Diamonds on glass

It's time to sing
of the mountains

where the sun scatters
drops of clear water
like diamonds
on pliant glass

the clouds swell
in bursts of lilac shadow
and row along with the sky

in the skylight above
a spell is broken
and I plummet into myself
hiding in a web inside me.

For touch

A whole night
went down beside you
my love
with a smile on your face
turned to the full moon
and the softness
of your hands
thrust
into my silence
I have written
letters full of love

Never have I
clung
so fast to life.

From the darkness

The poet goes there
then returns to the light
with his songs

of his poetry
there remains
nothing but the infinite space
of mystery.

The Witches of Chawri Bazaar

Our world is not
the world of blood
or evil magic

petty reasons
are not
our reason

we are free
to resemble nothing
but ourselves

to take flight
at every corner
of our lives

we are beyond motion
beyond danger
beyond time

the problem is totally yours
if you suffer
from the inability

to drive us out
of your illusions.

Drainage Pipe

If one were to leave the tank
for somewhere else
they would have to travel
through you

I can only imagine
what it would involve

many bad dreams
have echoed
along your length.

Mirror

I am not something to be admired
I am not
the stuff of your dreams

I am a place to see things

people look at
figures, places, themselves
they trace on my face
their truths, hopes
and their disappointments
but look right through me

what would happen
If I threw myself open?

Door

I am the entry
the extension, the opening
the freedom to come and go

what I say of space
I say better
than others

my space is, in fact,
unlimited

I represent all
your possibilities

I maintain your dignity
equal to itself
at certain places

at others
I hear your quarrels
your differences
and witness your departures

all I can give
in your support
is space

If you want it
If you need it
as a starting point

If not go and find
some other place

I ask nothing
go explore
the hollows and solids
of volume

I'll still be here
Waiting.

Poets Anonymous

To listen to you
to suggest you another twist
to fix you

to understand your need
for another rush of blood
to the head

for an occasional
gathering

to share
many strange stories.

Identity Crisis

Is it your inability
to articulate

that makes you ramble
and talk more than you wish?

or is it the result
of a deeper anxiety

that robs you
of honesty?

is this really
a question?

if so, the answer
is somewhere to be found.

Passenger Train

As I pull into the station
I begin to see
something perfectly imagined

the city
and it's passengers

I am about to touch
and enter
the world you believe in

I inhabit through you
the sum of its perfections

now I am
perfectly still
and I hesitate to leave.

A slum in Jehangirpuri

Who on first glance would think you
a place of shelter
or someone's home

you offer open access
to everyone

inviting everybody

you are confident
and humble

you beckon
and with each invitation
you laugh out to yourself.

The Foghorn

Built not to move
built to be regarded

built to see
built to guide

though the ruins
of many centuries

wash up against
your feet

no wave has ever
succeeded at erosion.

Telephone booth

If I'm really that upright
why can't I get

the voices at the other end
out of my mind?

Pressure cooker

I have closed the pan
which I honestly felt too open,
too exposed for my taste

but I do offer a safe home
for a man's right to dream.

Zero

You remain nowhere-
in here. you are. you are not.
you disappear/ it's no trick

is that your reality?

distance. nil. weight. none.
years go by
but you remain
till the last breath.

they blow smoke rings
that look like you
rising
nowhere
disappearing
finding their way.

One

You operate by yourself
you arrive
flourish
entering and returning
by your-self

all the logic
you
you multiplied by another
you divided by another
remains you

you
are here now
powerful
you are not me
I am not you

The Earth

It seems the trees
and the fruits
keep a secret, and

by touching them
and eating them

they reveal stories and anecdotes
things we never knew

things you never shared, like
how you feel about yourself.

The Mountain

You must be something
of the nature of God

your daunting height
your power without hands,
or grip

generosity
without a purpose

beauty that
time won't destroy.

Paper Verses

Before you started
cutting paper into kites

I remember you often
returning to your notes

your homage to the future
shaking in the wind.

Aloof

It's somewhat easy
to enter your space
and be near you

you don't resist
you smile and accept it
but it's to scratch your surface
you remain lost to me

I am so near you now
almost touching your void.