|| masks ||

The woman was

silent
the world

spoke.

A century went by.

The woman has

been hearing the

hollow, scary words

of the world.

Children call them

masks.

(Painting : Preet Khokhar)

|| the earth ||

The earth bears

the pain of

being alive like

a lonely women

Folks scratch her innards

trample on her

for their crazy pleasure

some decorate and preserve her

as they do a lonely women

All watch the destruction

the earth too sees

her slow destruction

and still, through

her own powers

fire

rain

tornadoes

floods

famines

creates balance

against destructive forces

Like the lonely women

the lonely earth saves

her verdure

her rain

her coolness

her fertility

her purity

her identity.

(Painting : Claudia Stach)

|| an apology for surrender ||

For the bird to give up

its fluttering

is tantamount to

the sun giving up its heat

or for the wind to

stop blowing

for the lips of the river to defer

its thirst

is tantamount to

solitude

effectively dissolving into quietude

or for silence to

reside into a secluded corner

thereafter

yes ... thereafter

everything is saved up

that must bring her recognition

in the temple

she readily returns,

as a show of respect,

everything to god

for an intense peace of mind

great

is the silence

like that of the written words

eyes

are open

like a book

the pencil

fixed between the fingers of the hand

shakily

writes down the lines

and the crimpy words

that soul, however

not knowing how to present its own

story

wants to explain to others

to understand that

ambition is ambition

but

god is god.

(Painting : Masashi Harada)

|| your tulip-like eyes ||

Like a bird

your eyes nurture

dreams for others

Busy searching

for joy for others

your eyes create joy

in their pure depths

Becoming lips

my eyes drink

the beauty

of your eyes

Reaching your tulip-like

eyes the fire of loneliness

dies down

From your eyes

i take the vision and power

to see and create the world

For your eyes

i would creat

a world that

has no tears

For the world

tears and water

in the eye

for you they are

the fire of pain

Of your eyes are

born dreams for

forlorn, frightened

innocent eyes

Through your eyes pass

paths of peace reaching

the unfathomed ocean

where i wash terrible wounds.

(Painting : Paritosh Sen)

|| the necessity of needs ||

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When hungry

one craves for bread

when thirsty

one needs clear pure water

when the need occurs

to roll up one's sleeves

one then needs strong hands

inner strength

but not the brute strength of an animal

for living

one needs a home

not marble-erected walls

to get a life

one needs love

not just a relationship

one needs somebody

in the shape of a man

or in the shape of a woman

but not just a male or female

for endearment

one needs trustful words

sincere words of love

for anger

one needs the correct words

for a revolution

one needs powerful words

to be drenched

one needs a seasonal cloud burst

and not a shower in the bathroom

for breathing

one needs clean fresh air

for a good song

one needs the passion of the singers

and not merely their humming along

if only

a full grown sapling would appear

whenever the pot falls apart

and not just the noise.

(Painting : Ronit Kristal)