Author: Mumtaz N K
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Only for Some Opium I Wish….
If I could have a pinch I’d surrender without a cringe Surrender my hopes, (That seem now the bleakest light, In darkness, there seems no respite,) That have dashed my wishes. **** To sniff a pinch of opium,now I cringe I beg that I be led into an oblivion! No more, recognise those wounds That…
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Nothingness
Nothing but the fresh breath of pines, and squirrels sneaking cones Open spaces, golden grass singing, call a knapsack laden me, To experience nothingness whilst on a hilly trail. How pleasurable it is to shrug of the city and its maladies Instead I follow my heart, watch the snow leopard’s path Notice there’s little beside…
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Medusa's Wound
She thought it had healed When she had been carved onto stones Or had it? Can a stone capture a woman’s tears? What a grotesque image they’d carved She’d felt alienated from herself. She pondered over her wounds That healed in the inky parchment of nights. But the each passing day gouged A deeper wound…
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Love Letters
#L How your fragrance and love Ooze out as I unfold Each carefully pressed layer Of your tattered letters. As my shaky fingers smoothen out Each wrinkled word, phrase and line, I regale moments shared. Magically you appear, as if to Speak to me, in absentia: Oh ’twere that I could fold you into my…
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Kindness
If only I could describe kindness I’d render it in detail, describing Nature’s sounds of harmony. —- Admire snowy clouds that sweep over Tall mountains in humility. —– Hear the melody of the wind, Rustling through the canopy of trees, Touching each nook and cranny gently. —– Auscultate the forest floor’s murmurs As it breathes…
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Jasmine – Chennamallikarjuna
Many stories do flowers tell: Let the Jasmine tell mine, Oh Chennamallikarjuna Accept my words, The spark of my soul’s yearning, Roughened diamonds tinged With coal dust, they are, Let them be my homage to Siva, Said, Mahadevi Akka. **** The scents and sights Of this world crowd my mind, Which I choose to resign.…
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Happenstance
The day I step out Of the web of my biases. I’ll call it happenstance! *** Lemme start with baby steps Casting off the net of fear, Willing to fall on ground unsure. *** I know, at first I can’t soar, So I must stretch my wings, and then, Like foundlings, aim for nearest branches…
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The Gingerbread Man
“Lordie me! It’s dashing cold And my stomach’s hungry” Said the fat old cook. So she glanced at her recipes, Flipping through her stained book. And then, her eyes lit up. Quickly she thumped into some flour A dash of ginger, treacle, and spice; And a pinch of salt, And rolled it into a…
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Finding Myself
‘Tis mysterious that my heart beats Thumps in its ribcage rebelliously Behaves like a child unruly, In obstinacy, turns back towards A wooden shelf bent with books, Like a truant child asking for a candy, Oh I must admit I skip many a heartbeat When I see a bibliophile or a library. *** Why, I…
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Elegy
The year 2020, mid December, The last moon rose, I thought. My eyes closed under the glowing Winter light, branches bathed It seemed in a ghastly moonlight. ‘The end seems near.’ My mind repeatedly regurgitated. Unceasingly the machine beeped In the hospital, Shattering the last of my silences. I thought I’d pray, if I were…
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Bistro
Aromatic, Bustling centre, A city’s heart, A rendezvous crossroads, melee, Creativity. *** Coffee Conversations, savouries Vanilla and spice. Quintessentially all things nice! Vintage *** Music Mocha, magazines A romantic soiree, Parisienne patisserie alongside mouth-watering flavours. **** © Mumtaz N Khorakiwala 3-01-2021 Picture courtesy: Moon DTheArtist Unsplash I’ve experimented with the elfchen form comprising of 1-2-3-4-1…
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Companionship
Loneliness isn’t solitude It’s a lack of presence, When his wife was busy With chores and children He felt lonely without his books: Then blindness took them away; The paucity nearly killed him. Thence his partner’s words Eased his loneliness Into their evenings Poured in soft sounds: Muffled footsteps hurrying Into his study, A soft…