Flee the people

when people ask me why
i stay away from them
here's what i tell people.
contrary to what it seems
i love people so much that
i feel compelled to stay away.
because experience has
taught me that what you
love the most is what is most
likely to hurt you. the most.
confused, they stay away.
and so do i. confused.
hopeful. and waiting.

Chee the people

when president hopeful
pratibha patil speaks of
communicating with the dead
and other such revelations
of profound embarrassment
it makes me wonder whether
the people of india should have
a greater say in the matter of who
should be the president of india.
and then, i think of the people
that were elected by the people.

Tossed ballad

troubled, i trudge home
determined to get
a good night's sleep.

troubled, i toss and turn
indeterminate, fretting
over the things i thought
needed a good night's sleep.

troubled, i awake
to see what's left
of a good night's sleep.

troubled, i toss and turn
eating into the little left
of what was meant to be
a good night's sleep.

Zero some game

nihility
is what my life
is filled with. verily.
she said, for effect.
it worked like a charm.
the boys came to fill her
from london, france and
even far-flung surinam.
fortunately for her,
they had their sights
set on not much more
than tits and arse.
here's to the comfort
of low-fat nihility.
she said. verily.

There fore

persistence, they said
is what will get you there.

discipline, they said
is what will get you there.

talent, they said
is what will get you there.

patience, they said,
is what will get you there.

obsession, they said
is what will get you there.

compulsion, they said
is what will get you there.

time, they said
is what will get you there.

meditation, they said
is what will get you there.

desire, they said
is what will get you there.

experience, they said
is what will get you there.

keep your job, they said
in case you don't get there.

Silver Surfer

teeth, arms, eyes
hair, legs, penis
face, fingers, toes
feet, knees, thighs
fibula, medulla
oblongata, ribs
butt, nose, being
wrong, wrong
fucking wrong.
until he met her.
lucky for him.
she was blind.
unfortunately
she wasn't deaf.

Mousetrap

the great thing about
falling behind in the rat race
is that you get a fine view
of everybody's bottom.

the bad thing about
falling behind in the rat race
is that you will take shit
from a bunch of farts.

the inbetween thing about
falling behind in the rat race
is that you are cannon fodder
for the people around you.

the nothing about
falling into the rat race
is the meaning of life.

World piece

in a world full of answers
i chase questions.

in a world full of pieces
i seek the big picture.

in a world full of counters
i make up the numbers.

in a world full of sameness
i follow the antonym.

in a world full of talkers
i look for a doer.

in a world full of warriors
i shield the loser.

in a world full of money
i see a lack of balance.

in a world full of writers
i am but a foot soldier.

in a world full of people
i don't find myself.

Where there's a willy, there's a way

on her shapely self
rested a good head
with enough inside
to know that often
all it takes to get
ahead is good head.
and so she went
down on her knees
shut her mouth
swallowed his pride
and bit the bullet.
He screamed in pain.

Bygoner

i looked at myself
trying to imagine
what she might see.
blind to my faults
i didn't see what
had become of me.
neither did she.
unfortunately.

Intel inside. Apple outside.

he looked at her.
she was gorgeous.
he wondered whether
he should tell her
how good she looked.
she was intelligent.
he decided to tell her
how well she wrote.
he wasn't stupid.

Close to the heart

so i told her
that i loved her.
she said, 'really?'
i looked at them
great, big melons
under her shirt
on her chest
in my face
and said to miself
nah, not really.
so i told her
that i loved her.

Steve Between

why is it so hard to start?
because once you start something
you've got to end it
and once you've got to end it
you've got to realise
when enough is enough.
like now.

In shor

So then
i decided to keep it
shor.
because, sometimes
oftentimes
perhapstimes
it doesn't have to be
poetry to be poetic.
it can simply be clever
and shor.

Blank verse

click clack click clack
control a, delete
click clack click clack
control a, delete
click clack click clack
control a, delete
click backspace click
control a, control v
enter clack backspace
click clack click clack
backspace scratch chin
click clack click clack
gaze gaze gaze gaze
control a, delete click
back space back space
thank you for reading
the poem i couldn't write
enter exit. stop

Close up

i empathised
with him
followed him
loved him
hated him
admired him
cared for him
cried for him
laughed with him
killed with him
laughed at him
yearned for him
missed him
slept with him
woke up with him
travelled with him
wished for him
wished him
said goodbye to him
waited for
fade to black
tony? tony? tony?
tony sopra...no, no!

Zaiku

zaika, in hindi
is a word for flavourful
in human nature

Rapid eye in movement

feted by the paparazzi
now part of the glitterati
renounced by the was
success without a pause
fuelled by many a muse
making the daily news
living the beautiful illusion
cradled in glorious pretention
rising above abject failure
in a manner woe cavalier
ignoring the signs of reality
creeping up on thy sleeping entity
hark. look. sunshine. it's time
wakey, my deah. rise and whine.

Mockerel

Dylan Thomas said
a poem is a form
of epiphany
umm...
zzz...
yawn...
hello...
it just dawned on me
that he didn't say that
it was somebody else
does that make this
a poem?
now, now
don't be funny

Past imperfect

how much can one dream
without doing
how much can one do
without having the means to
how much can one care
when it hurts to

whenever i read about mavericks
i can't help but feel a sense of deja vu
and think of the times
when i've been there
and there
and there
but never done that
or that
or that
or many of the things
i've always wanted to

God knows, i've tried to

Threes Company

passion, feeling, pain
spring, cloud, rain
joy, expression, emotion
past, present, future
epiphany, memory, realisation
love, loss, redemption
distance, closeness, chasm
honesty, duplicity, electricity
grammar, language, punctuation
inside, outside, aside
share, stock, bond
browse, turn, bookmark
stop, weave, seive
lunacy, idiocy, intensity
pun, final, remark
tri word poetry.

Devaluation

Smilingly, i grasp the envelope
knowing fully well what it contains

it's my paycheck
after my appraisals
everything went well
i was rewarded handsomely
the long wait was worth it
i am preparing to celebrate

i have opened the envelope
I read the letter inside
I am in a state of shock
it's not what was promised

it can't be
it's a mistake
it's somebody else's letter
mistakenly handed to me

my handsome reward
doesn't look so good
it feels like a joke
and i'm not laughing

this other person
is being paid more
much more than me

Mind, it

Zig, zag
This, that
Here, there
Now, then
Before, after
Hem, haw
Flit, float
Stop, start
Break, fast
For, against
See, oh
En, see
Eee, en
Tea, are
Eh, tea
Eee, stop
Concentrate.