Kolkata---Somewhere I belong

Oh my city, the joyous one.
Here, 'the glorious dead' still reverberates amidst the dark alleys,
But 'the Living' dies every day, at every corner.
The crude decay of life in the temples of Kali,
Where the deity still stands tall, ---for good or for evil?
Could I have seen those naked children, yet turned away my heads so often
Could I have hurled my senses into the Ganges, When I headed to wash away my sins.

The slumber of the old and the restlessness of the young,
Lies shadowed beneath the screams of the lady in crimson,
Who survives in these unknown ,‘vile’ lanes of my city;
And somewhere between night and day,
the hoarse voice of a Maulvi fills the air with praises of Allah!!
And amidst the crusade for change and progress
The porters’ burden, still lie buried ..

Could I have seen the stray dogs run ,with life and death in their mouths?
Could I have borne the stench of floating carcasses and not shudder to the ground?
The heart rebels and yet still revels
To belong here , amidst the old and the new
To make a difference without blaming a few

Oh my joyous city,
Could I have rode across your sprawling ‘maidan’ with wind in my hair?
Oh my joyous city,
Could I have lived another life and not want it to begin ‘Here’?

The Last Mile

Many faces and many colors,
Burning bright amidst the scorching summers
In the summers here they lie,
Upon the meadows ,underneath the sky.

The sky today looks so blue,
Wonder whether it feels so too.
The bursts of fantasy reverberates in the air,
And they lie beside each other in their lair.

The breeze of change has come today.
A change they feared, would come someday.
Amidst the lands that was once theirs.
Wages a war, engulfed by flares.

She lies beside him, his mane all over her,
Those pretty eyes shadowed by those tears
His heart seems numb today, amidst the summer brightness,
Today he feels no hope amidst this emptiness.

She looks at him, with hopeful eyes,
Inarticulated questions streaming down her face,
He is scared too, like a man who is robbed off his air ,
He keeps staring at the doorstep, just wondering he ‘ll be there.

His son, his only son is claimed by the battle today,
Little does he know of the fate that awaits him on this day
Questions galore, entwined in his mind
Hopes and fears both, are riding behind.

The silence today has spoken its last,
Not again will his dear one’s voices be heard.
Far across the horizon, where even vision seems to fade
Memories will live on, even when their shadows are dead.