Spirit Like A Beacon!

Like a bubbling spring she was, the first time when I saw her!
Laughing, running, and playing was she everywhere!
It was as if you wanted to hold a bunch of flowers all in your hand
Some would go out into the cold as you handle them tender!
She was ethereal, I thought, her spirit so bright and beaming
I saw some time later, she was a soul that seen many things
Like the river ganga near Varanasi, she bears all the responsibilities
Like a vessel full to the brim, never showing if she is grim
Her people around her as if travelling in tranquil in a vessel
Life is kind but not always, when I saw her later, she was
In a huge turmoil as if her vessel was struggling in a typhoon
Yet her poise was great, as she served them with generosity
Generating out of her lovable spirit, and bearing all the weight
Yet never feeling afraid of the thunderous floods that followed
He left her company after a long life with care and spirit,
Even when he could not get out of his bed, he supported her and heard
Controlling with a glance, as kids were uneasy with the care bestowed
As she vested on them and they grumped.
She was shattered, but not in spirit, standing against all odds,
She supported her children and gave them solace, and strength
Little does she reflect on the unstoppable past, she like a guiding light
Is always showing the path following his lesson of Karma siddhant,
Never complaining of the hurricanes, the wonderful person that she is!
How blessed am I to be their loving child!                

Writing Tips

I plan writing

A Haiku each morning

Shed some laziness

Continue writing

As the day Progresses

And Dusk enters

Revise and rewrite

If possible, a masterpiece

Of letters unspoken

Is that difficult

To be more productive

And call it a day!!

Of course you can

It is so natural to you

A star you are! Yay!!

An Attempt To Paint A Portrait

I want to imagine painting a self portrait

With eye lashes so long as to almost 

Touch the skies, 

Eyes looking like sparkling jewels, 

Radiating looks that can create 

Waves of love, hiding in some

Inner corners of the soul.

I look into the mirror to find

My eyes, lacking luster, over the years

And tears all dried leaving a residue

Of degenerative macular vision, veins

Almost drying out and leaving

The image dusty, tampered, 

On the tearing retina and mind,

A reflection of what a soul felt, 

Despite covered in dust.

Levering a hurt that is a constant agony

Hidden burden over ages,

Through cycles of countless lives and deaths.

That look, those eyes once had, witnessed

Countless number of souls fall to the ground, 

To be an image in those gleaming lenses, 

Are now, dense and deep seated,

With cheek bones protruding up, 

As the facial muscles wore out.

A face that once was as fresh as 

An apple of the eye, 

Turned saggy, wrinkled, with chopped lips

Laughter that once would resound music

Of hundred sitars, was working hard, 

In keeping the voice without 

Creating a hoarse, reverberating 

Heart wrenching cough, spitting out

Yellow base phlegm from the inner walls 

of the corroded sacs of Lungs, struggling hard

To remain alive, and keep a form, a smile

To that bag, that holds the toothless smile, 

Pretending to be elated by the failures

As if indicating the spirit 

Of an unkempt body, 

With a withering, frail, skeleton, 

So flawless, that 

It shines through the dried eyes

With a recognition of seeing the relative, 

A long lost son, a prodigal child, that was

Never ever seen in life,

The unborn, to face the world

With faces forlorn, for raking the traditions, 

Breaking rules, exploited, raped, and helpless

And young, of a scared unwed mom, 

An extradition by closed society 

Sans compunction, pity or love...

For a millennium, until the spring rose and spread

The beaming light from the blue bonnets, 

To heal the heart, and the soul and Universe...

From a distance

I saw you, raising out of dust

Crops to feed the people, cattle,

Pets and birds and some fish

I saw you hurry before dawn,

Caring the hard working oxen,

Tilling the land to create the grooves, 

For sowing seeds to raise golden crops,

Carrying fodder and fertilizers

Sometimes pesticides, 

Mostly engine oil, to help draw

Water through the engine pipes, 

Reaching the barren lands, 

Irrigating the soil giving birth

To lush green paddy, pregnant

With golden seed pods, and kernel, 

While humbly drooping their backs...

Alas, the crops..did not raise

In one corner of the world,

When the morning rose..

The dusty winds, pouring rains, 

Flooding the lands striking

Tornadoes, whither is the farmer?

Harvesting, not grain, but husk

Lost everything in a blue moon

On the lands, lying high, 

The grasshoppers and beetles, 

That cleared the endeared harvest

Leaving him with loads of loans

For buying fertilizer to burden...

Most venerable farmer, who has

Caused you this? Why have you

Turned yourself, you- who feeds 

The many, and tills for many, into

A lifeless body, a statistic?

I hear about you and visualize

The pain, unable to reach you

Other than seeing you in heart, 

From a distance...

Union

Keeping the spirit afloat

Kneeling before the Altar

I pray for a better day, 

Better outcome to pay

All the troubles and efforts

I take to make things balanced

It takes a lot of effort, to know

What I need, and work for it

In no time, this fine balance 

Can tilt either way, but no,

With the Grace of God, 

I still stay and pay my dues!

If the life was not meant

I would have been long gone.

I am still, so I can do His work, 

As all I recall is His words, 

Do your duty, in bold letters!

Thy will God, not my will!

Now I know, who is the player, 

And a faint smile crosses my lips,

As they curve in silence, showering

Radiance in my eyes, that, He has to 

Take time to play, and that I get to!

A little bird's song

A little bird perching on a tree
Flew away home with her mate
When rains came, and floods
Surrounded her all around,
She stayed strong
Stood her ground
She covered her little ones
Under her wings, warm and cozy
They stayed there cuddling
What if it rains or floods?
The weather will soon clear
And it will be Spring!

A cuckoo singing in the dawn
Each summer morning, or in dusk,
Couldn't care the heat any less
As she knew the twigs when they sprout
Then the mangoes will grow ripe,
Singing softly with her magical voice
She loves her mate giving a divine message
Neither red hot summer nor the chilling winter
Can stay forever, this too shall pass!
For now she is singing her best
Soaking the world into a heavenly bliss!

Stay put little bird! You are the light of life!

You Can Be!

You can be!

You can be!

 You can be the star of your dreams!

Keep those dreams!

Draw them close!

Keep them churning all your thoughts!

Don’t speculate!

Don’t estimate!

Catch them by their lingering pain in your heart!

Nail them into holders of bouquets!

You are those gleaming lights!

Sparkling with spirit and vibrance!

You can let go all those bad feelings!

They are gone!

They are past!

Show me one with no bitter past!

Memories! Sweet and loving!

They are the charms the rose thorns wear!

They are the tender and delicate flowers!

Smell those roses!

Pause a while!

You will be making the beautiful path!

For, You are the star of your dreams!

 Reaching the sky only as your limit!

Take it girl! Take all that matters most!

That’s your sweet and shy,

Beautiful dream, that wants to 

See you as your star!

Celebrate!

For you are the winner tonight!

- Uma Pochampalli