Ram Krishna Singh
Growing Within
Desăvârşire lăuntrică
GROWING WITHIN
HAIKU TANKA & OTHER POEMS
Desavarsire launtrica
haiku, tanka şi alte poeme
RAM KRISHNA SINGH
Traducerea din limba engleză:
Alexandra Flora Munteanu
Taner Murat
Anticus Press, Constanța, 2017
Asociația Multiculturală “Anticus”
Editura Anticus Press
Constanța
www.anticusmulticultural.org/press
press@anticusmulticultural.org
ISBN 978-606-94509-2-5
© 2017 Ram Krishna Singh. All rights reserved.
Foto coperta: Naga Sairam
Portretul autorului: Ferodin Iaia
Consilier editorial: Taner Murat
Servind scriitorii
Salvăm patrimoniul
Serving the writers
Saving the heritage
Copyright © 2017
Toate drepturile asupra acestei ediţii sunt rezervate autorului
GROWING WITHIN
DESĂVÂRŞIRE LĂUNTRICĂ
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................ 7
Mulțumiri .......................................................................... 8
PREFACE ............................................................................... 9
Prefață ............................................................................ 11
I. POEMS ............................................................................ 19
I. Poeme ............................................................................. 19
1. CLEANSING ................................................................. 20
Purificare ........................................................................ 21
2. LIVING IS EMPTYING ................................................... 22
Viața înseamnă secătuire ............................................... 23
3. JURNEYING ................................................................. 24
Călătorind ....................................................................... 25
4. LONELY JOURNEY ....................................................... 26
Călătorie solitară ............................................................ 27
5. WHO SEES ................................................................... 28
Cel ce vede...................................................................... 29
6. REST ............................................................................ 30
Odihnă ............................................................................ 31
7. LIFE EVADES ................................................................ 32
Viața se eschivează ......................................................... 33
8. NO ONE KNOWS ......................................................... 34
Nimeni nu ştie ................................................................ 35
9. POVERTY ..................................................................... 36
Ram Krishna Singh
14
Sărăcie ............................................................................ 37
10. HAZE ........................................................................... 38
Ceață ............................................................................... 39
11. A TRIBUTE ................................................................... 40
Omagiu ........................................................................... 41
12. FRUITY SMELL ............................................................. 42
Miros îmbietor ................................................................ 43
13. VASTU VIHAR - I ......................................................... 44
Vastu Vihar - I ................................................................. 45
14. PATCH ......................................................................... 46
Peticul ............................................................................. 47
15. FIRE ............................................................................. 48
Foc .................................................................................. 49
16. THE LIE’S SHADED ....................................................... 50
Născocirea-i umbrită ...................................................... 51
17. CONFUSED LIBERATION ............................................. 52
Eliberare confuză ............................................................ 53
18. VASTU VIHAR – II ....................................................... 54
Vastu Vihar - II ................................................................ 55
19. GROWING NUDE ........................................................ 56
Crescând fără veşminte .................................................. 57
20. PEACE IN SIN ............................................................... 58
Pacea păcatului .............................................................. 59
21. NUDE DELIGHT........................................................... 60
Desfătarea nudității ........................................................ 61
22. ECHOES HAUNT ......................................................... 62
Ecouri chinuitoare .......................................................... 63
GROWING WITHIN
DESĂVÂRŞIRE LĂUNTRICĂ
15
23. MOTH ......................................................................... 64
Molia ............................................................................... 65
24. ROTTING RIPENESS ..................................................... 66
Răscoacere ..................................................................... 67
25. TURNED OFF .............................................................. 68
Deconectată ................................................................... 69
26. TIDAL SWELL .............................................................. 70
Fluxul mareei .................................................................. 71
27. THE MUD .................................................................... 72
Nămolul .......................................................................... 73
28. LONELINESS TORMENTS THE SOUL ............................ 74
Singurătatea chinuie sufletul .......................................... 75
29. A POEM IS PROPHETIC ................................................ 76
O poezie este profetică .................................................. 77
30. NO, I WON’T ............................................................... 78
Nu, eu nu voi .................................................................. 79
31. KARMIC CHAKRA ........................................................ 80
Chakra Karmică ............................................................... 81
32. WHO CARES? ............................................................. 82
Cui îi pasă? ...................................................................... 83
33. SURVIVAL .................................................................... 84
Supraviețuire .................................................................. 85
34. CHHAT......................................................................... 86
Chhat .............................................................................. 87
35. GOD TOO DOZES......................................................... 88
Şi Dumnezeu picoteşte ................................................... 89
36. THERE’S NO TELLING .................................................. 90
Ram Krishna Singh
16
Nu ți se spune niciodată ................................................. 92
37. FILTH ........................................................................... 94
Mizerie ............................................................................ 95
38. SMALLNESS ................................................................. 96
Micime ............................................................................ 97
39. ADDICT ........................................................................ 98
Dependent ...................................................................... 99
40. CHANTING WITHIN ................................................... 100
Cânt lăuntric ................................................................. 101
41. DUMB DEITIES .......................................................... 102
Dumnezeu necuvântător .............................................. 103
42. SNAKY PATH ............................................................. 104
Cale șerpuită ................................................................. 105
43. DOWN SYNDROME ................................................... 106
Sindromul Down ........................................................... 107
44. VIRTUAL .................................................................... 108
Virtual ........................................................................... 109
45. DYING MODE ............................................................ 110
Un fel de a muri ............................................................ 111
46. TWILIGHT .................................................................. 112
Crepuscul ...................................................................... 113
47. LET IT GO .................................................................. 114
Uitare ............................................................................ 115
II. POEMS DISCOVERED FROM MY DEOTHANG DIARY:
NATURE, SEX AND LONELINESS ............................................ 117
II. Poezii descoperite în jurnalul meu din Bhutan: natură,
sex şi singurătate .................................................................. 117
1 - 30 ................................................................................. 119
GROWING WITHIN
DESĂVÂRŞIRE LĂUNTRICĂ
17
III. HAIKU SEQUENCES ...................................................... 141
III. Secvențe haiku ................................................................ 141
1. BUDDHA ................................................................... 142
Buddha ......................................................................... 142
2. SILENCE ..................................................................... 145
Tăcere ........................................................................... 145
3. GROWING WITHIN ................................................... 150
Desăvârşire lăuntrică .................................................... 150
4. SHADOW ................................................................... 156
Umbră ........................................................................... 156
5. SUN ........................................................................... 160
Soare ............................................................................. 160
6. POLLUTION ............................................................... 167
Poluare ......................................................................... 167
7. SENSEXUAL ............................................................... 172
Sensexual ...................................................................... 172
IV. TANKA SEQUENCE ....................................................... 183
IV. Secvență tanka ............................................................. 183
1. LOVE: A TANKA SEQUENCE ...................................... 184
Iubirea: O secvență tanka ............................................. 184
V. TANKA ........................................................................... 191
V. Tanka ............................................................................ 191
1 - 44 ................................................................................. 192
VI. HAIKU AND SENRYU ................................................... 213
VI. Haiku şi senryu ............................................................. 213
1 - 184 ............................................................................... 214
ABOUT THE POET ................................................................. 279
Despre poet .......................................................................... 283
I. POEMS
Time wasted on the internet
Growing Within
Desăvârşire lăuntrică
GROWING WITHIN
HAIKU TANKA & OTHER POEMS
Desavarsire launtrica
haiku, tanka şi alte poeme
RAM KRISHNA SINGH
Traducerea din limba engleză:
Alexandra Flora Munteanu
Taner Murat
Anticus Press, Constanța, 2017
Asociația Multiculturală “Anticus”
Editura Anticus Press
Constanța
www.anticusmulticultural.org/press
press@anticusmulticultural.org
ISBN 978-606-94509-2-5
© 2017 Ram Krishna Singh. All rights reserved.
Foto coperta: Naga Sairam
Portretul autorului: Ferodin Iaia
Consilier editorial: Taner Murat
Servind scriitorii
Salvăm patrimoniul
Serving the writers
Saving the heritage
Copyright © 2017
Toate drepturile asupra acestei ediţii sunt rezervate autorului
GROWING WITHIN
DESĂVÂRŞIRE LĂUNTRICĂ
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to
thank the editors of the following journals, zines and anthologies that carried
some of the poems included in this volume:
The
Moon Light of Corea, World
Poetry Yearbook(2014), Season’s Greetings Letter(SGL), 22
Samobor Haiku Meeting, 23 Samobor
Haiku Meeting, 24 Samobor Haiku
Meeting, Syndic Literary Journal,
Nazar Look, Mainichi Daily News, Asahi
Shimbun, Tanka Journal, Kō,
Cholla Needles, Poetcrit,68th Basho Festival Haiku Anthology, Fire Pearls2, Sensexual:
A Unique Anthology, Research, Poetcrit, Cyber Literature, Bridge-in-Making, Conifers Call, Wild Plum, Three Line Poetry, Kernels, Subprimal
Poetry, Poetry Nook, Diogen, Lynx, Protexto, Cultural Cotiporã, Modern Research Studies, Facebook, twitter.com, micropoetry.com,
boloji.com, slideshare.net, dystenium.com, ezinearticles.com, PoemHunter.com, and issuu.com.
PREFACE
I revisited my poems composed during 1974
and 1975 in Deothang (Bhutan) besides
some earlier poems composed in Varanasi, Lucknow and Delhi that now appear mere
finger exercises in expression of romantic sentimentalism, repressed desires
and frustrated passions and instincts. I edited/rewrote some of them in the
form they now appear here. It was indeed
a different experience, altogether different, when I did My Silence (1985) and Music
Must Sound (1990), available in the volumes of my collected poems, My Silence and Other Selected Poems:
1974-1994 (1996) and Sense and
Silence: Collected Poems (2010). Previously unpublished, these ‘older’
poems, that is, the thirty poems
rediscovered from my Deothang diary, have acquired a fresh texture and an
architecture of their own. The poems, as
in the past (cf. Sense and Silence),
appear without a pattern and are untitled though they are numbered for
individual identification.
In fact all the poems
collected in the present volume should read better without their titles—these
were all composed without titles integral to them—even if I have suspended them
with titles to facilitate individual identification. As earlier, I have also reshuffled the time of their composition and
artificially arranged them to create a sort of continuity, be it haiku, tanka
or their sequences, or other shorter compositions that provide snapshots of
daily life, images of nature, sex or loneliness, and my growing within. Hope, readers will appreciate my exploitation
of the medium which expresses my sensibility in interaction with quotidian
phenomena, merging the natural and human.
I am thankful to Mr Taner
Murat for readily agreeing to publish my
newest (seventeenth) collection of poems, with translation into Romanian, under
the Editura StudIS imprint.
Dhanbad,
India R.K.
Singh
September 28, 2017
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................ 7
Mulțumiri .......................................................................... 8
PREFACE ............................................................................... 9
Prefață ............................................................................ 11
I. POEMS ............................................................................ 19
I. Poeme ............................................................................. 19
1. CLEANSING ................................................................. 20
Purificare ........................................................................ 21
2. LIVING IS EMPTYING ................................................... 22
Viața înseamnă secătuire ............................................... 23
3. JURNEYING ................................................................. 24
Călătorind ....................................................................... 25
4. LONELY JOURNEY ....................................................... 26
Călătorie solitară ............................................................ 27
5. WHO SEES ................................................................... 28
Cel ce vede...................................................................... 29
6. REST ............................................................................ 30
Odihnă ............................................................................ 31
7. LIFE EVADES ................................................................ 32
Viața se eschivează ......................................................... 33
8. NO ONE KNOWS ......................................................... 34
Nimeni nu ştie ................................................................ 35
9. POVERTY ..................................................................... 36
Ram Krishna Singh
14
Sărăcie ............................................................................ 37
10. HAZE ........................................................................... 38
Ceață ............................................................................... 39
11. A TRIBUTE ................................................................... 40
Omagiu ........................................................................... 41
12. FRUITY SMELL ............................................................. 42
Miros îmbietor ................................................................ 43
13. VASTU VIHAR - I ......................................................... 44
Vastu Vihar - I ................................................................. 45
14. PATCH ......................................................................... 46
Peticul ............................................................................. 47
15. FIRE ............................................................................. 48
Foc .................................................................................. 49
16. THE LIE’S SHADED ....................................................... 50
Născocirea-i umbrită ...................................................... 51
17. CONFUSED LIBERATION ............................................. 52
Eliberare confuză ............................................................ 53
18. VASTU VIHAR – II ....................................................... 54
Vastu Vihar - II ................................................................ 55
19. GROWING NUDE ........................................................ 56
Crescând fără veşminte .................................................. 57
20. PEACE IN SIN ............................................................... 58
Pacea păcatului .............................................................. 59
21. NUDE DELIGHT........................................................... 60
Desfătarea nudității ........................................................ 61
22. ECHOES HAUNT ......................................................... 62
Ecouri chinuitoare .......................................................... 63
GROWING WITHIN
DESĂVÂRŞIRE LĂUNTRICĂ
15
23. MOTH ......................................................................... 64
Molia ............................................................................... 65
24. ROTTING RIPENESS ..................................................... 66
Răscoacere ..................................................................... 67
25. TURNED OFF .............................................................. 68
Deconectată ................................................................... 69
26. TIDAL SWELL .............................................................. 70
Fluxul mareei .................................................................. 71
27. THE MUD .................................................................... 72
Nămolul .......................................................................... 73
28. LONELINESS TORMENTS THE SOUL ............................ 74
Singurătatea chinuie sufletul .......................................... 75
29. A POEM IS PROPHETIC ................................................ 76
O poezie este profetică .................................................. 77
30. NO, I WON’T ............................................................... 78
Nu, eu nu voi .................................................................. 79
31. KARMIC CHAKRA ........................................................ 80
Chakra Karmică ............................................................... 81
32. WHO CARES? ............................................................. 82
Cui îi pasă? ...................................................................... 83
33. SURVIVAL .................................................................... 84
Supraviețuire .................................................................. 85
34. CHHAT......................................................................... 86
Chhat .............................................................................. 87
35. GOD TOO DOZES......................................................... 88
Şi Dumnezeu picoteşte ................................................... 89
36. THERE’S NO TELLING .................................................. 90
Ram Krishna Singh
16
Nu ți se spune niciodată ................................................. 92
37. FILTH ........................................................................... 94
Mizerie ............................................................................ 95
38. SMALLNESS ................................................................. 96
Micime ............................................................................ 97
39. ADDICT ........................................................................ 98
Dependent ...................................................................... 99
40. CHANTING WITHIN ................................................... 100
Cânt lăuntric ................................................................. 101
41. DUMB DEITIES .......................................................... 102
Dumnezeu necuvântător .............................................. 103
42. SNAKY PATH ............................................................. 104
Cale șerpuită ................................................................. 105
43. DOWN SYNDROME ................................................... 106
Sindromul Down ........................................................... 107
44. VIRTUAL .................................................................... 108
Virtual ........................................................................... 109
45. DYING MODE ............................................................ 110
Un fel de a muri ............................................................ 111
46. TWILIGHT .................................................................. 112
Crepuscul ...................................................................... 113
47. LET IT GO .................................................................. 114
Uitare ............................................................................ 115
II. POEMS DISCOVERED FROM MY DEOTHANG DIARY:
NATURE, SEX AND LONELINESS ............................................ 117
II. Poezii descoperite în jurnalul meu din Bhutan: natură,
sex şi singurătate .................................................................. 117
1 - 30 ................................................................................. 119
GROWING WITHIN
DESĂVÂRŞIRE LĂUNTRICĂ
17
III. HAIKU SEQUENCES ...................................................... 141
III. Secvențe haiku ................................................................ 141
1. BUDDHA ................................................................... 142
Buddha ......................................................................... 142
2. SILENCE ..................................................................... 145
Tăcere ........................................................................... 145
3. GROWING WITHIN ................................................... 150
Desăvârşire lăuntrică .................................................... 150
4. SHADOW ................................................................... 156
Umbră ........................................................................... 156
5. SUN ........................................................................... 160
Soare ............................................................................. 160
6. POLLUTION ............................................................... 167
Poluare ......................................................................... 167
7. SENSEXUAL ............................................................... 172
Sensexual ...................................................................... 172
IV. TANKA SEQUENCE ....................................................... 183
IV. Secvență tanka ............................................................. 183
1. LOVE: A TANKA SEQUENCE ...................................... 184
Iubirea: O secvență tanka ............................................. 184
V. TANKA ........................................................................... 191
V. Tanka ............................................................................ 191
1 - 44 ................................................................................. 192
VI. HAIKU AND SENRYU ................................................... 213
VI. Haiku şi senryu ............................................................. 213
1 - 184 ............................................................................... 214
ABOUT THE POET ................................................................. 279
Despre poet .......................................................................... 283
I. POEMS
1. CLEANSING
I’m no god nor beast
I can’t live alone
can’t sail with the stream
even if foolish
seeking chimeras
imploring in vain
finished relations
link pigs, snakes, monkeys
crowd the pretences
in my head suspend
all formulations
now no more cleansing
spirit viruses
and false oracles
2. LIVING
IS EMPTYING
Living is emptying each day
now frequent forgetting creates
a vacuum in the mind
poetics of decay distresses
my stream of awareness
I try to cross a maze of wires
and fly into soft mottled sky
before the thud one last time
3. JOURNEYING
Journeying
discover the enemies
within
whispers of stillness
amid breathlessness
thank god
he is present
in the empty spaces
and I can return
from the edge
to wholeness
4. LONELY
JOURNEY
The scars of manipulative system
squib through my shrinking genius
no detergent of luck could clean
whatever the prophecy, lunar or
solar revelations, or games
with destiny Saturn and Uranus
phishing my sensitivity
aspiration and spirit degenerate
love, health, sleep,
and contradictions
too many to
resolve at this juncture
for freedom to think, search, create and live
I keep forgetting stray markers
of happiness in a lonely journey,
ignore jokers celebrating
their betrayals, my vulnerability, now
I take each day as it comes not knowing
what really happens tomorrow
5. WHO
SEES
Who sees
bare in bathroom
mirror
months of smudges
poke inside out
from a corner
leaking rainbow
dash of deception
on epilated chest
fading birthmark
6. REST
Tired of the past
being my present
I let go of worry:
await in the spirit
to write off the
interest
paid on trouble
before it’s due
I’m no Job or Daniel
but I do seek their
peace
and rest in sunshine
now
7. LIFE
EVADES
How strange we always
seek to stay high above
the sky
mountains and rivers
obey rules of gravity
in sync with nature
I’m in awe of mysteries
too complex to understand
now back to Bangalore
again I suffer people
stuck, threatened by movement
and life evades as ever
8. NO
ONE KNOWS
No one knows
when the sun will be clouded
or when it will rain
in Ramdhura
women and weather match
the swagger in party
and the daylong hangover
is no poetry:
I feel the foggy rise
from the hills below
and smile at my granddaughter
saying, “It’s stormy
let’s get in”
9. POVERTY
Poverty sneaks
through her wet garment
on the terrace
she talks to herself cursing
the day she was born and left
to negotiate truths
of gender, sex and adulthood
in the middle class
one-room apartment
physical rigmarole
buries sick delight
hope of wellness
fast and Sunday mass
her dispirited heart
sinks into dusk
and darkness eats
into her light
10.
HAZE
Behind the hill the drill goes on
the shooting unmindful of traffic
and children returning from school
for peace beyond quiet Sikkim
the politicians in-fight
with rhetoric of denial for freedom
to Gorkhalis living on the edge
I don’t know how to cheer the mind of time
or walk in the stillness of land
shrouded in haze and struggling sun
11.
A
TRIBUTE
A black ant
pulling the broken wing
of a butterfly
in the portico
of Bodyguard House
on hill top
the scattered cloud
overhead
paying tribute
12.
FRUITY SMELL
A fruit bowl
with an apple and two
overripe bananas
stands on the dining
table
for a sick soul
seeking liberation:
none share his hunger
the smell haunts
burial of desire
in bed silence shakes
pill-induced half-sleep
and dreamless wakeup
13.
VASTU
VIHAR - I
Monday worshippers
invoke Shiv on
loudspeaker
spoiling rainy day:
drizzles splash against
the window panes I await
the first sentence
to preface my memoir
cooling in the drawer
their musical noise distracts
the long cloudy day
depresses my soul
I lounge around inside
cursing cooped up in here
14.
PATCH
Morning air
is so dark here
my breathing is choked:
they say my colleagues
from ISM cleared
the existence of
six coking coal chimneys
for a fee
under the table
the aged earth mocks
the concaving patch
of the sky
15.
FIRE
They know they can’t fight
nor can they play with it
so they switch off
the line and let it spread
swallowing years in streets
blame the sufferers
short-circuit the system
in self-interest
say it contains all
leads gods, humans, elements
annihilating
liberating, recreating
sustaining time, memory, truth
no use awakening
the sleeping mystics
or lamenting the loss of weeds
but seeds if cultivated
can open the Red Sea again
16.
THE LIE’S SHADED
To hell
the sure way
humility
their nectar
radiates heat
body’s smell
doesn’t go
together
fear and hope
hangs time
about the neck
emptiness
the door’s shut
the sun guards the sky
the lie’s shaded
each morning
no use tempting fate
loose coverings
17.
CONFUSED
LIBERATION
Measuring mantra
to the drops falling from the tap
a visitor
to the abode of Khwaja
suffers pushes from the crowd
and remains thirsty:
the khadim promises prayers
Gharib Nawaz feeds the soul
he returns to the sun city
through the highways lost in the dark
thanks God sitting before the image
of Golden Temple
mumbles Baha’i prayers
mahamrityunjay jaap
and Hanuman Chalisa
crowning confused liberation
18.
VASTU
VIHAR – II
My peers may not know
but the maid knows
the holes in my vests:
I grow older
at a faster pace
it matters little
who owns the tree:
forty years in wood
now good to bottle
if one has taste
how sad it’s only
the saw’s drag I hear
and see dust cloud
in Vastu Vihar
florets simply die
19.
GROWING NUDE
Growing nude
the plant sways in the field
and matures
in golden silk
drifts like a bee
in quiet rhythm
the sun sings the flight
and stars stand guard
till beauty plays harlot
with half-open heart
abuses night music
provokes hunger
in every street
the lewd shrines
pucker the lips
without payment
strangers come and go
uprooting seeds
20.
PEACE
IN SIN
I thought I’d locate you
in the dark lonely street
but I myself got lost
mind’s mazy prompts
shocked me into nakedness
I never perceived
the misleading sun
the unreal reflections
the dumb show
dazzle my eyes
shades of terror in alleys
smell of treachery
at the crossroads
the selfish gene’s tarots
of my random choices
in dim blue light
smiling breasts invite
autumn breeze
I chuckle to myself
hearing raps of inverse world
and peace in sin
21.
NUDE
DELIGHT
The coiled divine
renews eternity
in the body’s cells
fed on sensuous sweetness
and moment’s littleness
for years fleshly reign
seemed spirit’s radiance
in the deep pit
now suddenly sparks the itch
for heaven’s nude delight
22.
ECHOES
HAUNT
Sleepy roads
with or without light
tear the sky
I watch the murmur
in the misty darkness
Tao of midnight
tranquil emptiness:
breathing deceptive cold
the echoes haunt
23.
MOTH
I gave you my love
what more do you seek
to enlighten the night
my beloved
let the fire burn
and consume the moth
24.
ROTTING RIPENESS
Watery spots
cover the mirror
hazy image
he wipes
in the shade
can’t hide
the rotting ripeness
blocked off or picked up by sun
resurrect gloom
buried in the face
25.
TURNED
OFF
She’s turned off in bed
the breeze soaks in summer
I hate my odour:
they too can’t stand it in crowd
or alone when they pass by
it reveals the absorbed ills
of years I couldn’t stand
in sun or moon and even
monsoon failed to wash
what sticks on vests or drips down
26.
TIDAL
SWELL
My veins are no ocean
you can’t suck even if
you bury your teeth in my sand
or probe with your tongue
the midnight shadow in bed
now exhausted from your tidal swell
27.
THE MUD
Bones sown in the earth
spring up from the serpent’s mouth:
urchins foster-father
the mud of the Nile is dried
the womb’s moisture is missing
and dreams sleep in juiceless seeds
28.
LONELINESS TORMENTS THE SOUL
Sometimes I may seek your eyes to see
hands to touch or legs to move
but how can I borrow your flesh
and be my own love
a beggar may
feel blessed in your shadow
but it’s insult to suffer
self-pity seeing with other’s eyes
walking with someone else’s legs
and dreaming sexual bliss too
loneliness torments the soul
29.
A
POEM IS PROPHETIC
A poem rests
on brain signals imaged
in words and silence
one decodes with dog sense
smelling twists and turns in rhythm
that turn it prophetic
30.
NO, I WON’T
Depressed mount of sun
and feeble supporting lines—
will I die unknown
left rotting in the sand
and wind oozing foul smell?
I don’t want the sun
to miss my light and blame
the night for writing
the fate with wintry fingers
licking the legs of scarecrow
they can’t close their eyes
to the images I brew
for burying secrets
against a dusty mirror
against God’s hidden errors
31.
KARMIC CHAKRA
Post-retirement
awakens inner spirit:
karmic chakra
from sexual loneliness
to insecurities turn
inner fears into
faith cross-legging prayers
climaxing love
visionary hope, wisdom
narrative of helplessness
32.
WHO
CARES?
It’s too much to pass
time in a military station
no company and
no one to talk to
amid noises in the sky
day in and day out
remind my status:
an outsider in son’s home
drinking beer or wine
for a change when free
he would unburden the load
share retirement plans
forgetting I’ve grown
older each passing year
need care, but who cares?
33.
SURVIVAL
The trees are taller than my height
the lips osculate in their shade
I enjoy the wind that shakes them
or undresses my sleepless nights
wrapped in shawl without mirrors of stars:
I survive the missing moon’s light
34.
CHHAT*
They light crackers
from early dawn to welcome
the Chhat
sunrise:
half-wet women stand in the pond
to offer arghya
to the first rays
*A
religious festival characterized by three-day fast to worship the setting sun
and the rising sun standing in water.
35.
GOD TOO DOZES
It was too late
I realized
long after his passing
I still prayed for my father
God didn’t answer
my prayers had become mechanical
like sex
ejaculation without orgasm
and pilled sleep.
The itch prevails.
The tags in the mind
don’t respond:
absent memories
confused faith
forgetting
faster than remembering
in moments of lapse
God too dozes
36.
HUNGER
Because I couldn’t enter
her life of lies I failed
my own instinct, now blame
hunger made attractive
within the campus walls
truth remains shadowy
until one climbs into
her skin and gropes the concealed
the body speaks strangely
and slowly for the act
even if it’s not done
through rise, fall and climax
in the twilight glimmer
crevices and corners
when robed in night one senses
light of dawning silence
37.
THERE’S NO TELLING
There’s no telling what lies ahead but they tell:
reveal
wondrous secrets of my life
opportunity of a lifetime to trigger a positive time
a
crucial day to realize my lifelong dream
and money and happiness I deserve
later
is often too late
hawks circle overhead looking for prey:
they
prophesy with sum attached or interests at stake
capitalize on greed and dream
tempt
carnal passion with divine desire
the
chakra of allurements, loss and gain
a
prophet tells me my mind devours the future
I
believe the lies it tells me
the
insanely powerful full ‘wolf’ moon of the numerologist
took
over the sky last night
the
‘stellium’ of planets couldn’t help me unlock my self-direction
or
release of energy, freedom or discovery
and
today, Friday, the thirteenth, the ‘blessed day’ for fortunate few
as a
spirit-medium tells, but nothing happens
I’m yet to know who I am or what I’m destined to be
38.
FILTH
There they play games
in the open ground
unmindful of the filth
piled over the years
defying the PM’s plan
to clean India
and remain ruler
for two more terms
39.
SMALLNESS
I live in a crowd of fakes
smallness rises with age
my mind has ceased to think
new metaphors hardly happen
hunger keeps me awake all night
I mitigate minginess
the inner lives emptied
and filled with fresh stresses
too many fault lines run through
to make sense of the divide
my passion itches and prompts
I nuzzle the virtual too
it’s the same virus aground
the same hackers that hurt
the vigour and rigour of
the new, left, or pushed behind
whatever the remedy
wounds take deaths to heal
40.
LUXURY
The framed-in-glass paper goddess
watches me pee in the one-room apartment
Vastu experts blame for bad luck
they defecate or rape hundreds
in the open no god sees and none find fault:
cons love luxury of advice
41.
ADDICT
Along the wall
crouching in wrinkled shawl
an opium addict
dodges his mother waiting
with dinner in the kitchen
his peddler friend
sets afire a bike parked there
for the money due:
the police refuse action
for want of evidence
42.
CHANTING WITHIN
Hours of silence
and a lot of walks:
no facile words
no touchiness
no paranoia
no pilgrimage
but chanting within
through the declining day
the inner acoustics
on a hilltop
no cloudy incantation:
gasp for nirvana
43.
ANGELIC MAGIC
Luck awaits me
if I could buy it from
her miracle stores
she gives me three dates
for her call to reach
the higher cosmic forces
she dreams me stand
in the middle of a
tree-lined park
against saffron
flowers
flashes of light focus
on my serene face
the shower of gold tempts
a being of light descends
I’m offered a new life
divine abundance
defeat of enemies
and stream of love
if I could pay
for her rituals of
angelic magic
44.
DUMB DEITIES
The deities are dumb
so they speak
louder and louder
vie with each other
for godhood
descend from mosque-top
to Supreme Court
now await
resurrection
45.
SNAKY PATH
The path to the mastoid mountain is snaky
the women you meet are not fucking material
you can’t grab the
sun shining in their hair
they’re cool, hell-strong, know well how to take
care of their wood
so same some charm within the lust-house of your
heart
and enjoy the gathering clouds ready to rain
before you cross the distances
or strip naked in the sticks
or write poems on stretches of free way
or make deal with the devil at every turn
be wary of the emptiness ahead
46.
DOWN SYNDROME
Memory over-rides time
for metaphors of what never happened
the exclusivity they preach
with new posters dirty the hands
I don’t know how to disable
their Down Syndrome in
populist belly
47.
VIRTUAL
Time wasted on the internet
watching the unreachable so much
colored sirens now haunt the beaches
in moonlight in the mind impeach
dreams that degenerate age in spring
fall seems the norm in real world
48.
DYING MODE
What can I do
if a paper or earthen
image sees my sex
or sexact in light or dark—
my senses are my gods
and drive me to my ends
day in and day out prove
how human we are
managing mind, motive
spirit and elements
in limited overs
in a dying mode
49.
TWILIGHT
Visible
in the dead of night
the sniffing nose
of a white hairy dog
I wake up with a start:
stretch my arm to feel
for her
but she isn’t there
perhaps unmindful of me
sleeping in the other
room
or thinking I’m talking
in sleep as I often do
straight off I call out
again
like the star
that it might cease to shine
unless the sun lends
its light
it dissolves in its own
shade
I retire in twinkling
twilight
50.
SNAKE IN SEA
Sin-maker or sin-eater
both author the snake in sea
swimming unending love waves
in colors that cloud the eyes:
bodies of desire float up
passion, dream and infinite
51.
LET IT GO
Silent gaze of
paper deities
from the little temple
in a corner in bedroom
fills me with hope:
anything may happen any
time
despite uncertainty
unending jealousy
or tragedy in life
I look for grace within
contemplating the
unsaid
in the rhymes of rogues
and heroes
I’m not afraid of
the body in crumbled
soil
there’s always another
chance
to re-form my own
present
re-write another
half-page
in drunken oblivion
God is going to let it
go
I.
POEMS DISCOVERED
FROM MY DEOTHANG
DIARY: NATURE, SEX AND LONELINESS
1
Sky frozen
all around life shivers:
autumn gloom
2
The narrow path teems
with creepers both sides waving—
trees grow within trees
3
Smiling women
too conspiring to understand—
alien tongue
4
There is no tree
over the mountain
I rest under the shade
of a wandering cloud
5
Celebrating
in the guttural grave
shadow’s bodiness
6
Meeting at night
she chuckles and looks
a witch
7
Reconcile
inner jerks in the train
homeward
8
Near the railway track
she squats with hands on the knees
and hides her parts
in half-dark the naked truth
transforms nature into nude
9
In the cathedral of night
over-run by sex-bugs
he’s turned a zombie
to write verse with one hand
and rub flesh with the other
10
Tongue of death
in my temple
flagellation of Christ—
nudes couple in the mind
Titan, Renoir, Francesca
Botticelli and all
11
Falling shadows mock
my impotence,
curse me
for standing alone
like a Christ on the pavement
begging for crucifixion
12
Man is an animal
with a peculiar smell
thought Bertolt Brecht
she says she hates the smell
I know man as man
is hardly seen
13
Severed from the tree
he sways like a leaf kicked
by storm in a forest
wanders alone to create
meaningful poetry
parallel to freedom
to end despotism
of the New Right
14
Civilization hasn’t spared the caves
man suffers in the hands of parasites
here too those who work often go without food
15
One upon the other
hollow mounts
crack and shatter
on the aged paths
stray dogs bark
who cares
whether
we breathe fog or air
where we embark
only shades prevail
16
Who’s there that doesn’t drink
the cocktail of sin and repentance
trumpets don’t awake
the blind
saint and angel
inveigled into sin
I await my turn
to enter the lake of fire
17
While I sit still
how my shadow moves—
the little flame of candle
tossing against the wind
or wheedling passion nestles
in the grey of mound
18
Stands a lone tree
in the wild wind and rain
hoping miracle
19
Float over the hill
the autumn circles of smoke—
her long hair streaming
20
A lively darkness
of moistened cavern—
her mysterious hole
21
In labour’s colony
she is coupled
whole night and gets
abused and flogged
in the morning
lover turns ruffian
on blue black sheet
stains dry up by
the body’s heat
22
Images cry out
from the broken mirror
sounds invade
in the evening before
the drink is freshened
I turn a bohemian
23
There he sits downcast
unaware of
tomorrow
or where he’ll go
here they carouse and sing
affirming the callous
way of the world
24
Sex-torn women
half-live with murdered desires
weaving dreams of flesh
in Deothang their fingers lean
on looms with newer tales
25
He looks intently and chews
her flesh before she feels
the oily warmth and bursts
her naked anger he fails
to do down in the bamboo rustles
the rock slips and he balls up
his own tangled game
26
The wine of love swells
in my vessel dark shadows
recede human dirt
between sound and silence greets
the joy and bliss of spirit
27
When I see your wet beauty
your body after the bath
when you wring out your saree
you twist my heart
I yen to enfold you back
in my ribs, I envy god
28
Darkness overwhelms
desires don’t let me sleep:
sin of solitude
29
I open the window
of my new house and count
small houses in the valley
mules and horses graze
without a shepherd
the wind howls and the sun is down
the curves all around invisible
in the widening dark twinkles
the top of the house of god
30
Journeying I
have seen the pale shades of life
hollow faces of men, women and children and met
many an oral sympathizer who talk
and praise before me and abuse behind
I’ve seen so much of their epileptic love and known
so much of their
tricks I’m tired of my friends
in this market everyone is cheating and trying to
get all giving nothing
here I see the empty barrels scattered
the pox of the land
I see the fools flourishing and the righteous
suffering
I see the beasts moving in the lungs of India
stained by the blackness of birth
the noble and the simple uproot
in the dark star of the twilight spirit is poisoned
and despair has led millions to dig the earth
what treasure is hidden in the grave of man
I see many with eyes shut and heads cocked towards
the sky but wonder
what candle of prayer they kindle
what fire they consume by the breath of their
nostrils
what image they see what
voice they hear
what dwells in their
houses of clay
in the bulging belly of the earth I feel
the hidden pain of humanity
marooned in the web of the hypocrites here
the pillars of society suck the blood of man
and the swine makes the land desolate
I know what flame is spread out
man survives on the rubbish of ages
and sheathing leaves cover the graveyard I see
the sepulchral sadness in every home
man has lost his coat
deception shines in every eye and every institution
seems a hoax
the dodging crowd on the road and the growling of
the traffic upsets
the order and a wind of distrust blows all around
human relation is reduced to mere fear and passion
and humanity bears the burns of acid
scars crown every head I see
man raping himself
I go by him and he does not see
I shake his hand and he does not feel
I speak and he does not hear
my fellow brother does not feel my existence
my own soul abhors my body
my body doesn’t know my soul
here light is darkness
here life is dried
like the eagle time hastes to the prey
I cry but no one hears
II.
HAIKU SEQUENCES
1.
BUDDHA
Hanging
door protector—
Buddha
Buddha’s portrait
inside Bodyguard House
haiku silence
seeks Buddha’s stone bowl
to win the bamboo princess:
she dwells on moon beams
tears invisible
on his water face
Buddha meditates
he meditates
sees vision of Buddha
weeping for us
dark and bright
hue of homey inn—
Buddha’s smile
blinding fog
and cloud of darkness—
Buddha’s light
peace in silence
of the heart and body’s cells:
Buddha’s calm
2.
SILENCE
The blue-white dapples
on the canvas seeing
the eye of silence
sea-side silence
the mind’s inner passage:
self-shadow in moon
I know waves that roar
I live through silence of shore:
the sea grows in me
drifting
in the night’s silence
moon’s shadow
lost in fog
the full moon wanders:
silent sky
her silence
sounds dead in mind-fire:
tongue in ash
her eyes flashing
mist of eternal joy:
quiet after crying
in a glass house
nobody knows anyone—
silent suffering
the night’s silence—
with disturbed sleep
writing haiku
the night rains
pattering on the roof
owlish silence
after the snow
buried in silence
mastoid mountain
birds crouch in nests
along the snow clad path—
wheezing silence
with weight of dews
tendrils of pea plants nutate
breezy silence
inciting
her sexy silence—
cell phone rings
deep into silence
can’t celebrate yoni
again and again
journeying try
to raise my silence
to prayer
3.
GROWING WITHIN
Withdrawn within
sensing infinity:
an island
wingless flight
in retired solitude—
sadhana
retire within
become an island
chasing mirage
a quiet turning in
to partake of her silence:
roaring ocean
foam-maned waves
rise in the mind’s hush:
sinking dome
watching
the darkness between the stars
enlightenment
a waving flame
measures the heaven’s breath
rings of light widen
swaying on one stem
so many lotuses—
beatitude
a vague smile
in moonless cave:
tempting silence
her wrinkled fingers
on the rudraksh rosary—
Buddha Purnima
they come together
as themselves within themselves—
love’s silence
on the river’s bank
his soul is lighted for peace—
lantern in the sky
flowing darkness
consumes the shadow of shadows—
midnight sensation
a graduate girl
chops off her tongue for Kali—
dream fulfillment
from the ruins
rises a mute flame:
heaven’s song
receding crowd
from the street fair—
Jesus in the eyes
too many gods
and so few flowers
whom to
please?
Living again
fountain on hill top—
divine light
in silence
one with the divine will
growing within
4.
SHADOW
Shortening shadow
of the window in my room—
time to wind up work
going alone
an empty shadow
in the mall
steering wheels talk
in the middle of the road
a curved silhouette
they all walk
like shadows in night
for themselves
raising the glass
to invite the lone moon—
silent shadow
between the lips
shadow of her tea:
lingering taste
seeing my shadow
three fish in the pond look
for a safe corner
vanishes faster
than the twinkling of an eye
an eagle’s shadow
shadows waver
in the dewy grass—
butterfly
leaves make face
from the netted window—
shadows in morning
moving shadows
on the door curtain—
sinking sun
stands between
the shadow and the soul
Neruda
5.
SUN
A red globe
rises at dawn:
waving corn
hear in the slow
light-footed arrival of sun
sound of silence
sunlight
behind the temple
cloud’s edge
slowly rising
from the clouds edges
autumn sun
rises drowsily
after a sleepless night
a sick sun
short lives the sun
in the smoggy morning:
birthday visit
safe from sun
under nascent leaf
a gold fish
lonely sunrise—
a butterfly flutters round
a dead marigold
mooching about
a rose petal in the sun—
a butterfly
autumn leaves
mount on each other—
sun’s dullness
before the window
asoka stands erect—
lean sun and shade
a mild sun
blooms to keep alive
the first rose
the morning sun
fondling with tender fingers
the red rose
scorching sun
pink roses turn brown:
early March
patches of shade
under a bare tree
wintry sun
an aged toad
awaiting sunrise—
damp grass
wintry morning sun
lost in a layer of fog
shells of broken eggs
sun from the window
fluorescent light from the wall—
dusky face
looking for a prey
a snake slides through the fence:
warmth of the sun
stands in sun
to dry her damp drawers
my neighbour
they sculpture psyche
in the city of dumb dreams:
idols sweat in sun
the sun rolls
on the waving Ganges—
whitens love-hope
6.
POLLUTION
Dusts settle
on the rising creepers
flowers grey
air too heavy
with coal dust from chimneys—
the park too chokes
undecided
to walk or not to walk—
evening black with dust
evening walk
stones prick in my shoe—
graveled path
dust and gas
life stuck in one room—
Bangalore
fresh air
more expensive—
fine dust thicken
aggrieved air
allergic patient
room freshener
passing the lake
in blackish reflection
a coal-miner
stench of burning leaves
mounts with smoke in the evening:
asthmatic breathing
morning’s foul smell
the birds too change their tones:
sewage treatment
squatting
in the middle of the field
a woman with child
they squat to ease
along the railway track—
transistors sing
bathing buffalo
in the pond
our milkman
turns black
before merging into sea
the Ganga
7.
SENSEXUAL
Tending the hooks
she blushes to see
the line of jewels
the half moon
on her back reminds of love
before departure
a thin moon
on her neck hides love
in silk gauge
noon sun—
yellow blouse
on her wet back
under white light
dressing off her shoulders
musky scent up
bedside altar
smell of her hair:
dreams light up
her smile
arrival of spring
at the bower
her eyes flash in dark
the eel slides into her cave
I watch the mirror
she hides the mirror
with rose and lipstick
and keeps her fiction
transparent
in her red saree
she tiptoes
awaiting
the taste of her
on my tongue
trying to reach
through the twists and curves
the lips in the crotch
icy bed:
moving the pillow
closer to hers
dim blue light
smiling breasts invite
fiery moon
in naked dress
she plays hide and seek—
sizzling summer
undressing explores
underwear and the erotic:
one more nude selfie
tangle together
flames of a double lamp
on the terrace
lying in her nightie
she wipes the stray rain drops
settled on her cheeks
I see a finger
point to the eye in her breast
mist lingers on lips
vaginal entrance
the scent of her soul
cloistered darkness
her muscles
tighten up and the toes curl:
ecstasy
with fearing finger
touches her to reach the clit
slides…soft…hard…slow…fast
making love
hands clasped and head hung
prayer in bed
after the tumble
buried between the sheets
leftover passion
seeing her naked
fuses logos and eros—
a fresh senryu
she departs
leaving behind her clothes
over mine
searches her bra
in the pile of night clothes—
sun warming
staring at dried
stains of the last night’s act
drenched in shower
crushed bed sheet
the same as
months ago
on her back
writes with hair a light poem--
weight of love
clings to the body
her wet red saree—
waving wrinkles
the perfume
from her arm pit—
yoga
bedside—
our night clothes
await washing
unforgettable
oneness of our body:
lifetime fire
IV. TANKA SEQUENCE
1.
LOVE: A TANKA SEQUENCE
On the roof top
she waits for her man with
moon cake and
lantern:
a flash of silver showers
on the mist-shrouded figure
raising
her hard drink
heavenward:
to my man, lover of
animals, soft in sex
she stoops low
to the bottom shelf
in black jeans
her curves flattering and
red lace groping her hips
a tress of hair
she drops over the mole
on her forehead
thinking it’s ugly and
hides her own gazelle eyes
the beads of sweat
on her breasts do not touch
her years or face
in candle light her shadow
is more restrained than my thought
shaped like a bird
a drop of water lands
on her breast:
my breath jumps to kiss it
before her pelvic flick
it’s not ageing
but eternal delight:
she under me
smooth belly, nude necking
slow stroking parting flesh
I love her undress
the light with eyes that spring
passion with kisses
she leaves her name again
for my breath to pass through
she undresses in
dim light perfumes her body
fills room with herself:
we hit the hay together
drowning in each other
the chilly twilight—
tossing leaves and branches
tell of the wind
before sunrise she and I
cross-legged, cling to each other
making love
she tastes the salt
upon my shoulder
in the afternoon I pound
like surf into her flesh
the wind lifts
her curved nudity hidden
in the water curtain:
I touch the strings that whisper
love in each falling drop
a happier image
with salubrious top
turns rapturous
as she tamps her love
with watery lipstick
love’s spirit descends
and melds into her body
lending it new life:
I’m amazed how the unknown
becomes one with her beauty
V.
TANKA
1
After a long walk
he takes a peeled, sliced apple
with whiskey watching
muddy debates on TV
anchors vulgarize
2
He doesn’t drink water
for the disgusting things
fish do in it
but enjoys fishing and frying
the catch at riverside
3
Growing sugarcane
naked eucalyptus guard
view from running train
in Western U.P. closed mills
await men from rum factory
4
A group of drivers
pee in the car parking space
stinking secrets
in bits and pieces relive
their
masters’ profanity
5
The snail of traffic
near red light bikes zig-zag
on broken footpaths
at Bannerghatta Road
pedestrians seek safe refuge
6
I hate fakery
and phony academics
out to win spurs through
lies and lowness at the helm
bully and yet complain
7
Their minds
hallowed in borrowed sun
joyous in hate
celebrate emptiness
of the pimp’s asshole
8
Searching mosquitoes
that hide with my blood in their
swollen bellies and
make sleep desert my eyes
ever in need of peace
9
The lane to temple
through foul drain, dust and mud:
black back of
Saturn
in a locked enclosure
a harassed devotee
10
Choking air
in a walled colony:
two tired pigeons
perch on overhead tank
whisper pity on us
11
Yellow peepal
stands between me and
rising sun:
Saturn too not pleased
with unwatered spring
12
Stars on the earth
these glow-worms I want to clasp
into hands and
offer to God as flowers
of my first obeisance
13
To avoid nagging
he gulps down pegs and pretends
everything’s normal:
keeping the mouth shut, hiding
whiskeyed breath, and meditating
14
Still drowsy
after a tea
sleepy sun
in the courtyard
smell of night queen
15
The mind creates
withdrawn to its own pleasures
a green thought
behind the banyan tree
behind the flickering lust
16
Her one night stand
my first and last
still tastes in my mouth:
the night melted into us
the dawn shyly said goodbye
17
Weaving no web
a dark fishing spider
mates in the creek
and curls up hanging from the twat
in one-shot deal
18
On the wall
the window grill’s shadow:
midnight pain
overwhelming touches
indifferent after-taste
19
Age seems to stop
for a while in sex act
a running horse
erect and heavenly
white as a lightning
20
Seeking shelter
under the golden wings
of angel Michael
a prayer away now
whispers the moon in cloud
21
Little candles fail
to illumine the deity
or golden dome
in the valley darkness reigns
and god too awaits light
22
Striving hard to feel
the image of spring again
the whole body blooms
love gently and silently
revives the final flame
23
The mirror swallowed
my footprints on the shore
I couldn’t blame the waves
the geese kept flying over the head
the shadows kept moving afar
24
Each night
peace is taken away
by my father’s shrieks
and our useless effort
to calm down frayed worries
25
Browsing old haiku
in the shade of a tree
he munches the moon
through a pouch of cashew
beery songs and half-clad girls
26
The god fire
in the soul forces back
my secret fall
I feel the retarding weight
in the fate’s deadly turn
27
Helpless like a child
I cry but there’s no mother—
my pain turns monstrous
on a hilly bed I lie
aged burden but who cares
28
I thought I would make
tea for her but she was sleeping
I didn’t wake up
our back faced each other
once again cold birthday
29
She knows well
Vastu Vihar is too small
but not bad for two:
we can never be at home
in the house of our son
30
My thinning hairs
wave in the bath tub
clog the drain
with soap bubbles deride
my baldness
31
Unmindful of her
body’s joy the ascetic
absorbed in vision
or communion with muse
I feel ripples of fire
32
Visits unannounced
the bodiless god of love—
sweeping the earth and
decking the street with kolam
one more bride, one more wedding
33
Under the marble
none see the skeleton
ants squeeze in dark:
they die unmourned
no ritual, no prayer
34
Watching with tea
a row of ants coming
to taste the drop
on the marble floor
mopped a minute ago
35
Lands a brown leaf
between the banana and
mouth of stone monkey
seated at the swimming pool
children wait to jump into
36
Stunt on the bike
against high speed traffic:
two young lovers
unmindful of parents
cursing craze for selfie
37
In the mirror
am I I, or different
pieces of puzzle
come together with God
in me becoming truth?
38
Depressed mount of sun
and feeble supporting lines—
will I die unknown
left rotting in the sand
and the wind oozing foul smell?
39
Island of rubbish
home to cows, mosquitoes
and homeless mothers
speak wordlessly
passersby
unzip to ease and move
40
Nothing new
in tomorrow’s sun:
year’s last day
too passes off like each day
nothing is amazing
41
Not much fun
cold night, asthmatic cough
and lonely Christmas:
no quiet place within
no fresh start for the New Year
42
The vacation ends
with a tiring sleepless night—
summer solstice
no use telling myself again
things would change this time next year
43
Dreams puzzling
smallness of waking
I can’t live
the child’s circumcision
promise of happiness
44
The tenuity
of her story like hearing
my own confession
without the priest I wonder
if I know my true voice
VI. HAIKU AND
SENRYU
1
Morning glory
fading in a few hours—
splendors of day-star
2
a dew drop
on the edge of the leaf—
the wind shakes
3
midnight downpour
now only a whisper
and toss of trees
4
turn into river
non-existing roads:
hudhud waves
5
a lone sparrow
atop the naked branch
viewing sunset
6
a fish tail
dried up in river mud:
burning smell
7
mangoes shrink
on the tree—
heat wave
8
branches swing
the pre-monsoon rain:
ripe mangoes
9
a scarecrow
abandoned in the field
fractured head
10
drops await
a draught of wind
on the railing
11
ready to burst
over the cracked window
panes
darkening clouds
12
removing
faded flowers from
deities:
new morning
13
cyclonic rain
mating with the rising
waves—
deserted beach
14
the peepal in pot
worshipped each
Saturday:
phailin in backyard
15
from the peepal
swirling raindrops—
palms open
16
fresh flowers
before paper deities:
Navratri
17
incense stick smoke
before the paper
goddess:
Durga puja
18
trespassing to pluck
the only hibiscus—
a morning walker
19
icy fish
laced with blood
spices smell
20
warming together
on a ceiling fan’s arm
two pigeons
21
sitting quietly
on a packet of sweets
a cockroach in the
fridge
22
tastes a rose
a blue butterfly—
nimble feet
23
fingers feel
decaying fireflies
in night lights
24
houses hidden
among the tall pine trees—
narrow valley
25
the window opens
to the Kanchanjungha
peak—
snow lines sparkle
26
hidden behind clouds
the peak of
Kanchanjungha—
relax at Munsong
27
await wind to move
clouds densing over the
hill—
bottoms up
28
lonely hill top
looking for levity—
full moon
29
westerly wind
strikes the window pane
with rain—
flood in bedroom
30
stars twinkling
the beetle’s path
from manure
31
hiding the moon
a hedgehog in backyard—
winter night
32
a frog
bullied into the hedge:
snake’s breakfast
33
awaiting their turn
at the muddy pool
piglets with mother
34
restless birds
chirping on neem tree
midnight chill
35
super moon:
the western horizon
still crimson
36
welcoming spring
blue bells in Burrows
Lea
spirit heals
37
drinking sea
sand on the shore:
moon waves
38
the woodpecker
still looking for the
neem tree:
Type VI/4
39
on the road
an injured toad—
onlookers
40
watching dogs
frolicking in the park—
jaded couples
41
crowded streets
moving among the years
wretched faces
42
from behind the
grill
bows to the
setting sun
a man in wheel
chair
43
making water
he turns his
face to me—
ISM
44
wheezing his way
to Shiva’s hilly
abode
a young miner
45
knee-deep in the
pond
awaits fresh catch
to buy milk
for the new-born
46
the cracked
floor tiles
new for an
ageing church:
son of man still
dwells
47
hypnotized
into deep sleep—
nothingness
48
sudden downpour
noisy trucks at
midnight
crowded
footbridge
49
rushing back
home
with
half-bloomed hibiscus:
morning rain
50
watching the
moon
rise from the
old balcony—
Guru Purnima
51
evening sky:
a pale moon behind
listless trees
52
potholes :
spots of sunshine
wobble
53
seeking refuge
on the wings of wind
scattered petals
54
a sleeping snake
curled between the
eggs—
layers of leaves
55
lying listless
on withered creeper
a golden bird
56
chasing each other
in the by-lane
two birds
57
a drop embedded
in the half-opened bud—
winter morning
58
full moon eclipse—
every thing dark,
unknown
yet filled with light
59
dusky backyard
crowded parrots’
shrieks
autumn onset
60
dragon cloud
burst into cool rain:
afternoon
61
a short drizzle
stony scent of
petrichor—
vastu vihar
62
sudden downpour
seek shelter on the
roadside
hapless pedestrians
63
morning view:
the zigzag on my palms
muddy pathway
64
watery sky:
I fear growing roots
in foreign land
65
with fear of puke
driving through snaky
road—
viva voce
66
two cranes stand
in the mid of the paddy
field—
laughing scarecrow
67
looking for fish
a Siberian crane
in a lotus pond
68
the sky
without a shadow
on the earth
69
locked in a cave
the goddess
in dim light
70
moonlight
wrapped in cloudy
sheet—
nudity
71
aged redwood
watching rise of venus—
itch for sex
72
no liberation
unless born as a male:
her earthy smell
73
solitude:
elopes to tie the knot
super moon
74
two bodies
sweating together—
sultry bed
75
mosquito bite
in the middle of sex act
breaking climax
76
tattoos crack
the epilated chest—
mole on the back
77
who sees
bare in bathroom
mirror
78
touching her tattoo
in the darkness of
mirror
moon from the window
79
yielding
just to please
a quickie
80
from the wall
watching stressed sex
paper Shiva
81
one more plateau
to negotiate lapses:
her cold lashes
82
in the bath
bare soul together—
afterglow
83
she smiles
sex in the eyes:
Eve Enseler
84
flames rise
their colored faces—
full moon
85
a poem
in your beauty
light of love
86
caress and kisses
relishing the
aftertaste—
post lunch quickie
87
the morning dews
touch the hem of her
skirt:
flight of first love
88
her veil
hides the face
love too
89
her name
written on the sand:
a wave breaks
90
hidden
behind the pillar
her half face
91
her face
beautiful like sin—
shyness
92
her feet
after the water yoga
drying in sand
93
wet in sweat
from her underarms
perfume
94
reading tweets
mixed with porn teens:
yoga pants
95
unable to map
on the face where her
pain ends
and mine begins
96
unresolved
hurts of years--
longer nights
97
maturing like wine
her feminine figure
jumps
my ageing fullness
98
spread on the white sheet
fragments of my sin
deride
tainted threshold
99
my white moustache
irks her each day—
turned off in bed
100
in the backyard
wife collects unripe
mangoes
husband flying papers
101
without hum
a mosquito lands
on my back
102
two of us
flying between the
clouds—
dragons await
103
softness of wind
magic in her nearness
sleight of hand
104
end of festival:
I stop by her haiku
on twitter.com
105
erotica and
some wish list under
the bed—
spring cleaning
106
brightness of the moon
the same as when tied
the knot—
61st new
year
107
excuses
the slow offence—
her first date
108
cloning miracles
with the night’s
discharge
in condoms
109
etched on her skin
a ghost rises from the
flames:
fighting one more day
110
shade of her lips
between the cup and
saucer—
lingering taste
111
feeling one with
water in cupped hands:
Diogenes
112
not alone
in midnight misery:
Easter season
113
awake whole night
no angel cares to
watch—
frosty morning
114
a fading rose
lies with weeds between
stones—
valentine day
115
a girl
between the railway
tracks
swings her pony tail
116
a toddler
trying to stand up by
the pram—
young mother watches
117
a teenager
glides past me on
roller blades
her long hair flows
118
sudden downpour—
waiting in sun for son
with umbrella
119
my umbrella
seen many rains
now sagging
120
travels in lift
from second floor to
ground
a butterfly
121
crowded waiting hall
fleshly warmth with
smelly clothes:
midnight train still
late
122
in disguise
more confident and sexy--
a bully
123
non-stop train
confining me to Facebook—
depression
124
virtual flirting
untamed straggly
bushes—
dystopia
125
the sunrise
knocks with song of
praise:
hold my tongue
126
on the lamp post
two pigeons talk about
loneliness in my son’s
house
127
sweltering heat
frequent power failure:
neighbours shout
128
between the lantern
and the smart phone
a pizza-eating girl
129
maid’s arrival
morning irritation
noisy utensils
130
the maid
leaves behind a smell:
sneezing
131
fruity smell
from the bowl on the
table:
late sunrise
132
fully filled
the trashcan in
kitchen:
stuck in lack
133
smell of fish
in his apple juice
bottle—
costermonger
134
Holi songs
unwilling listeners
in the park
135
piddling on the wall
he makes a map and
laughs in
the policeman’s face
136
head lifted up
the wayside brook—
traveler
137
touching my head
a curved arm of the
tree—
over-ripe mango
138
in the study
the scent of mangoes
riping—
children yet to come
139
unashamed my son
sits tight over his
trousers—
smiling mother
140
November—
moths rising from
nowhere:
Diwali lights
141
carrying the tomb
of unburied days:
new year
142
Arab spring—
tending death and roses
a short bloom
143
lost in slogans
sounds of life and
smell
devils workshop
144
a soldier
fighting the war
night inside
145
counting
the day’s passage
sleeping pill
146
bamboo grove—
hearing whispers of
liquid dream
147
start of the morning
painless anal bleeding
empty prayers
148
dead roots:
how swiftly the tooth
falls
making me older
149
dust-covered deities
in my aged father’s
room:
nebulization
150
icy coldness
knives my being in bed—
scorpions
151
reading future
in the urinal bowl—
forked urine
152
clouded super moon
and unseen shooting
stars—
how to make a wish
153
their racist talk
at the dining table—
stale beer
154
nowhere to go
each night at PC
wrinkled map
155
with failed words
seek immortality
write haiku
156
late night sleep
no lotus in the dream—
Chinese garden
157
tea festival—
revival of wishes
made months ago
158
empty hangers
clatter in the
wardrobe:
old bridal dress
159
drying on clothesline
teacher’s bras and
panties:
classroom windows
160
smelly sweat
in the new exam hall
two girls talk
161
on the wall
unmoving fan in the
class
sweating talk
162
in the shade
talking haiku
to a schmo
163
with her back to us
she teaches us ‘in
front of’—
her snaky hair moves
164
squeezing water
out of a rock—
R.K. Singh
165
drifting between
my eyes and the moon
floaters
166
crowded sea-side
searching space to
stand
my daughter and I
167
3-year old
asking name of changing
shapes
in the sky
168
killing flies
with empty envelope—
muddy drain
169
evening walk
near the woodland path:
spiny friend
170
living life’s routine
cycled in infinite loop
feel so limited
171
searching mother
in the thickening dark:
a tree stands
172
fractured glass
fixed on the window:
blurred vision
173
pulsing
but still missing
his left leg
174
flooded river
half-drowned in a boat
going to work
175
sips alone
in the portico
honey tea
176
birthday party
in chilly December—
sore throat
177
more refreshing
the day’s haiku with tea—
The
Mainichi
178
climbing stairs
the books unread for
years
lumbar pain again
179
nagging lumbar pain—
who cares less monsoon
in June
six months more to work
180
shifting years’ load
away to the new
building—
choking scholarship
181
under the bed
spiders’ network—
sabbatical
182
waking up
to the barking of
street dogs
183
dead skin
sits on my face
ashy look
184
a stray cock guards
the house in my
absence:
neighbor’s free grub
185
mosque’s dome
lower than mobile
towers:
weaker God’s signal
186
in the wee hours
a short brush with
death—
now resurrection
187
my inner powers
she seeks money to
liberate:
full moon
188
post-dinner walk
bare foot on the grass
dew drops in moon
189
apparitions
of lonely summer night—
crooning in street
190
sipping coffee
at a wayside stall
cockroaches too
191
prayer book
covering the glass—
his last drink
192
hunger haunts
a pavement dweller—
Christmas again
193
mist in the eyes
her back on the chair—
a wry smile
194
her cooking skill
lingering taste of
biryani—
my birthday lunch
195
crack in the mine:
a traceless tipper
driver
wailing father
196
they cover the face
and hide in a corner:
picnic in the park
197
the black idol waits
for worshippers to
visit:
unbloomed hibiscus
198
filthy rags
leaves fade in the
backyard—
the clay’s drying up
199
resting in
the cleft of the rock
honey bees
200
bloom together
two yellow roses—
spring in the lane
ABOUT THE POET
Ram
Krishna Singh, born, brought up and educated in
Varanasi, is a retired university professor whose main fields of interest
consist of Indian English writing, especially poetry, and English for Specific
Purposes, especially for science and technology. He has taught English language skills to UG and PG students
of earth and mineral sciences and engineering for about four decades.
He has authored more
than 160 research articles, 170 book reviews and 42 books, including Savitri: A Spiritual Epic (1984), Indian English Writing: 1981-1985:
Experiments with Expression (1987, rept 1991), Using English in Science and Technology (1988, rept 2000, 2010), Recent Indian English Poets: Expressions and
Beliefs (1992), Psychic Knot: Search
for Tolerance in Indian English Fiction (1998), New Zealand Literature: Some Recent Trends (1998), Multiple Choice General English for UPSC
Competition (2001), Communication in English: Grammar and
Composition (2003), Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri: Essays on Love,
Life and Death (2005), Teaching English for Specific Purposes: An
Evolving Experience (2005), Voices of
the Present: Critical Essays on Some
Indian English Poets (2006), English
as a Second Language: Experience into Essays (2007), English
Language Teaching: Some Aspects Recollected (2008), Mechanics
of Research Writing (2010), and Writing Editing and Publishing: A Memoir
(2016).
His published poetry
collections include My Silence (1985), Above the
Earth’s Green (1997), My Silence and
Other Selected Poems (1996), The River Returns (2006), Sexless Solitude and Other Poems (2009),
Sense and Silence: Collected Poems
(2010), New and Selected Poems Tanka and
Haiku (2012), I Am No Jesus and Other Selected Poems, Tanka
and Haiku (2014), You Can’t Scent Me and Other Selected Poems (2016),
and God Too Awaits Light (2017).
Some of his poems have
been translated into French, Spanish, Romanian, Albanian, Crimean Tatar,
Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Irish, Chinese,
Japanese, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Bulgarian, Italian, German, Portuguese,
Greek, Esperanto, Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, and Bangla.
His poetry has been explored for doctoral and
postgraduate studies, over 80 research articles, and four full length books,
namely New Indian English Poetry: An Alternative Voice (ed. I.K. Sharma, 2004),
R.K. Singh’s Mind and Art: A Symphony of
Expressions (ed. Rajni Singh, 2011), Critical
Perspectives on the Poetry of R.K.Singh, D.C.Chambial and I.K.Sharma (ed.
K.V. Dominic, 2011) and Anger in Contemporary Indian English Poetry
(Vijay Vishal, 2014) which present a
comprehensive picture of his creativity since the 1970s. Professor Singh’s
biobibliography appears in some 35 publications in the UK, USA, India and
elsewhere.
A member of several
organizations and editorial boards, Professor Singh is a recipient of many
awards and honours, including an Honorary LittD from the World Academy of Arts
& Culture, Taiwan, 1984, Fellowship of the International Writers and Artists Association, USA, 1988,
Michael Madhusudan Award, Kolkata, 1994, Ritsumeikan University Peace Museum
Award, Kyoto, 1999, Certificate of Honour and Nyusen Prize, Kumamoto, 2000,
2008, Universal Peace Ambassador, 2006, Lifetime Achievement Award, Chennai,
2009, distinguished membership of the
IAPWA, Albania, 2012, Prize of Corea
Literature, Korea, 2013, Special Award
Diogen, 2013, Nazar Look Prize for Poetry, Romania, 2013,
Nomination for Pushcart Prize, 2013, 2014, Naji Naaman’s Literary Prize, 2015,
Aichi
Prefecture Board of Education Award, Japan, 2015 , and Ambassador of Naaman pour la Culture,
Lebanon, 2016.
Professor
Singh can be reached by email at profrksingh@gmail.com
