Agora - Phobia

Agora - Phobia

A man breaks into a sprint
Squeezes past elbows
And bodies that glint
Without arms that work
And minds that think
Timeless, tall, rusted
As if cast on a splint

Its not your world old man
We are in this gathering of fools
  
The man gets nowhere
Tumbles and falls
With no one to care
He breaks into a sob
The giants unaware
Metal pedesis flows
I hear a cry and a swear

Its not your world old man
We are in this gathering of fools

I wait for him to rise
Composed and serene
To reclaim his prize
An ounce of lost pride
Stifle the unheard cries
And lay this pile of rust
Amid dust of borne lies

Its not your world old man
Not any more ...
Not any more ...
We are in this gathering of fools

But there he lies in pain
As the giants surround
Pile the weight of pride slain
His cries cannot pierce
Tunes the sirens gain
As the metal sprouts hands
And heads gore a life in vain

I say .. 
Its not your world old man
We are in this gathering of fools

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain

Other Instances of Life Lessons @ Parched For Rain

Solo Celebrations || Standing Still 

Soliloquy - Dream, Travel, Disconnect, Soar

Dream, Travel, Disconnect, Soar

Recollect your old dreams
When you and your pet dragon
Flared up the night sky
And soared

It’s time to hunt your pet
Set out on that adventure quest
Unite your destiny
With you

Head to the Paestum ruins
Where the horses of the trident
Await their master
Wild, free

Tame them like old Joe
Bring out that six-string solo
Scream like Steven
Dream on …

The horses will gallop on
All over your old wounds and chasms
Build arch bridges
Make paths

A gate is where they stop
Where you finish the tiled mosaic
Of childhood goals
Left unmet

The real journey begins
Here where the outside world ends
Map your mind
Delve deep

Always note down your joy
For it’s a happy happy place to be
Set them to a rhyme
Make poems

Post them to all you love
Those faraway beaming pinnacles
Are time travelling
Post boxes

Walk on and on till you can
But stop yourself before you fall
Here’s where it waits
Your dragon

But you cannot see it
No one ever has; it has to be felt
As it sets aflame
You, within

This day you’ll transform
Into that dragon of yore you dreamt
On untethered wings
Fly, soar …

And then, fly on …

-x-x-x-

Written as a part of an assignment: 'make a poem based on random images'.

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain

Other Soliloquys @ Parched For Rain

Facing Fears || On Circles

Dad Goes To Minnesota

Dad Goes To Minnesota

Daddy went fishing in Minnesota

The summer, three years ago

Came home back a year later

Cops of the state in tow

Every day the story goes

When he sits by the fireplace

Cold to bones and for the shore

He lead a screaming race

It so happened that one day

He sat on a plane to Minneapolis

And before they landed he fell

In love with the city’s Nokomis

So off he went in a rickety boat

And singin' his song he rowed

Jumped for joy at his first perch

And cast the oars overboard

They sent a boat to bail him out

After he’d lost all hope

They said you’d better try the Francis

It shares the name with The Pope

So off he went in a rented van

Forgot the map unaware

Missed the turn after Annandale

And wound up on Pomme de Terre

It was twilight when he set foot

In the potato ghost town

No one knows what he saw there

He says she came in a gown

And she asked of him, go fetch

Me my ring from the quagmire

Where they lay me down

On the bank of the Esquagamah

And then the living fragment

Left in my Moosehead of a man

Well, I think daddy ran away

As fast as only a mustang can

He went back to the Nokomis

For another daring misadventure

Scuffled over the boat rental

And got the Sheriff his denture

He came home in grand procession

In that battered rental car

Followed by sirens red and blue

Glad daddy made this far

Today he sits by the fireplace

And retells on Schubert’s sounds

May God bless that old Sheriff

Whose dreams my daddy hounds

-x-x-x-

The assignment topic was 5 lakes from the state of Minnesota - Nokomis, Francis, Annandale, Pomme de Terre and Esquagamah

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain
Blog Contents

Writing Project #6 - Insecurity

Insecurity

You
Are that unknown
Parameter on which
My equations rest

They
Help me compute
The gains and losses
Of this short life

Futile
I know the effort
Is, for no answer
They'll ever solve

Insecure,
So I am, fluttering
And without you here
I lose myself ...

-x-x-x-

The topic for the sixth writing project was: Insecurity

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain

Other Poems from the Writing Project @ Parched For Rain:

Pencils || Earrings || Gap || Reluctance || Burn

Writing Project #5 - Burn

Burn

I sit rocking
This chair, set
In the dark corner
Of my room
Illuminated once
On my whim
On the flick
Of my wrist
That lights a match
 

It sheds a sharp
Light that I let
Hurt my eyes
Till it reaches
Down, down
To my fingers
I can't let them
Hurt, so I blow
And all is dark

Why I sit here
Igniting, again
Thinking of you
And the paths
That I took
To lead my self
Away from you
And all promises
Of me, to me

It's clear now
I know the end
Collecting all
Memories, kisses
Nothing, everything
All in me now
An effigy at your
Pedestal, flicked,
Lit and burnt

-x-x-x-

The topic - Burn - of the fifth installment was inspired by the many lights that burn during Diwali. The topic did not see fruition till a long time though. What came out was in no way linked to the original inspiration.

Do read Nishita's post on the same topic.

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain

Other Poems from the Writing Project @ Parched For Rain:

Pencils || Earrings || Gap || Reluctance || Insecurity

Writing Project #4 - Reluctance

Reluctance

Oh lover that you are not
But will someday be
In sounds of my voice
You crave for me
Eyes of old innocence
They watch only me
As I step on closer
A measured plea
A step back you take
Bright flushed glee
Hold your hand, closer
You wished to flee
I kiss you, once, again
You let me be
Snuggle against my chest
And comfort me
I smile to myself, hope
In love, free
Reluctant to my touch
You’ll always be

-x-x-x-

The fourth topic of the writing assignment with Nishita is Reluctance. Writing something that is playful, yet borders on erotic is a fun exercise. It brings out some sunny positivity about life in general.

Do check Nishita's haiku on the same topic.

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain
 
Other Poems from the Writing Project @ Parched For Rain:

Pencils || Earrings || Gap || Burn || Insecurity

Writing Project #3 - Gap

Gap

Bundled up in bed
I watch you from the door
Old innocence beckons
Across a slippery floor

Comes a sudden rush
An urge to hold
A raging bush-fire
To let love be bold

I stay at the door
Longer than I should
As thoughts run wild
Rivers of driftwood

What was it you said?
That day you left
Your dainty porcelain
Hurt, chipped, cleft

Feet rooted I wait
With a silent slap
Then return, better
Mind the gap

-x-x-x-

The third writing assignment with Nishita was based on the topic: Gap. The topic is both vague and open-ended. It took a while to resolve this topic, until a sudden spark set this one up ...

Also check out Nishita's post on the same topic.

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain

Other Poems from the Writing Project @ Parched For Rain:

Pencils || Earrings || Reluctance || Burn || Insecurity

Writing Project #2 - Earrings

Earrings

Sitting across from you
A world far away
I gaze in to your eyes
Then let mine stray
Down a soft bridge to
Your lips that say
Sweet nothings, I kiss
On a dreamy day
Then up your sharp jaw
I am guided a way
Where I hold your face
And silently pray
But pesky, cute earrings
Bar my way

With the soft lobes
I begin to play
The studs I fool around
And pinch away
To rhythms set by your
Dangles yesterday
To loops that were inspired
By those that day
You wore when I lost
My heart’s way
But tonight I lust for
Your lobes to play
Without pesky earrings
To bar my way

-x-x-x-

This is the second installment of the writing project with Nishita. The topic this time was: Earrings

Check out Nishita's post where she talks about a sense of nostalgia attached to a set of earrings.

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain


Other Poems from the Writing Project @ Parched For Rain:

Pencils || Gap || Reluctance || Burn || Insecurity

Writing Project #1 - Pencils

Pencils

Last stub of wood
Tapered to a tip
Twirl in my fingers
Play in my grip

Scribble on the go
Erase on a whim
Flawless lines
Thick paper thin

Think nothing of it
A dispensable tool
But a stubborn pen
One cardinal fool

Rest assured, its OK
Make your mistake
Keep to yourself and
Share the final take

Rework the world
Reshape the word
Grow as you bend
To tunes absurd

Creating, perfecting
In arty stubby woods
Correcting to freedom
Puny rubbery hoods

And then as I hold
The short sharp stub
I'll begin to write
My fool's last grub

-x-x-x-

This is the first of a potential series of posts done as a part of a writing exercise with blogger and friend Nishita Fernandes. The idea is to pick up a random topic and write something on it. The random topic this time was chosen by me: Pencils.

Do check out Nishita's post from the collaboration.

-x-x-x-

© Parched For Rain

Other Poems from the Writing Project @ Parched For Rain:

Earrings || Gap || Reluctance || Burn || Insecurity