First Rain (LP 6)

It’s the first rain
At the end of a summer
Of dry passions
And dreary deadness;
Of stifling heat
That sapped my strength,
A long dry spell
That seemed to never end.

I walked on and on
In the scorching sun,
My sweat mingling
With bitter tears.

I tried to lull myself to believe
That this is Life-
These lurid colours
That distract but never soothe,
This riotous clamour
And hollow laughter,
These gleeful sighs
And woeful smiles;
This torrid season
Of dust and lust.

But that was until
Rain clouds gathered
On my heart’s horizon,
Destiny thundered,
And it began to rain...

Oh! Such coolness, such silky wetness,
Such earthy fragrance
Like never before...
My wounds all healed
In the divine downpour,
That washed off my spirit
The dust of doubt;
Dreams sprouted again
In my barren life,
Wilted flowers blossomed
When touched by the rain;
It cooled the charred
Embers of the past,
And today I know
What peace is at last.

I drench myself again and again,
My thirst insatiable;
It’s my first love after all,
The first rain
On my parched soul.

P.S: With this, I conclude my Adolescent Love Poem series. Wishing you all a very happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy! :)

Love Came Knocking (LP 5)

Love came knocking at my door,
But I was too fast asleep;
Asleep and dreaming
Of princes on white steeds,
And lovers on lily beds.

Oh! Hear I did not
That nervous little knock,
Trembling with unsaid words,
Unsaid dreams...and unsaid love.

I was searching the skies
For the rainbow of love,
But I failed to see
The forlorn cloud nearby,
Heaving with unrained love.

Danced I in the wind and waited
With the nectar of my love;
Not knowing the bee that hovered
Day and night near me,
Would not alight, only out of fright
My petals his clumsy
Black limbs would hurt.

Through moonless nights
And sunless days,
In the riot of spring
And winter’s deathly white,
The bee was ever by my side.

Oh! Love was knocking at my door,
But I could not hear the feeble sound;
The garish bird-song filled my ear,
Love’s true call I could not hear;
Nor my heartbeats sobbing loud
For a love so near...but I was blind.

And then one day, come the bee did not-
My life with loneliness was fraught;
Blush my cheek sunshine’s kiss could not,
Nor make me laugh the tickly breeze;
Revelation flashed, remorse did boom,
And I knew as sorrow rained,
The bee’s drone it was
That made me bloom....

Yes, love came knocking at my door,
But I was too fast asleep.

Rose (LP 4)

I am a rose in your hands:

Love me- and I'll bloom,
Please you with my fragrance,
Dispel your gloom.

Crush me- and I'll pale,
Shrivel up and wilt,
And waste away with a silent wail.

Your Name (LP 3)

I wrote your name on the golden sand,
But the wily waves crept up the shore,
And washed it away with the sweep of a hand.

I scratched your name on a tree trunk,
But one fine day,
The bark peeled away.

I carved your name on a huge rock,
But the moss smothered it after a rain,
As if my sweating labour to mock.

So I engraved your name deep
In my heart, and I know
It will forever be safe.

Silent Love (LP 2)

[Inspired by the heart wrenching dilemma of an intense but incompatible crush I had in school ;)]

I have long since known
That not all feelings should be spoken,
For when you expose your heart,
You risk it being broken.

There is so much to consider,
Just too much at stake,
Before the move you make
To bare your soul.

What will be the reaction?
Will there be rejection?
With that I couldn't cope,
For the best, I can only hope.

And what if my declaration
Causes a bomb explosion,
In the lives of those I know,
And I become their foe...?

Society may not approve,
This may be forbidden love;
Their stigmas I can't remove-
Of religion, caste and class.

Oh, how will I neglect
The anguish of my loved ones;
Before their searing pain,
Won't this love look like selfish gain?

So let me keep this fire
Hidden in my heart,
Let this silent love
Go with me to the grave.

For there's so much to consider,
Just too much at stake,
Before the decision I take
To follow my heart.

Damsel in Bliss (LP1)

Floats she with royal grace
Across a meadow
Of fresh green hopes;
Such glowing radiance to her face,
But purest joy born
Of noblest thought could endow.

The still dark pools of her limpid eyes
Love-heavy, laid
With the sweet nectar of love;
Her smile could thaw the winter’s ice,
Divine bliss that dwells in angels above
Blossoms in this rustic maid.

She halts by the rambling jasmine vines
Climbing away to unknown glory,
She gently plucks the pearly buds-
Tendresse has many signs...
And strings them to tell the soulful story
Of two hearts that beat as one.

Festooning the velvet piece of midnight sky
Cascading down her shoulders frail,
And oiled to lustrous perfection,
She lets out a gentle lovesome sigh
That bursts open the niveous buds
To spread the scent of a tender tale.

Skirt tickling the springy green,
She moves on, the mystic lass;
The cuckoo sings with unknown fire,
The roses blush like never seen,
And the old peepal smiles at the old, old tale
Of two hearts that beat as one....

Love Poems - Valentine's Day Special!

The next few posts will be devoted to love poems that I penned when I was sixteen or seventeen, in an adolescent delirium of hormones. Indeed, that was a time when, as Pablo Neruda so succinctly put it, “love poems were breaking out all over my body”. Things were aggravated by the fact that I laboured under an idealized concept of love fed to my poor vulnerable teenage mind by our popular fiction and movies. Reading the poems now, my wiser, more mature self, finds them rather maudlin and some downright mawkish! I claim no great literary merit to them but I am fond of them all the same... because they always make me smile....

And that, my dear friends, is my sole reason for sharing them with you here on my blog.... Since Valentine's Day is round the corner, let me dedicate them to all you lovebirds out there! I'll be marking them 'LP' next to the title to distinguish them. See ya!