Author: Taruna

Rock, Water, Sand.


Defying physics you stand
Your strength is daunting
Your stature mighty

Yet here comes the ocean spray
Wave after wave
And you welcome the attention

You dance and yield
With the passion of lovers
And caressed are your contours

Your union brings forth
Countless grains of sand
Capturing the essence of time

With every turn
There is awe
In these simple cyclic laws

When elements work together
Magic happens
The impossible is possible

For how can a might rock
Be so transformed
Into the tiniest of particles

And no less
Than by drops of water
One wave at a time

And within me
One breath at a time
Is revealed a celebration

Of existence at its finest
Carrying a simple joy
Which even lapping waves can teach

Rakshabandan

You arrive and greet
This morning of Rakshabandan.
As always, in full bloom
With unequivocal light and love.

This symbolic yellow rose
Stops me in my tracks
As you, brother, embodied
It’s rich depth and warmth.

Saving me from my sorrow
I see how love transverses all.
Physically no longer side by side
Yet our spirits still unite.

Our bond is clear
My brother dear,
As you remain with and between us,
Your loving sisters.

Today is Rakshabandan, the day of celebrating the bond between a brother and sister. The yellow rose is the symbol, my two sisters and I chose, that represents our departed beloved brother, Dipak.
From an unknowing third party, what should the universe send my way today or all days, but a yellow rose surrounded equally by three buds! What an image of our sibling unity!

Genius Loci- Spirit of a place

What gathers together
Giving rise
To that one feeling
Of being in the right place?

No words needed
As all in the glance
Is acknowledgement, respect
Perhaps even an adoration.

Flourish here
Does the calm,
The peace
More so a mutual love.

Bestow on the self
The same gratuitous presence
And feel yourself at home
Welcomed, received and loved.

Here lies a bond
With no bondage,
A relationship
With no need for any rules.

Belief and faith perhaps
The stepping stones for most,
But this inner knowledge is to be reached
With an ardent and persistent thirst.

Let then the magic
From the ultimate connection
Release it’s power supreme
Second to no other.

So accept and harness
Your own ‘Genius Loci’
And bask in the stream
Of the greatest of loves.

 

Original artwork of myself and my companion of a short time, Duchess, who claimed my backyard as her home for the last two and half years of her life.

Bigger than the differences..

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Five seas
Seven continents
Countless countries
And seven billion faces

Of all the possibilities
You and I meet!

Short acquaintances
Long friendships
Pleasant affairs
Awkward collisions

Personal or political
Social or historical
The issues are many
And repeated generationally

Attracting and repelling
Sometimes reoccurring
Encounters test and teach
But are we ready for the learning

For the snapshot
Of our existence
What will we gain
What legacy will be changed

Whether we live
Loud and large
Or quiet and small
One thing is for sure

As we came
We shall leave
So as we meet
Let’s share a seed

The seed of kindness
With a listening ear
A supportive hand
And a wish for good stewardship

Hence, may we deserve to live
Upon this ‘pale blue dot’
And on exiting
Leave it the same if not a speck better

The Marks of June

June you mark the middle
Of a year
That has everyone
In quiet the pickle.

The unpredictable,
The unprecedented,
The insurmountable,
The game changers.

All in one
They are happening,
The noise deafening
The footprints indelible.

Biological or social
Emotional or political,
The fight for survival
The core of the struggle.

With debates and protests
Even the riots,
How can we possibly
Claim any rest.

Feeling the injustice
The denial, the inequality
With deep woven roots,
Perpetuating the atrocities.

Even with fight
Guided by knowledge,
Changes still need
Clarity and quietness

To allow the most powerful
To rise,
To be felt
To be seen.

So how to find
In these dark times
The magic of love?
The peace of love?

It must be the only way
The ancient way.
So go within to the core
Ground and center.

Move with that one
Rhythmic flow
Never to judge
Only to bestow.

Life, opportunity
Abundance of choice.
Breath is this anchor
Breath is the answer.

What seems so insignificant
Holds all that is magnificent,
Delve deep, delve often
Keep company

Of the one companion.
So her treasures
Maybe realized
And your peace will unfold.

Beauty of Remembrance

Oh poppy, you rise to bloom
With petals of royal red
And the deepest dark core

Giving unambiguous symbolism
Signature of reverence
For those never to be forgotten

You embody a pained dignity
In the midst
Of life’s most difficult times

You show me strength
With your inherent form
As you adorn my lapel

You drive me to confront
My challenges
And learn from your qualities

Remembrance:
Painful to embrace
But laced, she is, with deep love

Dignity:
Humanity’s stature
Measured by compassion

Clarity:
The fruit of growth
Despite the desire to revert

Poppy dear,
You’re nature’s gift
As you grace my garden
And bring gratitude to my heart.

May the 4th, 5th, 6th be with you…


How is it that we’ve lost sight
Of knowing what we have,
This ultimate gift
The greatest blessing called life.

Yet, soon as we are reminded,
With pains and loses
At home and afar,
We acknowledge this truth.

That yes, we are indeed alive,
Yes, how fortunate we are.
Then why do we behave,
Behave so abominably?

We allow material possessions
Personal prestige,
Judgement and ridicule,
To feature throughout the day.

Has the truth of ‘living’
Dawned with you today?
Or is it merely a fleeting thought
Occurring on some days.

When the depth of yearning
To know the infinite,
And humility entwine,
A knowledge of old

Comes to be learnt.
That you are indeed,
An image
Of all that is clarity,
Understanding
And almighty.

Then unfolds
The gifts sublime
That only your ‘senses’
Privilege you to behold.

Feelings of gratitude
Surface to obliterate
The space occupied by sorrow.

Joy bubbles
Where misery once stood,
Compassion flourishes
Eating away the roots of greed and fear.

And love’s light surrounds
To vanquish the darkness.

So in May, learn knowledge
Of the life force within.
So you may sense
As only your humanity enables.

Loving the Child Within

In the dark,
Shivering and cold,
I remember you.

Laughed at, ridiculed
Ashamed.
Needing to disappear,
I remember you.

Searching for that look
Of approval.
Wanting that comforting
Hug.

Instead,
Feeling unseen
And left behind.

Now all grown up.
But I still remember you.

I remember you
Because I was you.

I saw you
And I see you now.
I held you
And I hold you still.

With a kindness,
A guidance,
A protection
Divine,

I have grown.
Grown to know
The great power of true love.

The kind that holds
The stars in place,
The sun at bay,
The moon for play.

Is this a fairytale
Or supreme astrophysics?
Either way
I must be loved.

How else
Could I be protected,
Be free to witness
Explore and come to know

The Might.
That surrounds
Nurtures and holds,
Both me and the stars.

April’s Resurrection

With the unexpected
Mandatory isolations,
Arrives a resurrection
Of lifestyles of old.

Families gather
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The elderly are watched over
With keenness and compassion.

The poor and homeless
Fed and sheltered.
Communities work
With united forces.

With efforts big and small
True mindfulness and consciousness
Regain strength and center stage.

Within the self
Something deep is touched,
Stirred and begs to rise
As another resurrection.

Stripped of the usual noise
Busy-ness and distractions,
There is an exposure
Of the decluttered self.

The self that knows consciousness
That feels the depth of gratitude
That recognizes the greatest love
Of the One who always cares.

With no concepts to cloud
And only a few and basic
Needs to be addressed,
The obvious is made clear.

The preciousness
Of the ultimate gift
Yet non-permanence
And fragility of life.

The question begged to be asked.
What is it that you resurrect?
Your goals and ambitions?
Your achievements and certificates?

Neither past nor future matter.
The unexpendable commodity
Is this moment now.
The frame of existence.

Resurrect your being
The qualities that enliven you
Not by what surrounds
But by what lays within.

Allow in this quiet time
Listening to the voice
Lost in the usual noise.
And resurrect what you know
You’ve always been.