WEPT

They won’t hurt you here, he said

But in the end, all she did was bled

And the stories, they continued to spread.

Posts were written, anger was displayed

Some agitated, some fervently prayed

But sadly, justice was denied and delayed.

They say that such things take time to end

They say that punishment may not make amends

But who’s to say - if they’ll break or we’ll bend.

The voices will get louder, anger will rise

But all of us are wondering, if this alone will suffice

For the fault lies in us, we must pay the price.

We may worship the deities, but inside us lies black

We may walk to temples, but its humanity we lack

And for all of that, we must face the flack.

This isn’t us, this is the story of a nation

This problem lies within, it’s our own creation

So let’s not treat it like a tumour, in isolation.

When we get to the root, we’ll see the rot

How impoverished we are, in mind and thought

And how much little we were really taught.

We all have crosses to bear, this is ours to accept

The fact that as a society, we’re morally inept

And somewhere close by, another girl has wept.

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.

COFFEE ISN'T EVERYONE'S CUP OF TEA

I’ve been meaning to ask you a lot of questions

But somehow I’ve not been able to get there

Because my questions aren’t altogether logical

They lack pattern and land from anywhere

And then, you counteract all the madness I own

By conducting a very droll enquiry

It’s not like you have to get used to this

Because coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

We may not get along, but we may as well do

For there’s a long journey we’ve got to cover

And no matter how much you take umbrage

You’ll find my opinions are like no other

I’m trying to be a little guarded but then

That’s just not how I am meant to be

It’s not like you have to get used to this

Because coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

A shining example of method, you lack finesse

But then, that’s not an opinion you uphold

And when you say I’m not quite that mature

I can tell that you think I’m uncontrolled

It’s going to be difficult to make you see this

Because your viewpoint is a bit finicky

It’s not like you have to get used to this

Because coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

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.

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.

POLITE

It never hurts to be polite To switch off your phone in meetings Or excuse yourself when taking a call To reply to texts that invite you to parties Or be prompt, overall.

It never hurts to be polite To be punctual and respect the other's time Or say sorry when you’re a jerk To offer to share the bill, without being asked to Or eat noiselessly.

It never hurts to be polite To take a compliment graciously Not address someone as ‘You you’ or 'Hello' Please bother to remember the name of the person And if you smell bad, use a deo.

It never hurts to be polite Say Good Morning and smile, don't be rude Shake hands firmly, not like a fish And use 'pardon' rather than 'what' And please, no actions lewd.

It never hurts to be polite And politeness isn't a gender thing I mean this for both ladies and gentlemen Respect isn't a one-way street So stop expecting if you aren’t giving.

A LOVE SONG OF THE YOUNG

Are we allowed to talk in a cinema

I don’t think so, but I want to ask you

That if I thought this movie was boring

Would you still allow me to call you

You’ve been looking so wonder struck

And I can’t help but feel a tinge of envy

Because the action sucks, so does the dialogue

And the plot is beyond mercy

But all that won’t matter

If we get over the idle chatter

Let me take your hand and we’ll linger

While you wrap me around your li’l finger

They say that love is waning

In a world where apathy is reigning

But for me, the world has stopped to matter

Since we started our idle chatter.

FIGHTER

You think you won’t survive

It’s not like you’ve done before

You’ve been waking up every morning

Only to be shown the exit door

But there’s a truth to every lie

There’s a force you can’t deny

And it’s in your smile, it’s in your tear

It’s in every day you bravely get by

Fighters aren’t born, they’re made

Everyone who’s brave, has been afraid

You may be more wrong than a righter

But that doesn’t mean you’re not a fighter

Show us the fighter

You know how it’s done

Show us the fighter

Fight, till you’ve won.

How will the voices subside

How will the ghosts die down

How will the stories you’re writing end

When you live in Darkness Town

But there’s something you didn’t account for

There’s something you underestimated

It’s in your heart, and it’s blazing

It’s the fighter in you, interrupted.

Fighters aren’t born, they’re made

Everyone who’s brave, has been afraid

You may be more wrong than a righter

But that doesn’t mean you’re not a fighter

Show us the fighter

You know how it’s done

Show us the fighter

Fight, till you’ve won.

MAYBE, YOU CAN SET IT RIGHT

Maybe you’ve told too many lies

And maybe you’ve hurt too many people

Maybe you’ve not undone your mistakes

Maybe your heart has been too fickle

Maybe your life won’t take a turn

Maybe you won’t get that second chance

Maybe your job won’t get any better

And maybe you’ll be spurned by romance.

But tonight, let your heartbeats be shiny

Tonight, let your eyes dazzle with light

For this is the Festival of Wonder

And maybe, only you can set it Right.

Maybe you expect too much from everyone

Maybe they’re right in calling you crazy

Maybe your plans to quit won’t happen

Maybe you’ll always be just this lazy

Maybe your weight will always stress you

Maybe your good-hair days won’t last

Maybe the last laugh won’t be yours to have

And maybe you won’t outdo the past.

But tonight, let your heartbeats be shiny

Tonight, let the stars be your guiding light

For this is the Festival of Wonder

And maybe, only you can set it Right.

TIED IN HOLY MATRIMONY

‘Are you mad?’, she asked

Over a hushed whisper and a glare

‘Whatever gave you the idea’ he replied

And studiously ignored her stare.

She wasn’t good at sparring

He wasn’t good at being slighted

They weren’t too happy a couple

But yet, they sat there united.

It was apparent to all who saw them

That they were tied in holy matrimony

But anyone who glanced at them closer

Could tell their dalliance was phony.

They suffered the silences, ate their words

And came out a little bit defeated

And yet, they proudly wore the badge

Of never having bedded and cheated.

It wasn’t sensational, it wasn’t original

And yet, it was telling of the time

When neither one cared, yet no one dared

To leave what they considered a shrine.

C'EST LA VIE

Yes, I’ve travelled far, not wide

And had my share of troubles

Yes, I’ve compromised clear thought

To the joy of uncommon muddles

Yes, I’ve loved and lost and tossed it all

And created quite the flutter

I’ve earned that corner office they wanted

And celebrated with pretty clutter.

And yet, there’s nothing I have done

That has made me feel more human

There’s no story I have told

That’s been told and gotten proven

C’est La Vie, darling, C’est La Vie

What did we do with the days gone by

Where have they gone, what will become

And why does my heart still cry.

Yes, I’ve pleased the ones who mattered

And the one who tried to get closer

I’ve made myself quite available

Wherever I could be the poser

Yes, I’ve quelled the burning light

That was inside me, bright and burning

I’ve given in to those nights

Which come with no prior warning.

And yet, there’s nothing I have done

That has made me feel more human

There’s no story I have told

That’s been told and gotten proven

C’est La Vie, darling, C’est La Vie

What did we do with the days gone by

Where have they gone, what will become

And why does my heart still cry.

DYING TO BE FOUND

You can be so smart

And you can dance as well

But when it comes to telling

If we both will gel.

You just have no clue

And you probably won’t try

To give us a chance in hell

Because you’re wondering why.

So here’s the thing, and it’s sudden

But just as soon as we meet

There’s a trip in my heartbeat

It’s both scary and sweet.

Then I feel quite speechless

Then I feel quite unprepared

You’re just so bold and unfazed

And yet, so beautifully layered.

So I’ll just keep this short

Fallen leaves make no sound

Maybe you can’t hear me

But I’m dying to be found.

Dying to be found

Dying to be found

For fallen leaves make sound.

DROWNING

I am used to drowning

It’s what I do

Sometimes without reason

Because it’s easier to gasp for breath

Than grapple with reality.

I want to come up for air

I want to

It’s what I want

But not what I do.

I am used to drowning

It’s what I do

Floating meaninglessly through slime

While it takes me down under

And I feel happier to resign.

I want to come up for air

I want to

It’s what I want

But not what I do.

SEA, YOU, ME

Unless you have

Something to say

Something that will

Define this day

Unless you have

Something to ask

Something that will

Lift my mask

It’s just going to be

The sea, you and me

For when was the last time

You set a date with

Infinity?

A slice of heaven

An expanse of sea

It’s all right here

A glimpse of you and me

So why do the asking

Why do the tasking

We’ll let these sands

Present us eternity.

Until we have

That mystery

The kind that comes from

Pure chemistry

Until we have

That synergy

The kind that comes from

Shared history

It’s just going to be

The sea, you and me

For when was the last time

You set a date with

Infinity?

A slice of heaven

An expanse of sea

It’s all right here

A glimpse of you and me

So why do the asking

Why do the tasking

We’ll let these sands

Present us eternity.