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

cobwebs of disdainful prejudice
like puckered wrinkles on the cheeks
black sarcasm that darkened it all
the stark shadow under the eyes
the stained rut of selfish intent
the morbid lines on the forehead
the refusal to laugh with the joys of others
the drooping and sagging of the chin
an attitude that diminished the spirit
the chilling dryness on the lips
the discomforting pompousness
shrieked from the ridge of the nose
the insensitive desire to subjugate
the silent cruel blankness of expression
this labyrinth of thoughts
faced the surgeon
technically attractive
a media savvy person
had come for a face-lift
neither cardiac nor cosmetic
but a matter of the heart
the surgeon thought
or was it prosopagnosia
~face blindness . ./original/z.g.

un'rest' (sierra leone)

2008-07-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

a choir on wings are you the church
at dawn and dusk the invocation
you are unmoved ever at rest
as if in deep meditation

a log to cross the river of sorrow
in the door and window of every life
from cradle to coffin are you not there
we peck your wood oh tree of hope

a penumbra of pain the eclipsed sun
a blood diamond of sierra leone
through the unrest was standing still
a dragon's blood tree unshaken../original/z.g.

myth..

2008-07-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

the church and a mosque
temple and synagogue
junior high schoolers
such sand structures form

a day before the storm

indistinguishable
they all look alike
just the day after
common grains of sand

the consonance of life
is waiting to flower
in the sun-filled hour
of a heart's shangri la

no don't call it a myth ../original/z.g.

myth..#2[july 14 mon]

dreams crumble into pain
faith and its' fractions'
lowest common factor

starts a search for joy
faith and its' fractions'
highest common factor

time and space constant
He is far beyond
the algebra of myth../original/z.g.

through a window

2008-07-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

it all goes black the blues grab me
with their scorpion tails stab me
for light crave in a closed cocoon
you the glow of the sun, the moon
through a window

would the silence eat up a song
the notes of love could they go wrong
the chuckles are back and throbbin'
because you chirp like a robin
through a window

no noxious fume to choke my breath
life finds a way past every death
and through the chill of damp despair
you rejuvenate like fresh air
through a window

../original/z.g.

[ Ed :- L ine 8 - the heart chuckles back to throbbin' ]

doorway

2008-06-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

somnabulistic daze
some imprints won't erase
startled you wake up
the perfumes don't knock
just transcend the doorway
waft in and float around
awaken the senses
the flowers that were dead
have come back as blossoms
and the fragrances live
in a world without doors../original/z.g.

melody

2008-06-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

teen aged effervescence jazzed
with the blues of adolescence
anxieties drummed up the heartbeats
soul searchin' thoughts rock n rolled

first romances light or heady
did awaken a melody

me,the mountain's heightened stupor
you,the forest's wilderness song
stars' distant psychedelic blinks
glowed in the night's carbon eons

passionate moons clouds unsteady
did awaken a melody

twilight years' blurred vision's haze
the lil' tit bits of life amaze
shimmering joys glimmering griefs
in every twinkle love's beliefs

i know o-blah-dah o-blah-dee
did awaken a melody../original/z.g.

transience_permanence

2008-06-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

an old clock's crackled nagging raps
on sleepy slumbering eyelids
wakes up the transience of dawn

rushes through breakfast runs to school
a spherical ball this globe small
in the playground watches it roll

but what was bouncier,the ball
her wild spirit or that girl
the mystery never unfurls

on the dreamy way back from school
the orange traveler above
becomes her lovely firefly

which she must prepare to catch
in her grand ma's butterfly net
for her cool digital scrapbook

and therefore the stupid sun
who's also her hooky playmate
is playing hide and seek with her

a day in her bag,homeward bound
the happy lil' girl hops around
in dusk's magic evanescence

but still the sun is on the run
to hide or seek another one
another place,another time

another school,reverberates
with laughter,kids teeter totter
in what looks like the same planet

the kid girl-civilization
the sun her inspiration

../original/z.g.

[ ED - a childhood flame that still does burn!]

pet

2008-06-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

in tricky times and through a storm
he keeps her secrets keeps her warm
her friend in life's big adventure
this fur ball on the furniture
'tis life's easy philosophy
to beat every catastrophe
she quotes her mom verbatim
and cries,laughs, then talks to him
how he would and why he should
not be bad but just be good
learning to love,trust and share
pets and hugs her teddy bear
i doubt if it's inanimate
her angel mate and grizzly pet!../original/z.g.

freedom to the rain

2008-06-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

tear - -

a question ,
a statement ?
or both ,
in your eyes
the verb
becomes a noun ,
on my lips
a lifeless word ,
in your eyes
a pearl alive ,
a ray of light
flashes through it
and disperses ,
into all the colors
of the rainbow ,
drops to the earth
a tear ,
i search for it
in the rain ..

original/z.g./

[ Edited - / dec 12 .2009.sat ]

[reflecting-osi]

2008-05-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

campus reflections - -

the rdx biologies
of lcd screen goddesses
do imbalance the chemistry
of peer group psychology

the centrifugal forces
between the teacher and the taught
design the vision and optics
of astronomical dreams

the sting of dwindling discipline
theology, ethics and sin
continue to fox and hound
bosses of the social sciences

enlightenment , education
elation , emancipation
shrink to an anti depressant
over classroom situations

the dean of anthropology
over ifs and buts reflecting
views the prescribed pill pensively
thinks , and thinks again ..

/original/z.g.

[ Ed --
Line 4 : of peer group psychologies
Line 5 : as the centrifugal forces
Line 8 : of raw astronomical dreams
Line 11: just continue to fox and hound
Line 18: over ifs and whys reflecting
Line 20 : wonders,thinks,and reflects again ]