The first day of winter

winterAs I woke up my sleepy little boy

He jumped out of bed shouting with joy-

“Today is the first day of winter!” he said

As he jumped up and down, excited, in bed,

And I tried to join in his excitement in vain

 

The cynic in me looked at the dark clouds and rain

Nothing remarkable about this day I could see

Just warmer than usual, I shrugged indifferently..

**

 

All through the day, he remained excited

The first day of winter left him quite delighted

He wanted to read the story of the snow

In honor of the day- he’d read it yesterday though

While I trudged through the day, ordinary as ever

Can’t get excited by the season or weather..

**

On second thoughts, why shouldn’t I?

I’m afraid to sound silly, I guess that’s why-

Growing up implies restrictions on behavior

Until restraint becomes a second nature

And we forget to get excited by things inane

Being serious is the way to appear sane…

But seeing my son’s  unbridled excitement

I resolved today to make an amendment

To my rules for self, and try to include

For ordinary things, appreciation and gratitude

So that next time when it is the first day of spring

I am ready to welcome the promises it will bring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday stress

DSC04336Throngs of people milling about

The stores, shopping, without a doubt

That it is absolutely necessary

To buy that non-functional but pretty accessory

To give as a gift to someone whose name

Appears on their holiday list, it’s part of the game

An unwritten rule that circulates in society

Says exchanging gifts constitutes propriety

So stressed out and frantic, tired souls attempt

To buy “meaningful gifts”, while each dollar spent

Escalates the stress that has been persistent

Casting its ugly shadows over holiday sentiment..

 

Your love for someone has to be tangible-

Gift-wrapped, anything else is unthinkable

Holidays are for spreading warmth and cheer

But all that is lost under the thin veneer

Of lips forced into smiles that demons hide

Of stress, over money and exhaustion, deep inside-

Time to remember-holidays don’t come from the store

Maybe the holidays mean something more…

This holiday season I wish you the best

Hope you put holiday stress to rest!

P.S. The picture here depicts Santa’s gift delivery system for Christmas- at Yankee Candle Village, MA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Like”

social-media.jpgThere was a time when “like” meant

A look of approval, a personal compliment

And “followers” belonged to people well-known

Leaders, actors, business tycoons and so on..

Entered the web and now you could follow

Millions of websites that could show

Information interesting and useful to you

Posted by someone ordinary too.

 

Social media had its genesis soon after

With an avalanche of facebook, instagram and twitter

Now the web became your canvas to display

Every aspect of your life, to friends far away

Each other’s followers  now you could be

Exchanging exclamations and likes and smileys

You began to “like” everything- good or bad

There’s no dislike option even for news that’s sad..

**

Ranting about “likes” and “followers”, let me tell you

The array of platforms on which I look forward to

Appreciative comments, likes and follows everyday-

This blog,  facebook and its friends have their say

Then there is “Research Gate” to flaunt my academic prowess

How can I neglect my professional success?

So it pings me when someone references and reads

An article of mine, satisfying my hidden narcissistic needs.

**

Such is the world today, making us obsessed

About the number of likes, follows and friend requests

Firing up the beast of competition within

At least in cyberspace we know how to win!

 

(Image source:http://stopsoldiersuicide.org/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The very important predicament

nothing towear

Image source: shelbyrice.com

Trapped in the age-old conundrum,

Exasperated, confused and panic-stricken

Pulling out pieces picked at random

I am one of those millions of women

Who stare at their closets each day

Overflowing with clothes and accessories

Before getting dressed, for work or for play

This tops the list of their many worries-

Despite shopping left, right and center

Blowing their budgets on personal adornment

Buying out of boredom, or for pleasure

They all echo a common sentiment-

Why is it that I have nothing to wear?

I just bought some clothes last week!

Can’t find a decent outfit, I swear

Retail therapy is where refuge I seek..

When we say that, we are calculating

The number of people who might have seen

Us in any outfit; it is upsetting

That repeating outfits invites comments mean..

**

I am as much a culprit as another

Never knowing what to wear

Maybe I should downsize and declutter

Strip my closets of everything but essentials bare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The World of Fantasy

DSC04397I thought highly of my skill at parenting

Showing my child reality was wise

I spared him from fantasy,  unrelenting

In my efforts to portray truth before his eyes

So there was no mention of Santa, or elf or a fairy

No presents left under the Christmas tree

Fantasies are futile, reality can be scary

Facing it early,  he would more equipped be

To survive in this world, and success achieve-

This is what I had assumed throughout

With strong conviction I continued to believe

That I was raising a mature individual, no doubt..

**

The turning-point came to me one day

When my child picked out a book extraordinary

Despite my aversion to fantasy, I could not say

That “Alice in Wonderland” was forbidden territory

As we turned its pages together, one by one

Amazed was I by my child’s transformation

His imagination ran wild, in every direction

He conjured up stories testing my comprehension.

Enchanted by this tale he made an effort

To read all the words, and sharpened his skills

I then realized, shaken out of my zone of comfort

He had learnt quite a bit in the midst of these thrills-

Seeing his eyes light up with wonder

I realized how myopic my vision had been

So together our duo decided to plunder

Treasures of mythical variety previously unseen

I discovered the joy of losing myself in

A world fabricated out of imagination

And the deeper we continued to delve in

The more it came to me as a revelation-

Instead of teaching my child as I thought

My child was the teacher, and I the taught!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite book

Written in response to the Indispire challenge:

Your favourite book or author. How did it/he/she influence you? Why do you think others should read it/him/her?

1000 suns.jpg

A book that was a compulsive read

One that made my heart bleed

As I followed raw emotions laid bare

Of Mariam and Laila, two maidens fair

“A Thousand Splendid Suns” revealed to me

The Kabul of dreams lost to misery

Two resilient women who shared 

Their husband, their lives, as they cared

Deeply for each other, united by tragic fate

Nurtured a  bond too deep to estimate

One sacrificed her life for her friend

Ending her futile, dismal existence

Liberating them both with one bold stroke-

This is an epic saga that spoke

Directly to me, brought tears to my eyes

As I read about powerful love and sacrifice

Let me share my thoughts with you

Maybe you’d find it remarkable too-

 

A man has penned this story of two strong women

While unrelentingly cruel, and morally  weak  are all men-

I do applaud the author, Khaled Hosseini for

Showing strong women in a country torn by war..

Read the book, I urge, and you shall find

An indelible print left on your mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have Facebook, will complain..

media-tation-media-meditation-many-armed-cartoon-yoga-man-sitting-globe-lotus-position-holding-contemporary-electronic-42635392 (1)Increasingly I seem to see

A disturbing trend around me

Of rants and complaints everywhere

Overt, or disguised- beware!

Posted on various web platforms

Sometimes flouting societal norms

A new way of expressing displeasure

Sitting with a computer, at leisure

The slightest annoyance has to be shared

On facebook or twitter, with strangers shared

No doubt there are some folks in cyberspace

Who will sympathize with  your unique case

Making you feel your opinion is precious

In a world of loyalties increasingly capricious

The internet provides anonymity convenient

Towards usual decorum it is more lenient

Thus criticism inappropriate in polite company

Is posted on the web, for the eyes of all and sundry..

**

Social media websites were actually designed

Keeping friends and family in mind

To share happy moments with one another

These websites have metamorphosed altogether

For people to push their biased views

“Creating awareness” is the oft-used ruse

I wish people would stop criticizing

Keep negative opinions hidden, without publicizing

For negativity breeds intolerance, I think

It will take time for this idea to sink!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exotic chrysanthemums

Thought I would share some exotic chrysanthemums from the “Mum Festival” at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. Enjoy!

Moments with my son

mommy baby

The golden sunsets we watch together

The stories we invent with each other

Imagination of each one working in tandem

Piecing together thoughts picked at random-

Silly games that together we conjure

Shaking with laughter to our very core-

For the thousandth time, I pause to marvel

At my golden luck, as I see the sparkle

In your smiling eyes that has me spellbound

In your exuberance, love for life I have found..

**

These moments are transient, I’m acutely aware

Soon you will change, the idea gives me a scare!

So I try to capture each moment you spend with me

On camera, on paper, quite industriously!

**

You have taught me to live in the moment

To enjoy silliness of make-believe and pretend

You’ve given me  hope and a new perspective

In dispelling my gloom, you are always effective!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simplify

DSC05227Maybe a misfit, a rebel am I

In this world of complexities galore

All I want to do is simplify-

 

I am tired of constantly hunting for more

Adding more variables to every equation

Acquiring devices of increasing sophistication

Adding more “features”, more “applications”

Labeled indispensable for life’s “simplification”..

Inherent is the implication that life before

These gadgets was difficult and complicated

Technology today has opened new doors

Leaving older ways of living quite antiquated..

**

In my quirkiness, I beg to differ

With each novel device and application

Life which used to be a shade simpler

Acquires a deeper hue of elaboration

Devious is the way this process operates

Creating a need where none existed

Then there is a simple process that satiates

This artificial need- the logic is twisted!

**

Increasingly enslaved by technology

My jaded mind just wants to break free

Downsize, declutter, simplify is my ideology

I strongly recommend one or more of the three!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon’s Creative Photo Challenge: White

The Old Faithful Geyser erupting in a white froth-at Yellowstone National Park, Wyomingold faithfulWhite flowers, at the Philadelphia Flower Showwhite flowersCarved in white marble, Akshardham Temple, New JerseyDSC05304The brilliance of a white fountain in the night, near Lincoln Center, New York CityDSC04185

The power of a poem

Written in response to Indispire: A poem that left a lasting impression

DSC05930If I could give you a window

Into the depths of my mind

If my true colors I tried to show

In a manner visible to the blind

If my raw emotions I had to display

They could not be expressed any better

Than in a powerful verse, I would say

With magic infused in every word and letter…

**

 

For poetry is the zenith of all art

The divine medium, by gods decreed

It is the mellifluous voice of the heart

An expression of the soul’s hidden need

When woven in a verse seamlessly

Dark thoughts become palatable

As poets pen verses ceaselessly

Making nebulous ideas palpable.

**

In the span of a few lines you may embark

On an emotional  roller-coaster ride

Come face to face with the reality stark

Open your mind to possibilities wide..

**

Embrace the world of verse, I urge

You will be transformed, I can assure

In a sea of imagery you will submerge

Discover the hidden truth, brilliant and pure.

 

 

With this ode to a poem, I am going to talk about my favorite poems:

1. The Glories of Our Blood and State- James Shirley
DSC05388 (2)

The glories of our blood and state
     Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
     Death lays his icy hand on kings:
               Sceptre and Crown
               Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
Love this because it is a great reminder of how victory is transient, no matter what stage of life you are in.
2. Daffodils- William Wordsworth
 DSC04782
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 
Growing up in India, I never really saw daffodils, and always wondered what they looked like. Also tried to imagine what ten thousand daffodils would look like…so I love the visual imagery in this poem…
3. Success is counted sweetest- Emily Dickinson
DSC05371
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.
As he defeated – dying –
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!
I always remember this poem when in the throes of jealousy and self-pity over something I am never good at, while someone I know really excels at it. Overall I agree that I have experienced success more than failure in my life…
4. She walks in beauty- Lord Byron
 DSC05358
She walks in beauty, like the night
   Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
   Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
These lines are just hopelessly romantic and lusciously lovely….the way every woman would like to be described, and the way every man’s lady love would appear…
5. If- Rudyard Kipling
 DSC05348.JPG
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;   
 If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
I saved the best for the last, this is the most inspiring poem I have ever read in my life. The first verse about triumph and disaster is mentioned on the walls of Wimbledon, and I aspire to be able to follow it..
The second verse mentioned here is something I wrote in an unsteady hand as I was developing progressive paralysis of all 4 limbs from a rare nervous system disease called “Guillaine-Barre syndrome” at the age of 14 on a poster and had mounted on the wall. My paralysis progressed to where I could no longer write, and then 6 agonizing months of recovery followed during which these lines gave me strength.