Placid silence

In midst of the din of the market
I maintained a placid silence

Surrounded by tumultuous environment
I stayed the same deep, still lake

This is because I have
seen the beloved's beauty
That the world around me is as good as blurred images

I do not hear the cacophony around me
Because your sweet voice permeates my being

I do not see the lashing waves of rage and jealousy
Since I have drowned in calm waters of your goodness

I do not see the ruins of civilizations around me
For my gaze falls only upon your shrine towering above all else

I refuse to feel the hatred of the merchants peddling their goods
Since only your love pulsates with my every breath

As I gaze upon the spire of your shrine kissing the sky
I whirl intoxicated under the starry sky in your court yard

Sleepless

I crave for love from my beloved
I beg for it like the fakir begs his meals

I see only darkness and melancholy
When I do not get to hold you in my arms

And yet no one, not even you are able to understand
How much I pine for you and how I long to be with you

A moment alone with my beloved seems unattainable
Life seems to drag on without your blessed company

Those rare moments when I am alone with you
Those rare moments when I feel I can finally be happy

The ego in you accosts the ego in me and you go away
And then you go into the dream world leaving me sleepless

I lay in the bed staring listlessly at the roof wondering
When will I ever get to be with you oh, beloved!

And my heart bleeds at the realization that
This love of mine feels unrequited

Wounded and teary eyed, I wait for you to show mercy
And satisfy this longing by holding me in your arms

I seek the beloved

The people moving in and around me
Become blurred images in the fading sun

The people metamorphose into moving shapes
Strange fractals coming out of nothing and moving into nothing

Amidst the moving apparitions I try to spot the beloved
It seems like looking for a needle in a haystack

In the whispers of the night, my ears wait
To hear your mellifluous voice drown the distant din

And yet all I hear is  distant cacophony
All I see is colorful blurs in the fading light

And yet, I continue the journey into the night
Where dreary darkness seems to be all I see

Hoping to see Sunrise in the form of your love
Hoping to be in the healing presence of your beauty

As I amble around in the darkness unable to find my way
Suddenly I see hope in the horizon by the sight of the rising Sun

Freedom

As the gong struck 12 on that fateful day
There was rejoicing everywhere

For freedom was won from a tyrranical opressor
And a nation as old as time heaved a sigh of relief

And yet now as I look back and contemplate
I realize what it must be like to be without freedom

The unrequited love of a bleeding heart
Seems not to make the beloved symphathetic

Trapped in the prison of longing I know not where freedom lies
Looked upon with rancour is the intoxicated state of all lovers

I ask the beloved again and again to not ignore my presence
But all I get in return is cynicism laced with painful silence

Grieving, wounded and tortured in the fire of longing
I crave for the eternal freedom from earthly pleasures

In the prison of earthly attachments for my beloved, I stand waiting
To be released into the freedom of eternal bliss