Ode to a Sibling
Is there a burial ground for a heartache? A deep distant corner to bury your feelings Of the sort that were suppressed Emotions left unexpressed The ache of a playmate lost The agony of a companion gone The hand that helped me walk The one who shaped the way I write and talk Never to come back again ..you're gone without a trace Every time I've thought of you I've held back Stopped myself from wondering How it would have been had you been around How you'd have felt In my moments of joy and those when I was in pain Years have passed yet the hurt remains The unsaid and the unreleased is what I pen today Don't need photographs on the wall I close my eyes... I see your face
चौथ का चाँद
एक ऐसी ही चौथ की रात थी जब एक चाँद बादलों में छिप गया फिर लौट के वो दिन आ गया एक चौथ फिर से आ गयी फिर आँखें यूँ ही नम होंगी यादें फिर क़ाबू को तोड़ेंगी वक़्त थमता नहीं किसी के जाने से फिर भी कुछ लम्हे वहीं ठहर जातें हैं लाख़ आंसुओं के बह जाने पर भी कुछ मंज़र आँखों का घर बना लेते हैं यक़ीन बस यही है के एक दिन समय संग पीड़ ये भी कम होगी फ़िलहाल नैन ये भीगे विचरते हैं एक झपक में एक बरस यूँ बीत गया किसी दिवाली दीप फिर जलेंगे उन दियों में रोशन फिर ख़ुशियाँ होंगी छटेंगे बादल चाँद निकलेगा जब इंतेज़ार अब उस चौथ का है
A Date with a Memory
A Marked Calendar! How does one prepare To face impending despair What do you do When you know the blues are going to hit you You see the pages of calendar turn A date with a memory awaits Passing time hasn't yet healed the burns Of a day when you were hit by a cruel twist of fate You try to move on Carefully treading down memory lane Past flashing images of a loved one gone The heart laments, aches and pains The day passes punctuated with awkward silences With the mind and heart attempting conversation What one says the other refuses Each year its the same situation Someday the mind hopes the heart shall learn To look back and remember The years of pure joy And not just one bad day in September
तू है…के नहीं?
He and I आज एक याद फ़िर ताज़ा हो चली है संग वो अपने सौ बातें और हज़ार एहसास ले चली है तोड़ वक़्त के तैखाने की ज़ंजीरें खुली आँखों में टंग गयी बीते पलों में बसी तस्वीरें सुनाई साफ़ देती है हर बात अफ़सानों का ज़ायका और निखर गया है सालों के साथ दर्द और ख़ुशी का अजब ये मेल है संग हो तुम फिर भी नहीं हो बस यही क़िस्मत का खेल है
Since You’ve Been Gone
Since you’ve been gone
Been trying each day
To find the strength
Pick up the pieces
And somehow move on
Days run into days
Years begin to turn into years
Yes time has tried to be a friend
But the heartache won’t mend
There’s no easy way
I look around
I see the world I’ve built
The life I live
There’s an emptiness
Despite the happiness I found
So much has changed for me
Yet so much has not
My first birthday had you carrying me in your arms
And now my first one with you in my memory, my heart closer than you'll ever be
Maybe it’s not going to change
The way I feel
Guess it’s meant to be
The emptiness is you driving me
It’s destiny even if it’s strange
Since you’ve been gone
Keep trying each day
To make you my strength
Make meaning of these pieces
Put on a smile and brave onयादें
कुछ यादें एक खलिश सी होती हैं बरसों दिल में सुलघ्ती रहतीं हैं दबती छुपती तो हैं मगर दहकती रहतीं हैं बीतते सालों का मरहम पा के भी दर्द देती हैं गुज़रा वक़्त सब कुछ भुला नहीं देता मन में बसा चेहरा धुन्दला नहीं देता तेरी मुस्कान दिल में अभी भी गूंजती हैं ये पलकें आज भी तुम को ढूँढती हैं तुम्हे याद कर यह आँखें दो बूँद और रो देती है नहीं लिखा था शायद साथ तुम्हारा होगी किसी खुदा की मर्ज़ी पर हमें नहीं है गवारा गलती तो खुदा से भी होती है यादें आ आ कर बस येही सदा देती हैं
यारी
यादों के लम्बे पाँव अकसर रात की चादर के बाहर पसर जातें हैं आवारा, बेखौफ़ ये हाल में माज़ी को तलाशा लिया करतें हैं ख्वाबों में आने वाले खुली आँखों में समाने लगतें हैं फिर एक बार बातों के सिलसिले वक्त से बेपरवाह चलतें हैं वो नादान इश्क की दास्तानें वो बेगरज़ यारियाँ समाँ कुछ अलग ही बँधता है जब बिछडे दोस्त मिला करतें हैं यादों के लम्बे पाँव अकसर रात की चादर के बाहर पसर जातें हैं
Memories
Memories are like the rain At times, a passing drizzle That brings welcome relief At times, a downpour With no end in sight There are times You want to reach out And every drop That falls in your palms Sets you aflutter Yet on occasion You're caught unaware Drenched and lashed Soaked in muddy despair Washed green leaves Pitter and Patter Bring a song to your lip And a spring in your step Then there are gloomy dark days Not a ray breaking through Every droplet weighing you down Drowning you each passing minute Memories are like the rain A little, leaves you wanting for more A lot, and your only friend is regret!
Alive
I remember my first outing as a child Vivid memories of riding pony on my father's back I remember getting caught with my hand in the cookie jar Or how I howled on my first day at school And getting a whack for my constant chatter My bloodied lips and black eye My victory marks from a back alley fight Pining to sit next to the prettiest girl Shared lunches and shattered crushes The first kiss and the heart break Being lost when asked to make a career choice The pain of failing to make the cut Not giving up despite the hurt Dusting myself to fight again Finding love and a friend for life Losing buddies along the way The twinkle in my first-born's eye The littlest tightest grip of my second one Barely a score in a four decade life Picture frames on my memory wall Good and bad bitter and sweet Fleeting moments frozen till eternity Each one telling me life is alive Now I can worry about what's in store Or just step out today and create one more
Remember
Remember the time when we were WE Remember when would be together and could just BE Times when doing nothing together meant EVERYTHING Times when arguing was just a way of TALKING Remember saying what we meant and meaning what we SAID Remember never wishing for a lifetime but always FOREVER Times when making out meant way more than LOVEMAKING Times when we gave it all but nothing was really worth TAKING Remember when we could hear every thought without SAYING Remember feeling the pain without anyone HURTING Times of living in the moment and every moment worth a MEMORY Times of breathing easy around each other and making it easy to BREATHE Wonder why life feels like all of it was a LIFETIME AGO Wonder what came over us where did all the time GO Time perhaps to count our blessings and making the blessing COUNT Time to stop changing what we had and remembering to make that CHANGE