UNCOMMON CHEMISTRY

Your silences can be louder

Than the weight of my words

And when it comes to conversations

My participation is two-thirds

But there’s no co-relation

To what’s said and what can be

There’s just the magic of what I call

Uncommon chemistry.

Everything is not roses

Everything is not poetry

Everything can be held together

By uncommon chemistry.

My spontaneous may just not be

The kind you appreciate

Your staccato may just not be

The one I highly rate

But here we are, and come to think

I’ll give you reason to agree

We share the magic of what I call

Uncommon chemistry.

Everything is not exacting

Everything is not geometry

Everything is strung together

By uncommon chemistry.

We may not ever figure

What’s right and what’s not to be

And then I could swiftly turn from friend

To an unwilling adversary

But if that’s to happen, let us admit

It may just be momentary
Yet we’re still held together

By uncommon chemistry.

QUIET TRUE

I only speak when addressed

My thoughts, they live inside my head

But my words, they will never run a riot

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

People accuse me of being rude

But that’s just a demeanour I exude

My sentiment is large, my expression private

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

When they accuse me of boring, I’m unperturbed

They say describe yourself, I say ‘reserved’

And when asked why, I say my words are on diet

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

I have no desire to be the room’s cynosure

Neither the overwhelming urge for disclosure

However the little I say, it’ll never be trite

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

Uncaring I am not, nonchalant I may be

Brevity I display, not ungallantry

But no matter what my reason, you just won’t buy it

Because essentially, my dear, you’re not quiet.

THE VOICES IN MY HEAD

The voices, the voices in my head

You keep me alive, when I’m long since dead.

Still talking, still mocking

Still asking me questions my conscience finds shocking

Still shining the torch on dingy corners of my mind

Still screaming, still accusing when I choose to turn blind

Still taunting me with regrets, still opening wounds unexposed

Still making me guilty of cases long closed.

The voices, the voices in my head

You keep me alive, when I’m long since dead.

Still giggling, still laughing

Still childlike, before the world came down crashing

Still kind, still benevolent, still looking firmly north

Still reassuring, when I passionately go forth

Still being my friend in need, when I tend to falter

Still shaking up my core when my I’m an emotional defaulter.

The voices, the voices in my head

You keep me alive, when I’m long since dead.

Shake me, debase me

Kill me, embrace me

For life and death, we’ll always be wed

The voices, the voices in my head.

YOU’RE NOT THAT PERSON ANYMORE

You’ve been robbed

And left to deal with it

There isn’t a vestige of who you were

Your yesterdays are a cobweb of blur

The person who sang simple songs in his head

Is now a thousand dreams and sins ahead

You’re not that person anymore

That person is certainly dead.

You’ve been compromised

And told to be normal

There isn’t a line you haven’t crossed

Or a promise you’ve not taken and tossed

The person whose tears cleansed the rain

And whose smile melted away the pain

You’re not that person anymore

That person won’t return again.

You’ve been shot

And asked to live with it

There isn’t a day you’ve pushed Mediocre

Or gone out of the way to figure what broke her

The person whose love was stronger than conviction

And whose judgement was the strongest validation

You’re not that person anymore

That person is now pure fiction.

THIS IS YOU, YOU ARE MAY

It’s May

Hot and humid and disorienting

I hallucinate and that’s comforting

Of beds of ice and igloos in the sky

Of winds gone berserk and thunderstorms in July

Of sail boats and chiffon and all things Kygo

Of comic books and giggles, childhood and mango

And just when my imagination begins to sway

The air conditioner groans, we’re back to May.

May, you’ll do good to remember

You’re neither June nor December

But there’s something about your clime

That evokes both love and crime

And just like the disparity that’s Bombay

This is You, you are May.

It’s May

Steeped in slumber, sweat and slackening

Yet my febrile brain has thoughts maddening

Of muslins and margaritas and streets of marigold

Of love that’s unbridled and kisses uncontrolled

Of shaping the day like a potter without a plan

Of throwing caution to the winds, like a young catamaran

And just when my imagination begins to sway

The air conditioner groans, we’re back to May.

May, you’ll do good to remember

You’re neither June nor December

But there’s something about your clime

That evokes both love and crime

And just like the disparity that’s Bombay

This is You, you are May.

FEARLESS

Just to be able to feel

And not be scared to show it

Just to be able to love

And not be afraid to know it

Just to be brave enough to cry

And be happy for the salvation tears bring

Just to wake up and think of trying

When another year won’t change a thing

What are we if we’re not human

If we can’t hurt and burn in a cesspool of mess

What are we if we’re not human

If we can’t fail and fall, then stand fearless.

Fearless

It’s not what I thought I could be

Not someone I became willingly

Yet something within me stirred

From a dove I turned firebird

And while I may have not much bravado to give

Fearless is how I choose to live.

Just to be able to smile

When tears blur the vision of your brain

Just to be a little bit kinder

When your laughter hides the panic of pain

Just to say what’s in your heart

When your world is bursting with white noise

Just to hold on to your dignity

When your action has lost all semblance of poise

What are we if we’re not human

If we don’t put everything at stake, yet still end with less

What are we if we’re not human

If we can’t stumble and surrender, then stand fearless.

Fearless

It’s not what I thought I could be

Not someone I became willingly

Yet something within me stirred

From a dove I turned firebird

And while I may have not much bravado to give

Fearless is how I choose to live.

BEING SIMPLE

There’s always a choice to make

To say what you mean

And mean what you say

To reply with “I’ll see you soon”

But not stagger it everyday

To expect much less

Than your heart anticipates

To find much more

Than your wallet dictates

To give up on fights

That never lead anywhere

To embrace the ‘what if’

That comes when you care.

Being simple isn’t tough

But yet, it’s not a piece of cake

Everything may just work out

And everything may just break

Being simple isn’t tough

But then, there’s so much at stake

So whether you win or lose

It’s a choice that you make.

There’s always a choice to make

To love without expectation

And lose control when being kissed

To trust in your neighbour

And travel without a list

To leave the nightmares behind

When a dream comes to stay

To shake off the ghosts

When you’ve lived a better day

To acknowledge wisdom

And a warning in the same measure

To treat old friendships

Like one treats guarded treasure.

Being simple isn’t tough

And yet, it’s not easy to do it

You may just crack it open

And you may just stand to ruin it

Being simple isn’t tough

But then, there’s so much at stake

So whether you win or lose

It’s a choice that you make.

LOVE, ALL OVER AGAIN

This world is a smaller place

When we’re the only two around

It’s always a noisy planet

But I can’t seem to hear a sound

Hesitation is just a comma

In a tale not so long-wound

Are those castles in my head

Or is euphoria underground?

I jump in, no safety net

And I meet rainbows and the rain

The passion and the pain

The madness and the sane

The grief and the gain

This is love

All over again.

This is love

All over again.

There’s no sun shining

But warmth has occupied its place

There’s no song playing

But melody has left a trace

Are we going to take a moment

Before we cut to black

Let’s turn up the dial on Crazy

Then make our own soundtrack.

I jump in, eyes unblinking

And I meet the fatigue and the flame

The charades and the champagne

The bye-byes and the blame

The stagnant and hurricane

This is love

All over again.

This is love

All over again.

WATERPROOFED

Rain will seep in

Without a sound

And do its damage

Then you’ll wake up

See the mess

And think you’ll manage

Fixing the cracks

Has never been easy

So prepare to deal

With unrest and uneasy

This is the part

When you’ll realize the pain

And the pleasure

Of being wet in the rain.

Can you ever be waterproofed

Can you ever have a safety net

Can you ever be so insulated

That you live to forget.

Wind-chimes will clatter

Raindrops will tease the panes

And you’ll introspect

Damp shadows will form

In the corners of your mind

When you retrospect.

Thunderstorms are tricky

They come without informing

The nights will be rough

The days won’t be heart warming

This is the part

When you’ll realize the extent

Of what was meant to be

And how things went.

Can you ever be waterproofed

Can you ever have a safety net

Can you ever be so insulated

That you live to forget.

HANG ON

How happy will you be

Once you’ve seen breath-taking sunsets

In all the far-flung places

How proud will you feel

Once you’ve seen looks of adoration

On all the pretty faces

How content will it make you

Once you’ve finished ticking off everything

That make up your bucket list

How rich will you become

Once you establish you’ve done better

Than everyone in your midst.

This world will keep tempting you with more

This world will keep offering new

And yet, when you die alone

You’ll have only some things to hold on to

Keep hanging on to them, my friend

Keep hanging on

By a thread, by a whisper, by a hope

For what are you when they’re gone?

How nice will you become

Once you’ve said all the right things

To all the right people

How devout a person will you be

Once you’ve sought the blessings

Of every church and every temple

How seriously will you be taken

Once you’ve built a home

And filled it up with artefacts

How simple do you think you are

Once you’ve done your kind deeds

Just to see how the world reacts.

This world will keep teasing you with baubles

This world will keep selling you Brand New

And yet, when you die alone

You’ll have only some things to hold on to

Keep hanging on to them, my friend

Keep hanging on

By a thread, by a whisper, by a hope

For what are you when they’re gone?

FEELING QUITE DISCO

Things haven’t been going so well Your smile is just for show You’d been building big plans Before reality struck a blow Everyone reckons you’re doing fine But that’s because they don’t know It’s not easy to laugh like the breeze When your song has lost tempo.

And yet, you may just break this wall And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco And yet, you may just take this fall And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco Up and down we go Feeling quite Disco Starting crazy, then going slow Yet feeling quite Disco.

You’re not listening to what others say Because words, they’re laced with falsetto Expectations, like fetuses in your brain Should never be allowed to grow Every new day should bring new meaning And every evening an afterglow Who says that doors can’t be slammed shut Before you force open a new window.

And yet, a new person may awaken And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco And yet, an old story may re-open And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco Up and down we go Feeling quite Disco Starting crazy, then going slow Yet feeling quite Disco.