Warning : Reader Discretion is advised as the below text contains some not-so poetic looking poems!!!!!
Authors Note :
I have tried my hand at poetry and have come to a conclusion that i make a pathetic poet!!! The word 'poet' when attached next to my name itself causes untold misery to all the 'real' poets of the world!! Shelly, Wordsworth and Co. please excuse this horrible offense!!
So with apologies to the literary world, here i present you with some of my musings! The musings start randomly, in other words, not chronologically. That itself tells you how aimless and unsystematic my literary endeavors have been. To guide the reader/peruser properly as to the when these musings have come into existence, i have provided the dates (whenever available) right above the poems. That itself shall absolve me from all the brick-bats i receive. You see, they say that your thought process matures along with you. So a bland looking musing shall rightly be attributed to my innocence and the outlook towards life i had then. And just like our good ol' ancient liquid, namely Wine, matures, so do the cerebral juices and thence the resultant thoughts.
The reader is well advised to peruse these outpourings as mere thoughts of the creator.
Due apologies....
Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
[Year: 1995]
FAT
People call me Fat!
And they tease me whenever I bat!
When I walk down the street
People stare at me,
As if they hadn’t seen a guy,
Fatter than me!
Tears trickle down my cheek when,
My mom calls Pop to come to her side,
To balance the room,
When I’m on the other side!
My friends don’t care me,
Even my friend’s dog paws at me!
I am insulted wherever I go
That’s why, to the parties,
I never go!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
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[17-May 1994 : Tuesday]
Of “Guns” and “Hens”
Can’t you see my son?
It’s impossible to make soup with chicken,
When the hen is on the run!!
Aw! Come on my son!
Here!! Have yourselves a bun!
Until I catch the hen on the run!
And don’t forget to toss me back my gun,
For I’m goin’ to catch the hen on the run
Even under the hot sun!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
-----------------------------
[26-December-1993]
“JOEY”
Joey was his name,
Sheer innocence was his fame.
Courageous was he to his parents,
Face his enemy, he daren’t!
He had on his face, a pimple.
He was nothing, just, but simple.
He could not even groom his hair,
To look good enough to go to the fair!
He’d spend all his money,
Only to get a drop of honey!
He hadn’t even a match-stick to ignite,
To make a hot cup of tea.
But he had enough guests to invite
To a hot, hot party.
He used to think, to build a bridge on the sea,
By throwing fistfuls of sand in the sea.
A soft-corner in his heart, he always had.
A jealous bone in his body, he never had.
His jokes to be told were numerous.
And of course, he a little bit humorous.
Day by day his jokes slowly passed across the bay.
There was not a corner in the world ,
where his jokes were not told.
Now, even as he became old,
His jokes were always measured in gold!
And at last, when he died, even his bitter enemies cried!!
The people would say :
Joey was a man with a pimple, nothing just but, simple!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
------------------------------
[16-December-1994 : Friday]
FASHION
I hadn’t even the foggiest notion,
That one day this world would be ruled
By this craziest thing called “fashion”
Gone are the days of “Namaste Ji”,
Here in this age they say, “Long time, no see” !!
“I’d look damn good,” they brag,
In this insipid thing, I discern as a ‘torn-rag’ !
They vouch they’d be the cynosure in the Jeans called, ‘Lee Cooper’.
And they almost drown themselves in the perfume, Baccarose’s ‘Copper’.
These kids!!! They zoom in a Maruti Van,
And they consider themselves a Macho,
If they ever happen to possess a ‘Ray-Ban’!
Someone talk some sense into these kids
That these are just transitory trend-setters
And that they will, one day, fade away
As the time, into the past, slips away!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
-----------------------------
[2-February-1995 : Thursday]
NEIGHBOR
I woke up in my sleep
To find myself in the well of thoughts : deep!
My endeavors to stay afloat
proved futile,
For I was being sucked into the
darkness of eternity all the while.
Some alien beings dragged
me into further darkness
All I could make of them was
Two pairs of treacherous, burning eyes
And an excellent example of dumbness.
I, now, stood in the center of the room
Where there were more fiercer eyes and
The air damp with doom!!
Those scornful eyes, now shifted their vision to their chieftain,
Who snapped orders to them to become more sane.
His Highness accused me of malice and enmity towards my neighbor
And consequently no beatitude, on me, did I incur.
I was sentenced to three hours of frying in the hot bubbling oil
And perpetual grinding in the grinding stone!!!
And then suddenly I woke up again.
This time, with a deep moan
which echoed within my each and every bone!!
My jubilation was of because that I suffered no harm!!
And the next day I was with my neighbor,
Arm in arm,
Both equally quiet and equally calm!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
-----------------------------
[1995]
Close To Paradise
Whenever the Sun rises from the far east
And sets in the deep west,
I think I am close to Paradise!
When the birds chirp and the cuckoos sing,
I think I am close to Paradise.
When I feel the coldness from the moon,
My eyes close instantly and I slip into cheerful dreams and then,
I think I am close to Paradise!
These thoughts drag me into the depths of
Heaven’s fantasies, consoling my hurt soul.
It makes me feel so light!!
Oh so light!!
That I could fly!!
But then suddenly something dreadful happens,
The axe of hatred and vice snaps the rope of virtue and goodwill
And then I begin to wonder :
“was it a dream?? Or was I just close to Paradise!!”
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
-----------------------------
[27-October-1995 : Friday]
WINTER
Ah! The season of winter,
How beautiful,
How serene!!
My soul never before seemed pleased
Even when I viewed , the moon in full
or the lustrous country-side’s pleasant scene!!
The dawn wakes me up
With the bird’s melodious songs.
The fresh morning air fill my lungs up,
And I yearn to hear the distant sound of temple-gongs!
I thank thee my lord
For making this Winter delightful;
I pray to thee almighty
To make this season last for eternity!!
So that I could relish its beauty
To my heart’s full!!
The eagles soar high up in the spotless blue sky,
With an intention to embrace it.
But descend down with a regretful sigh;
As they remember that, this season, down there
Is the Heaven’s forgotten bit!!
As I sit by the fire-place
The epochs of my childhood reel down
With a tremendous pace.
I still can recall those juvenile days,
When I used to live by the country-side.
The foggy mornings were chilly
And the water in the ponds cold
But it bloomed as it always did,
The gracious white water-lily !!
Whose beauty, even the celestial gods would behold!!
The cat and the dog warmed themselves sitting by the fire-place
And there were absolutely no angry growls, no barks and no scratches!
Instead the dog put on a welcome look
And the cat gently purred
And they shared the same sleeping place!
When the natural enemies become bosom buddies,
We know,
‘Tis the season of gaiety,
‘Tis the season of non-enmity!
But when I wake up to reality,
I see everywhere, enmity, enmity, enmity!
When sworn enemies can forget their hostility,
Pray tell me why can’t we??!!!
Come, let’s join our hands together
With this heavenly season as a motivator
And make this earth a better place to live in;
Free from malice, free from selfishness,
free from cruelty and free from sin!!
‘Coz ‘tis the season of gaiety,
‘Tis the season of non-enmity!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
------------------------------
LONE-HEART
One wintry night
I climbed atop the hill
To view the beautiful sight
Of my village seated at the foot of the hill.
Radiant lights from the myriad dwellings
Equaled the brilliance of a million stars
That lit up the sky that night!
My imaginations rose high up
And in reverence my heart slowed down
Its pace by a beat.
But the next moment, it sank down a bit,
For I realized how alone I was ;
Alone, alone!
If only someone lit up my life
Like the glittering stars in the sky,
Someone who’d say “…you are my life!”
Would this ever happen?? Sigh!!
I always linger by the side of the road,
Called ‘Life’, for someone to come by and say ‘Hi….!’
‘…Can I help you lessen down your load?’
But no one comes, no one came!
Life still is just the same!
I sometimes find myself eagerly looking forward for the day
When I’ll bade life a ‘Goodbye’!
Then I’d be up there in Heaven,
Playing a harp and a halo gracing my head,
While I relish a ride; cloud-driven!!
Alas! All this could happen only if I drop dead!!
I’m quite aware that these are mere fantasies,
Just like those fragile and delightful daisies,
For when its day arrives,
It turns pale, and falls lifeless to the ground…!!
Its former beauty forever ceases to thrive!
No one comes, no one came …..!!!!!!
Life still is just the same!!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
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An Ode to a Friend
[For SINI Menon**]
Tired of this wicked world
And unknown of my destination,
When I first knocked on your friendship’s door;
I knew not what I had for me in store.
But when you threw open the door,
My eyes – which until then had only seen cruelty and atrocity –
Saw inside a paradise of happiness and joy,
That seemed to stretch itself beyond the points of eternity.
You were the anchor that held me in my sorrow’s sea.
You were always there to offer your shoulder for me to cry.
But then, I realized, very, very late
That you are the inviting colorful horizon;
The more I tried to come closer to it,
The more farther it seemed to move away from me!!
True to my fears, now you ask me to forget you…….
But pray tell me , how can I ??
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
** This is, or rather, was the name of my dearest (pen)friend
who in a brief period of time had taught me all the
important nitty-gritties of life. Our friendship lasted a good
period of over 2 years, after which she just got away. She was
dignified in that she notified me of her inability to
continue the correspondence anymore. All I can say is that I have
learnt a LOT about this life from her. And that I can never forget her
advise.
--------------------------------
[11-June-1997 : Friday]
PANACEA
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
It lies behind the range of those green hills.
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
For then we could lead a merry-full life, filled with all the frills.
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
Only then the society will reserve a seat of honor for you.
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
Otherwise the same people will never even think
twice before they dump you!!
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
For it’s an indispensable asset of one’s life;
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
And only then we can lead a life without constant strife.
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
It’s the only available remedy for the man’s pain;
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
For then, I bet, life will never be the same again!!
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
It is said to be buried where the magnificent rainbow ends;
Come let’s go and find a fortune,
For on it, a man’s life very much depends!!
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
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[1996]
A Dying Flower
Is he the son of my love;
Or is he the sin of my love?
Tell me, ye Gods!
Who’s he?
How can you say anything?
For you are too busy;
Writing the destinies of us mortals!
But I can swear that he’s mine!
My own flower, cultivated from the garden
Of meticulous care, patience and pain.
Those laborious long months of nine,
Saw me go through a lot of pain;
But I overcame the hurdle with perseverance.
And now when the flower has finally blossomed,
You are all set to destroy it!!
Answer me God!
How could you it?
What harm has this little child brought upon you?
The child, who didn’t even open his lotus like eyes,
To acquire the knowledge of conscience!
The child, innocent enough to be unaware of virtue and vice!
“YOU”, whom people think have a ocean like heart,
Would you let the child fade away just like that?
Won’t you at least let him feel the warmth of maternity ?
Or would you rather let him be perpetuated
By the long arms of eternity?
-------Rajesh G Pandharpurkar
© RGP Creations
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