Promised day

Sitting in the bus
Gazing lazily out
At the fleeting scenes
Passing by my side
The bus stopped at signal.

My eyes drifted to pavement
Another family living
Under a plastic sheet
Too feeble to save them
From the wrath of nature.

A tiny toddler playing
On the dirty pavement
A beautiful flower blooming
Half withered in concrete
No one even bothering.

When will I see the last of it?
So many times I wonder!
When will the promised day come?
With shelter, food and books
For each and every children?

Song of unemployment

Give me bread
Honest bread
With little something
For me and my family
I promise I won’t steal.

Give me my dues
Let my sweat, brain speak
No other language
I should need to use
I won’t go astray.

When I starve
With my family
When my toil is stolen
Just because you sleep
Instead of guarding us.

That’s when I go blind
Do things I should nor
To stop me
Wake up
Do your duties.

Sharmishtha basu
1.08.10

Kingdom of stupidshine

In the kingdom of stupidshine
Every thing was fine.
King demoniac ruled his roost
With utmost precision.

His kiths and kin
Pals and chums
Dear and near ones
Flourished like sunshine.

Every voice that dared to protest
Was snuffed to silence
Before that spark could ignite
It was thrown in darkness.

His chums controlled the outer layer
Of that tasteless fruit
The whole world was bedazzled
By their prosperous look.

Deeper one went into that fruit
Bitter and bitter it became
But Demoniac was smart
He knew how to maintain his façade.

His rule was simple- buy them all
So that they sing his praise
Don’t even bother to look inside
Where the common people dwell.

If you can’t buy them- crush them
For one voice generates another
So before it’s too late
Kill them- kill each and everyone.

There is no use trying to serve
Each and every citizen
As long as crème de la crème is happy
Rest can go straight to hell.

Silence the protest
No one will know
Whats inside that glitzy covering
Just pretend the fruit is made in heaven.

Pretension works magic
Especially if it’s pouted from ruby lips
Discussed in chandelier lit dining rooms
Where diamonds and emeralds glitter.

Sharmishtha basu
29.08.10

---------------------------------------------------
Kingdom of king Kong 18.09.10
---------------------------------------------------
King Kong rules his kingdom
just the way its meant
no one should dare to say
a single word against

dungeons await rebels
shower of gold jesters
wealth for supporters
scary death for protesters.

Sharmishtha basu
18.09.10

Aqua Marina

Aqua Marina

Aqua marina smiles
blue Petals glow
droplets of waves
sparkling crystals
decorating velvet green.

Under the azurine sky
Snowy peaks
touching clouds
Pieces of ocean
Stitched in earth’s gown.


Sharmishtha basu
1.09.10


======================================================

Blue poppies

A piece of heaven
A piece of sapphire
With a body and life
I never thought
Something so beautiful
Existed in earth.
They spread across
The valleys and mountains
Hundreds and hundreds
Beautiful dream.


Sharmishtha basu
29.08.10

Swinging to the clouds

Dark clouds have gathered
A peacock dances
Spreading its rainbow plumes
As the white lightning flashes
Against the ebony clouds
Birds have huddled in their nests,
Thunder roars
Pitter patter starts
Waiting to turn into
Silver torrent pouring down.

under the flimsy veil of mango leaves
the little girl swings
her swing trying to kiss the branches
her hair wet and face glistening
her eyes are lost in the clouds
she wants to fly out to them
so she keeps swinging
ignoring the sliver cascade
ignoring her mother’s shout
“come home right now!”

Sharmishtha basu
29.08.10

----------------------------------------------------------
She swings

Her rope is tied
To the ebony clouds
She swings
The wind sings
A soft song
Rain drops
Call out her name
In soft symphony
Softly they kiss
Her glowing cheeks
Her flowing tresses
Her swaying dress
Trees stretch
Their green branches
Birds fly by
As she reaches
Higher and higher
To touch the clouds

Sharmishtha basu
1.09.10

Raise the curtain

Don’t be shy
Don’t be scared
Reach out
Pull the curtain
Open the window wide.

Let the air gush in
Let the sunshine stream
Don’t worry about some flies
Or some splash of rain
That will follow the freedom.

Look out- greet the real world
With its beauty and sadness
With its riches and poverty
Face the truth
Don’t hide behind a curtain.

Don’t let ignorance blind you
Wrap you under its cloak
Face the world just the way it is
There is so much to love
There is so much to change, if we care.

Sharmishtha basu
16.08.10

Reality and dreams

Two sides of a coin
so very different
in every little thing
yet both are needed
to complete a coin,
are useless without
the other, yet can
never face the other..

such are the world of pure dream
and the world of harsh reality
they both form the human world
one wont exist without the other
but they don’t have anything similar
and they will never face eath other.

reality

Why do people get scared of reality

when they see it face to face?

looking back coldly at those eyes

full of curiosity and innocence?

 

These naïve souls who try to play

with fire, thinking that it’s the small

earthen lamp burning, lighting up home,

get frightened when they see its power.

 

They think that life is evenly distributed

with the same harmony and rhyme

they try to tally their life with all live

when they are proved wrong they detest.

 

Reality is just like fire, some places it burns

Low, lights up, warms up and glows

In some places it burns out of bound and

Scorches every soul which comes around.

Parents

A little girl pretty as flower
grew up with neglect and scorn
never saw love in her parent’s eyes
nor did she won love from others.

She was the fourth girl child born
after three brothers, three sisters,
abuse, scorn, neglect was her share
in that overcrowded home of nine members.

One day her parents fixed her suitor
everyone was surprised as she was
the youngest of them all and all her
sisters were to be married yet.

She was wedded off to a distant land
which she discovered was a pit of hell
her parents have bargained with her soul
to save them and remaining of their own.

Everytime she heard some one calling
a parent something similar to God
she used to stare vacantly at them
and hide her eyes to hide her tears.