Where were Atthai ,Maama ,Lakshmi wondered ,crestfallen
by the locked door, eyes downcast ,taking in slowly the
bedecked street ,marigold blooms,noisy crackers, the
aroma of cardamom and sweet pongal, then it dawned ,
today mere mortals would witness the celestial wedding of
Andal with the Lord. Behold the chariot swaying like a
majestic elephant bearing the radiant idols, borne in turn
by the tanned shoulders of the devout devotees ,followed
by the pious priests tailed by women in splendorous silks
Tiredness and hunger vanished ,she leaned, eager to catch
a glimpse, fingering her green bangles, her cheeks ablush
Next month Narayanan would be back with gold bangles
 and his seraphic smile; she had languished long pining ,
It was time now to drape the silks and jasmine flowers,her
 earrings danced keeping pace with her thumping heart
 
 

Where were Atthai ,Maama ,Lakshmi wondered ,crestfallen
by the locked door, eyes downcast ,taking in slowly the
bedecked street ,marigold blooms,noisy crackers, the
aroma of cardamom and sweet pongal, then it dawned ,
today mere mortals would witness the celestial wedding of
Andal with the Lord. Behold the chariot swaying like a
majestic elephant bearing the radiant idols, borne in turn
by the tanned shoulders of the devout devotees ,followed
by the pious priests tailed by women in splendorous silks
Tiredness and hunger vanished ,she leaned, eager to catch
a glimpse, fingering her green bangles, her cheeks ablush
Next month Narayanan would be back with gold bangles
 and his seraphic smile; she had languished long pining ,
It was time now to drape the silks and jasmine flowers,her
 earrings danced keeping pace with her thumping heart
 
 

Emotions overlapped on the palette
Shades are born
Some light some dark
With intermingled boundaries yet sharpened corners.
Sun borrowing brightness while moon awaiting his turn holding a lamppost.
Seasons serenading at the window,
the rainbow songs.
Stacked in the midnight cupboard
“I”
Wearing them
Unaware of each “me”
Thinking
Monochrome is better version

In the old house seated by the window,
Watching the shadows play crisscross,
I hear cheerful voices of my children,
Chatting and clattering the plates,
Aroma of hot soup making me hungry,
Nostalgia of lost moments making me sad,
Gone to the distant lands like birds of migration,
While I slog here in the winter of my life ,
What stares me back is a solitary plate,
When even she left for heavenly abode,
Leaving behind thousand aches that plague.

We are all born painters,
Gifted already with a palette of colours,
How we utilise it and sprinkle them,
On the blank canvas decided our fate,
Angles to the stories sketched thus,
Can’t be denied, like the same light,
Falling on every piece of art,
Still, making diverse shadows,
Due to the positioning of the piece.
When darkness befalls colours unite,
Like us, basically the same,
Starting and ending our lives in a dot,
It’s the in-between which lives in our hands,
Daub the tints as you wish but don’t forget,
You too can’t evade some splashes on yourself.

She looked down from above, saw the familiar dinner table set with love,
Four little bowls each with a frugal meal,
Enough to survive, nothing for greed.
The sunlight from the window streamed in, beckoning the diners to eat therein.
But the four were still in mourning,
Hoping for her return to make it five again.
She had passed never to return, her death, the doctors couldn’t adjourn.
She had cried when she was sick desperately wanting to survive,
But now she was happy the four bowls looked fuller than five.

Existence without life
Ubiquitous concoction of mirth and pain
Chequered-boxes of joyful colours shadowed dim by woes,
Enmeshed with cobwebs of aspirations, nitty- gritty of life
Monochrome pall over sun-kissed rainbow hues

Mind-forest burning in red flames of emotions
Texture of rugged bark of palash trees under tiny feet
Buds cracking open like volcano erupting, the day burns
Gossamer dreams dissipate like mist in propitious sunshine candid
Doubts insecurities and eccentricities lurk in shadows silhouetted by sunlight
Nourishing within a phantasmagoric world of illusion and reality

All merge amid oranges of ethereal luminescence
Changing shades of darkness in nature’s palette
Transcending hours impregnated with hope
Existence gets life

Existence without life
Ubiquitous concoction of mirth and pain
Chequered boxes of joyful colours shadowed dim by woes
Enmeshed with cobwebs of aspirations, nitty- gritty of life
Monochrome pall over sun-kissed rainbow hues

Mind-forest burning in red flames of emotions
Texture of rugged bark of palash trees under tiny feet
Buds cracking open like volcano erupting, the day burns,
Gossamer dreams dissipate like mist in propitious sunshine candid
Doubts insecurities and eccentricities lurk in shadows silhouetted by sunlight
Nourishing within a phantasmagoric world of illusion and reality

All merge amid oranges of ethereal luminescence
Changing shades of darkness in nature’s palette
Transcending hours impregnated with hope
Existence gets life

In the age of low calorie diet and keto
The calm and detached collation in peace of silence
I try to be contented with my psyche soul
But my nucleus and conscience stifling
With a balanced health, in search for stability
The sweet smelling warmth of sunshine
That advanced from another part of the world
Compel the chords to look for fueling up bonds
Startled to awaken the days spent with family
Creative and passionate conversations ,savoring gourmet
Melt my heart instantly with bittersweet memories
The plates full of half, love found melodies.
Ketki Jalan

I sat at the table, my fingers caressed through the plate,
My sole companion all these while
For the choice I made to remain single, regrets trashed
A beam of sunshine gently poked through the window
Leading me to an unknown destination
Urging me to find thy inner self
Compelling me to hear the eternal desire
I looked up, it’s my future waiting to be rewritten

She appeared special amidst the blooming buds
I welcomed her into my sealed life.
Leaving behind her abandoned past, we dwelled in joy
We sat at the table, her fingers caressed through the plates.
My world expanded with her addition.
People named her autistic
To me she was artistic.

Favourite colour,
Can’t choose one,
All play their role,
In sad and pun,
Black, I’m in hiding fears,
Grey when I’m in tears,
White when I’m easy to mix,
Blonde when it’s time to remix,
Red I’m in a rage,
orange when it’s time to be like a sage,
Yellow when it’s the time of autumn,
Brown, when I realise how far I’ll fly,
I have to be intact with the roots at the bottom.

Do you remember how we sat together to savour the baked potatoes
The kitchen redolent with cinnamon and saffron, hands clasped
Eyes locked ,hearts hopeful ,we spoke of home, children, dogs
Banishing worries trivial we discussed animated details
of the wondrous life waiting for us to stake rightful claim

I remember also your promotion parties ,your temper outbursts ,
The children graduating ,the parents dying , the temple tours ,the doctor visits
Bad times eclipsing the good, dark shadows clouding the brightness we treasured
I kept burnishing ,you preferred embellishing , we sat in shared silence
Only interspersed by the clinking of spoons against our plates.

But, I forget when my dreams and your ambition collided head on
Desires , practicality, fiction, reality got enmeshed
Like the sweaters I knit now ,a tapestry of tangled coloured threads
Like my neurons, amalgamated masses of stored memories
Some clear as crystal ,some obfuscated like unshed tears

I am just a blank canvas
Will you paint a story on my soul

Colour my tears bright red
For they have forever bled
Paint my eyes milky white
They’ve been deserted in plight
I am just a blank canvas
Will you paint a story on my soul

Turn my broken heart to black
For it is filled with grief cracks
Colour my thoughts deep blue
As sadness is all that i knew
I am just a blank canvas
Will you paint a story on my soul

Waqas Gul