Sabotaged

Blowing serpentine smoke rings
into the midnight air,
her ominous silhouette
threw black dancing shadows
on pearl white walls,
as she continued
plotting
planning
manipulating
a sabotage of
the much awaited Presentation,
or a scheme to pull strings
to contest the next Appraisal,
even a Password hacking
would do, to send
her rival plummeting down
the Corporate ladder

Engrossed in scheming,
she sat oblivious
to the black cobra
which slithered into her window,
coiled under her chair,
wound itself up the backrest
Hissed
Hypnotized
Crystallized
her gaze into
Cold fear
She had found her match
Checkmate.

A Voice Unheard

Through thick walls of the membrane
and whooshing, burbling sounds of water
I hear my siblings sharing love and laughter
Playing , cuddling, sleeping
Wrapped in her warm embrace
Rejoicing in her love and tender care

She suddenly sounds cross,
Angry, pained, stressed
wanting to soon put an end to IT
I did not understand at first,
That she meant ME
Slowly, it dawned, after her visit to the doctors,
That I would never see the light of day

Why
Does she hate me so ?
wanting to see me dead,
out of the way?
What
have I done?
I want to live, to see the world
Will
they try her for murder?
Impose a capital punishment on her?
Why
is she ready to lay down her life for my siblings
Yet, hurriedly trying to snatch mine away?

She will not answer and I cannot hear
I bid her a silent Goodbye.
As bright lights turn on,
She is on the bed, the doctor is touching me
He injects her, she cannot feel me anymore
I feel a hard tube hurting me
Then I slowly fade into an abyss
As I get sucked out
the bond snaps.
I am going, going,
Gone!
Mother,
Wont you shed a single tear for me?

Illusion

Entangled in silken cobwebs
of superfine images,
Ruffling the musty pages
of an old scrapbook,
I came across a sketch
of a dream house,
Now standing dilapidated
Fenced with weeds and twigs
instead of roses and marigolds;
Memories of dreams
lying shattered,
Fragments of broken glass
On frozen ice
The lost, lonely page
In the tattered copybook,
Still cries for you!

Success

Measured by someone else’s yardstick
She walks into your life
Like a whiff of fresh air
Remains a co-passenger
on your memorable journey
depending on the time it takes
to reach your destination

While she’s around
She cajoles
Pampers
Teases
Like a flirtatious paramour,
Exciting, urging, feeling your pulse
leading you to an all time high

As fickle as the firefly
She zooms out;
Before you realize it
she is miles ahead
Meeting your rival in transit
giving you little time to recover
your steps from the last tango

Don’t try to hold on,
She will slip out like alluvium
Let her go
before she lets you down
and drops you into the abyss
Of deep despair
For she was never
meant to be
A permanent resident
on your Resume.

Midnight Mojito

Glances met across the crowded table
Instantly reviving a rendezvous aborted by fate
Pounding heartbeats matched
The crescendo of drums
The dance floor whirled

He stood up, leaving his dinner unfinished
She knew he would seek the next dance
As he whisked her into his arms
memories of lost opportunites flooded
Crowding her throbbing brain

They were both consumed by a passion
A yearning, longing, urgency
to belong, unite, to be one
In a trance she walked the Caribbean seas;
Tempestous on a full moonlit night
welcomed the lovers with open arms
beckoning them into a whirlpool of love

His kisses locked her spellbound
His touch igniting a fire not extinguished
by waves lapping their bodies on wet sands
as he savoured tiny droplets on her bare skin;
The waters turned warm, high tides engulfed their passion
Fires burned through the night
As they made wild wanton love,
desires yet unquenched
An intoxication stronger than a mojito took over
Till dawn broke, with the sunrays severing a spell
Compelling him to kiss her a final Goodbye.

Angela

Her hand held mine in a tight clasp
The nip in the air was chilly
Our evening walk had to be shortened
Dusk was drawing near;

She hesitated a moment to sit by the lake
A slight smile twitched on her lips
She sighted her friends by the water,
A flock of geese flew past
her wistful eyes followed their flight;
I made a fleeting wish
To release her from this plight
grant her the freedom of a bird
The chirpiness,
happiness
peace;

Footsteps behind us startled her
She grew pale,trembled, tightened her grasp
Hugged me and looked up for comfort
my eyes welled up, I choked
how long could this go on
her fear of every human but me;

Will he ever be traced and convicted
for his heinous crime
Will the beast be imprisoned
for assaulting
raping
abusing
scarring
A six year old, for life

I had a million questions
Unanswered;
Will justice prevail
Will it replace innocence lost
Will she regain her lost childhood
Have a joyous youth
Are wishes granted
Prayers answered
Do miracles happen?
Will I live long enough
To comfort
Protect
Soothe
And love her
Or will she remain the lone survivor
Who lived but merely continued to exist……………

Orchid Magic

A floral tribute to you I pay
As our paths crossed along the way
Your favourite treasure, the orchid
Adorned every corner as I did
Seek your attention undivided

Reflecting the rosy blush of our first meeting
Your shy gaze held mine for a moment fleeting
Pink petals with two shaded hues
Gave me no significant clues
That your hands were trembling beneath the clusters

Pink soon made way for the purple fringed flower
Bathed in passion, violet blooms on you did I shower
Wooing you in a style so uniquely obsessive
Making me relentless jealous and possessive
Of even the lilac stems vying for your attention

We moved from purple to white, sealing our love with a kiss
You looked so ethereal in lace and satin, a vision of eternal bliss
As the wedding march ended and your veil I lifted
The hair band of orchid I’d specially gifted
Coyly became a part of me, already being a part of you

With joy and content as our home we fill
flames of orange, yellow, purple on every sill
The magic of orchids remains in our life
Cheering us in moments of undue strife
Our floral friends privy to our secrets rife

The Summit

Pursuing excellence in a quest for glory
stirred passions, amidst chasing dreams,
A crisp offer letter, harbinger of challenges
Promising positive changes sent ambitions soaring
Reaching out to shooting stars in the daylight sky

The journey got tedious, tasks arduous
Competition more fierce, ethics perfidious
Flight schedules, itineraries replaced marks
and Grades in children’s Report cards
Board meetings gained priority over summer camps

Along the way quality faded, life got jaded
nerves highly strung as tempers frayed
embellishments adorned shelves a plenty
collectibles burst forth a score and twenty
Status symbols changed with fashions in and out
Their value nothing worth writing about

Friends distanced, family fragmented
achievements hollow as bonds disjointed
the last leg of the journey was an uphill task
The winding path got narrower ; A hand to hold I asked
your grasp was fragile, the clasp was broken

I did not look back, as mists blurred my vision
remained isolated, even two became a crowd atop the ivory tower
Having reached the summit, my echoes resounded
No elation, just deep regret matched profound sorrow
knowing that all laughter had died, eons ago.

Eclipse

The yellow flowers were blinding my vision
As I hurriedly crossed the daffodil fields
trying hard to ignore their brightness
which reflected the rays of the setting sun;
why did I sub-consciously compare
their yellowish hue to your jaundiced eye
reviving memories of dark suspicions;
blatant accusations and stinging responses

Why did I hasten my pace to get to the fence
longing for the evening shadows to appear
and engulf my thoughts;
to bury my face in the embrace of the twilight sky
I waited for the clouds to envelop the faint rays of the rising moon
For darkness to sweep over the night sky to hide the stardust in my eyes

Why had I ever hoped that you would accept
my olive branch which had dried, withered
and swept away with tons of autumn leaves
into the water creek,
I had stood on the edge of the slippery precipice
unsure if I had to take those steps down to the bridge which now lay burnt;
its ashes washed away in the turbulent rivers below

Seven long years had passed;
many a White Christmas had come and gone
your suspicions had grown deeper I was told,
the distance between us had doubled
You continued to count the thorns in the
Stems of the white roses I sent you
your sinister calculations had eclipsed the truth
I have since made peace with myself
But you continue to look for imaginary footprints
On sheets of falling white snow…….