DREAMS- A SONNET 

Wading  through the space on a terrific speed,

Amidst  the clouds serenely without  purpose,

Began the dash from nowhere ,a daring deed,

Remembered  nothing ,save a sleep embrace.

Was in awe when the angels greeted me in glee,

Beauty, in my entire life, I haven't seen such,

Floating over the gardens with flowers in spree,

Wandering  endlessly  thinking not much,

Pricking pain in the back, excess sleep may be,  

Suddenly the limbs felt motionless and still,  

The rustle and bustle reigns, lights above me,

Something entering my spine, surely it did fill,

Sedated I was, before the spinal puncture, sure,

The hypnosis waned as I regained my composure.

Note: A Sonnet is  a 14 line poem of an octave (8) and a seslet(6) depicting the opposite feeling in it, heaven & happiness in one and earth and sorrows in the second

THE FALL OF A GIANT

 

My life started from just a seed, like one and all of you,
But you did it in a civilized womb, safely, in an amnion
Subjected to the turbulence of the nature around me,
Below the sun, the grazing cattle, the avian and human,’

You got the care in the nursery, most of you very lucky,
Coming out in a dignified route, mine was at cross road
Some of you got expelled, voluntarily, I am not plucky,
Below the soil, anoxic conditions pushed me to explode.

Early stages were in turmoil, helped more by the nature,
I prepared my food, thanks to the sun and seasonal rains,
Monsoon troubling me more at times, to spoil my tenure,
All this time you were in cozy comforts of thy domains.

Contrary to your growth, sunshine truly is a bliss to me,
You sweat, and conspire at noon, I often transpire then,
You opt the evening glee, I adapt for the morning spree,
You scheme learning in school, I stream in glowing sun.

Your branching is in mid teens, mine so faster and in swift,
You rear in your early twenties, mine within seven seasons,
You shoulder the burdens, if lucky, starting in late twenties,
I grow wider, sheltering many of you under me for seasons.

I pay hostage, to many a bird species, building nests on me,
Think and tell me, how many of you help your men in need,
I give them delicious pulp to eat, barring the ones you leave,
Every year I tease you with sour, later I will give sweet breed.

I live longer than you, untreated, but helping even in senility,
You ail in nursing homes, senile though I am, have to go on,
You may have a peaceful demise, here I am, losing stability,
In this I sway once too often, the natures’ fury is on song.

Once dead, you are useless to anybody, here I score over you,
Here I lay uprooted and dead, you get buried or cremated,
All will cut my strong body to get logs to build a house for you,
Think man, help others, else I will take part in your cremation.

TONGUE THE SANE OR THE SINISTER?
                                                ~ a tongue in cheek message

He who knows little, knows enough, the proverb preaches
If he knows how to hold his tongue, that is at times godly
A wisdom not seen in any page, helps someone in duress         
Even the doctors fail to deliver words to ailing men aptly

Of all organs of our body, certain parts go unnoticed after all
We use our limbs many a times and get easily tired and rest.
No one notices an organ in use that never complaints at all.
It’s the majestic tongue we never pay due respect in earnest.

For the neonate’s slur, with joy all around, we‘ll be yearning,
Oft remember these words of the baby with glee and replete,
Some will graze the tongue with gold for a bliss of learning,
Silence is golden but speech is silver, here goes the caveat.

Meaning thereby that this organ is to be used with discretion,
Many a time we forget this, only after duly getting the wrath,
The organ we forget, often while in use, will be silent hence,
This organ that brings accolades, also leads to the warpath.

Mother tongue, oft asked, indeed is a language of inheritance,
So too motherhood symbol of noble hardship and sacrifice,
Tongue, the revered organ too is an organ of thy eloquence
Message, an organ sharper than sword, for careless utterance.

CARRYING--------? IS IT JUST A CARRY BAG? 

The other day I was in the airport, not for flying reasons, but to see off someone, dear,
Reaching airport very early, I was lazily seated in the lounge for dear friend’s arrival,
Watching curiously with jealous and zealous eyes, those scenes of mirth and sorrow,
The rejoining and rejoicing pairs of eyes and sore and sodden eyes of bread winners.

Little did I realize till then the pains of such departing souls of those working abroad,
Nor the agonies of their dear ones old or young on this side, waiting their safe return.
Forget the dollars, the loneliness, the fear and the glamour of greener pastures weigh,
Heavily in the sick and crumbled frames of an elderly widow or widower nevertheless.

Here is one such widow lamenting in front of me with a different pathetic plight of hers,
Her only son working abroad, entrenched for years, well settled with family and children,
She lost her husband years back, living alone in her house thanks to good neighbourhood,
In spite of repeated requests the son did not reply verbally to take her abroad with him,

Finally he came this time to take her with him, the same day I came to see off my dear,
I took pains to enquire her plight, I was told that her son had gone to verify her passport,
Having waited for hours he never returned to take her, she only came to know belatedly,’
He had boarded his flight, disappearing into the white clouds, old woman left in the blue.

The vexing query before me, the wails and perils of a motherhood exposed here fully,
Nine months of selfless carrying, or a painful labour for whom? For whose cause, none!
Is the uterus just a carrybag sans emotions just for the sake of mechanical progeny,
To produce them and carry them and thrown into litters after its hormonal saturation.

INTEREST-ING DEPOSITION ON RETIREMENT

This poem was written as a gift for a close family friend and a bank officer on the occasion of his retirement 

We work, all of us do, certain works are INTERESTing,
Some create INTEREST in making others do work
Some give INTEREST to work you more and more
Some give up INTEREST to work after all, after a while.  

Some of us lose INTEREST, while working tirelessly 

Some also fail to create INTEREST in others to work, 

Similar to the febrile rules, thy INTEREST will be more  

To start with, interest becomes less and less as one grows.

And mature, unlike in the bank where it’s the reverse,
It will be waning as one reaches the d-day, that’s why
They say you retire, meaning thereby you go back
To the place you came from (family) with added interest.

With this rejuvenated INTEREST, this time for the family.
When hairs lose their INTEREST to grow any more,
Your limbs show least INTEREST for simple locomotion,
Your brain compoundly lose the zest  to do the work .

Your heir apparent show more INTEREST in you as 

You have lots of INTERESTS with you, within you,

Spend more time with them with profound INTEREST

Hereafter, forever from tomorrow your INTERESTS.

 

Swell many times with recurring deposits practically 

Wishing you a happy re-tiring life without initial deposit

INTERESTING periods await you for thy future 

Have a great INTEREST in the role of grandpa and guide,

For their INTEREST to multiply and enjoyment around,
Till your heart shows the least rhythmic INTEREST,
To rejuvenate your naturally declining simple INTERESTS.
HAPPY RE-TIRED LIFE SIR  AND ENJOYING YEARS AHEAD

ADDING LIFE TO YEARS

From the moment we are born, we add something to our life,
Adding what, is more vital than we really hold in possession,
The first day taught us to cry, the biggest strength or strife
Vociferously expressing anguish or demanding an attention.

Learned to add tears from the first month to show emotions
Sight added two weeks later, to recognize your dear breed
Social smile later added to wilfully express your intentions
Roll, crawl, brawl, skid, stand and walking spree joining in add.

Running was the next, the unknown fear truly in this edition,
Circumspection, daredevil bravery, fall all added in due time,
Anger, dislikes, hatreds, jealousy in that order, also peeped in
We added alphabets, then real additions before subtractions.

From then on all good things and equally worse got installed,
Adding years to life than adding life to years went unabated,
Lover, a new companion in one’s life, the sweetest attached
Children, topping the treasured list, were the greatest added.

Then near and dear added to when greying began, its series
The already greying eye lens started to add lenses for sight,
New responsibilities were added, so too the senile miseries,
Losses began to add woes, parents, and dear went out of sight.

Cholesterol in the vessel wall adding their share of worry tale
Vital organs too began to add their aging miseries in number.
Grey matter of the brain bustling for the cracker of the finale
The D-day ushers in, our lives added to that eternal slumber.

A NEVER EXPECTED JOURNEY, AN INNOVATING LONG JOURNEY AND AN INNUENDO IN DOUBT

Many a travel we make daily, weekly, monthly or every yearly,
Destinations differ always need based, purposes differ mainly,
Modes differ slightly, situations and ATMs providing it clearly,
Rarely we do travel long, with unseen destinations, unnoticingly.

Our journey began fourty six years back on a rainy October morn.
Most of us unknown to each other, few of them from northwest.
Dissection tables brought us closer, unknown becoming known.
Mate becoming roommates, and striking, an unknown epithet.

Avoiding professor’s wrath was the main aim, a pass the next,
Strike forced the split within us, the time lost doing the damag,
Three score and two cleared the initial hurdle, the rest in await,
A split family for reunion, a traditional hierarchy on a rampage,

Journey was on, two making a shocking exit, teaching lesson One,
That no one is immortal, even those who wield the healing torch,
All of them were in different compartments, failing to meet often
Assembling together on silver jubilee year, at the same porch.

Counting began, some couldn’t reach, some making shocking exit,
Cheer was full to the hilt, thanks to concerted organizing effort,
This caravan moved on, heavy in heart and the fear of final exit,
With a vow to meet again after five years, sore in heart, in effect.

These meets were regular, rejoicing, the countdown yet in sight,
Party is fun, parting is sorrow, we lost many a buddy in this crew
Annes, Marias, Suhras, Ramesh and Sethu, lost nineteen out of sight,
Sore indeed, the Potti’s, the Bhasi’s, Sankara Pillai, to name a few

The caravan still loaded, lets enjoy to the hilt, the rest of the sunlight,
Don’t worry who will wither next, bring all of them leaving a few.
Let’s not fade away in the mist of setting sky, let’s sparkle in limelight,
We live only once, we studied together, memories fresh and new

GRAB THE CRAB BY ITS NECK

 

On July first, the wait was over, the shriek
In labour room signalling a new birth,
Mirth and joy overflowed, zodiac sign  
Of cancer foretelling this boys’ fortunes,

The boy brought wealth and luck too,
Alas fell ill on his very second year of birth,
Was scanned, and screened, the dreaded
Crab silently spreading its vicious pangs.

Scenario changed thereafter, the usually
Naughty became silent, in inept attitude,
Parents now wearing a gloomy face, and
A sigh, hopeless and hapless and sad.

A tumour in the belly started to show,
Slowly following a febrile painful episode
Soon swellings showed elsewhere
Making him crippled, emanciated and bad.

The betz cells of the oncologists did work.
Overtime work to quell this tumour
Modes searched, discussed, chemo,
Radiation or surgery all thought in vain,

Immunotherapy with monoclonal
Antibody, a bold and novel mode in favour,
Finally, they could see light at the
End of the tunnel, bringing cheers to gain.

TRIBUTE TO PROFESSOR ABDUL KALAM - THE TRUE BHARAT RATNA 

 

Greatness lies in serving the mankind, serving the poor, and serving the nation,
Discoveries too enlighten the world and metamorphoses the myths and beliefs,
Here is a scientist par excellence, a teacher nonpareil, a human truly humane,
A simple man to the core, humility his forte, this is Prof: Abdul Kalam for you.
 
From a humble beginning, climbing the hard way to the very pinnacle of glory,
From the huts of Rameshwaram, through the Space to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan
His style so simple, ideas vivacious, amalgamating life, practicals with theory,
Courteous, generous, and considerate, he is a man with great vision on a mission.
 
A vision for exploring the Indian expedition of space, all dreams coming true,
An indomitable penchant for sharing wisdom, and imparting his knowledge,
An insatiable hunger for teaching, unsurpassed till now, until this sudden fate
Truly, celestial call came while addressing the management sect of wards.

He lived by example, he wished to be remembered as a teacher, like the saying,
An ordinary teacher tells, a good teacher explains, superior one demonstrates,
But a great teacher inspires the whole generation of students to tread wisely
Over the past five decades, he preached the beacon of knowledge to the students.

Mortal remains are no more, may he be lying in state forever at Rameshwaram,
But his soul will not remain detached, his legacy will be reverberating eternally,
His life is simple, what all he learned he didn't take it abode, left it to the students,
A scientist that he is, now on an expedition to closely explore the heavenly planets

MOTHERHOOD—A RELATIONSHIP NONPAREIL
                                        ~A reverberating revelation and reverence

 

The mere mention of this word tends to soothe any heart in this universe,
Four legged, two legged mammals including human beings uphold this truth,
A relation nonpareil, selfless, and an embodiment of true love and sacrifice,
Candle, that spreads radiance, is the soul of the house, always aiming mirth.

How can I paint this selfless creature, that conceives, milking its offspring often,
Caring the kids while in health and illness, above self, even amidst adversity,
Caring them to the school and studies, imbibing culture, teaching moral lesson,
Words can’t match her fully, an all-rounder, She’s indeed just the living divinity.

MEMORIES DOWN THE LANE

 

           MBBS Batch of  1970, Trivandrum Medical College

On a lazy morning in came the humbler toned message
Requesting scribblings for the next meet of our batch,
Two short of four dozen years, thrills never in assuage
Did plunge into a pensive mood for my poetical hatch.

Thoughts stir my decaying neurons, indeed no backups
Those days of tension and cheer, still linger and afresh  
What to write, where to start were the initial hiccups,
Nothing to boast, but the desire to ruminate, no hush.

Greeted by the ever articulate biochemist, and smart,
Calling out two hundred names, every morn, in rhythm
The stench of formalin soaked cadavers took us apart,
Pithed amphibians, defeating us too often in tandem.

Crossing the first of three hurdles, indeed a nightmare,
Our eyes all over the microscopes, under tutors watch
Mixtures, aspirins measured, learning the drug so rare,
The legacy of jurisprudences and post mortems in watch

Clinics in the last hurdle, indeed a litmus test of caliber,
Diseases of the eyes followed by medicine and surgery
Study of community medicine boring, oh! It’s a tall order
Knowhow of pregnancy, childcare signing off itinerary

Basic degree now in hand, parted ways, for glory search,
Meeting individually, rarely, in profession, and in tweets
We lost some forever, natures’ routine manhunt search,
We pray for stronger, closer ties, longing for these meets.

A few missing links, we pray they be healthy, sans strife
Message is loud and clear, we need these missing links,
We live only once, let us meet oft in the dusk of our life,
Bring them all yearly too, regularly till the last lid winks.