Demons of the Forest: Sometimes its hard to see the truth through all the lies

---

Hear my voice, remember who cradled you Who loved and swore to guide you, through the darkest hours of your life, Return to me, if only tonight. My child, let your kisses console my heart, Revive me with your smile All is gone now, now all is lost Hear me plead for one last goodbye. Hear my voice, remember who cradled you Who loved and swore to guide you, through the darkest hours of your live, Return to me, if only tonight.

Hear my voice, remember who cradled you Who loved and swore to guide you, through the darkest hours of your live, Return to me, my child Let us reunite. Come to me, Ravenheart Messenger of evil Come to me.

Unembraced

This is my legacy, now I will be forever I am one with my fate, now I will see destiny I give all of myself for all I love in this world It will be my last wish, my ultimate Sacrifice. My last hour, I have nothing to regret Nothing left that I could give to you I have gone, taken everything with me Everything that I could hide from the pain That takes away my body. Hold my hand wherever you are My end now is just a new life for you all This is my promise, my sacrifice. How hard they ever will hit my face Or even break every bone No matter how long it takes for me I will not fail.

How far I have to go for my hope Or have to step into fire No one can anymore hold me from Falling down now. My old life seems like centuries ago I remember scenes from my childhood Playing Robin Hood and Braveheart But how do we know what we do When the story is about us Now I know.

Inside Japan’s ‘Suicide Forest’

I will live on, my will lives on Here I stand finally With my life in my Hands Let the sword fall down. We are worshipping the gods That keep twisting our thoughts Everyday a new sensation While a million creatures See their soil turning to dust Hrimata Eleison. Forever and ever You hear them crying Forever and ever This world is dying We had time enough to understand. I will send a dying rose For you all to be close To its scent that has never been All the colours to unfold All the magic we behold In the life we share in fantasy.

Keep my dream now, I keep yours forever Save my hope now, I save yours forever Hold me, help me, carry me upon your wings To save my soul with your love. Oh if you could see how How small everything seems from here So trivial, so shallow The meaningless drama so precious on earth Seen from the timeless stardust. Now my hands have been chained to the wheel for so long I have seen all my fellows drown But I cannot forget what they have done to me I am breaking my cage and run.

Voyage Of The Fallen

To the sun, to the oceans To a land I have never discovered There I will go, there is my hope To find some peace someday. The moon is rising higher We use the dark of the night Invade the secret tower Get out of sight. You have taken my father And you have taken my mother You have poisoned the souls of the weak But you are damned to die by the hands of your own seed.

To the sun, to the oceans To a land I have never discovered There I will go, there is my hope To the seas, to the mountains To the meadows I will never leave again There I lay down, there is my crown And love always. See her beauty so pure She seems like the cure To all been deluded by her light But behind her spell We know her so well She spoils all for what we fight.

All I longed for is gone, all the children unborn I can only let them live in my songs So I…. I belong to a world of twilight and regret Sing my song to the ones who never hear it The spell is cast, time is frozen for eternity I know it lasts only till the sun is rising. All my scars are painted with the blood that I once have spilled My old heart had to see it all to win my freedom. Come with me to a place far away Come enter the world in the shadows See through my eyes and feel what I feel Come take my hand and just dare to believe. Hide or beseech, am I the relish in this written story Nowhere to redeem, nowhere to run, the tale casts me into his arms, Into this sinful pleasure to which I now yield Free me from my ordeal.

Oh deep in his wake, I lay down to be reborn and cradled Let me die to only reveal the secrets of my core. Hide or beseech, am I the relish in this written story Nowhere to redeem, nowhere to run, the tale casts me into his arms, Into this sinful pleasure to which I now yield Release me, free me from this ordeal. I know that you feel like being a stranger A yearning heart, a soul that has survived this darkness A soul like mine, endlessly craving for more Somewhere in a dream. Looking at you I can see beyond this prison That locks you in, hiding your true incarnation A radiant shine, a warmth that I have never Felt Like this before — and want to feel forever.

Every day I am facing a new way of chasing The dreams I am losing in constant defense The world keeps on turning, the beds are still burning In foolish unconsciousness and self pretense. Take it away, take it away, free me Take it from me, take it from me now!

Falling astray, falling astray faster Only to see how…. Let me crawl inside you to open your weary eyes, Heal the wound that broke you, recover all goodbyes My muted love, when were we raided? Who dare leave us, jaded and torn. Keep on bleeding, self-deceiving All or nothing, make-believing That the winner will always be you.

Neil Gaiman

See the clouds in the sky still burning Watch me counting the days in the rain White eiderdown falls to the ground Covers all that has been with death. Look and see what it could have been But this all was just a dream Just a dream of our foolish minds So…. See the clouds in the sky still burning Watch me counting the days in the rain The nightfall has come so early Wiping all of our visions away White eiderdown falls to the ground Covers all that has been with death.

So for all you ever desired, you wanted to be Was shining so bright but only a dream And nothing remains but this fantasy Oh this world is falling down.

TOKYO (4 p.m.)

Be the valentine, rip the heart of mine Give your innocence to the brightest of dreams This is harvest time, taste the bloodred wine Of this gilded art, it is spilled from my own heart. I can hardly write these lines Cause I already have signed My name across the wall of prayers Now I listen to my name Sounding like a blame I close my eyes and start to sing my song. O Euphoria, our goddess you are Take the burden away to live in this hell Say goodbye to the dreams, destroyed fantasies Bitter nightfall at hand, will cover the land.

Forces come — silent cross your mind — blinding Anaesthesize — senses Steal them all away. Caress you — grievous Infest you — with lust Ending soon — chaos servant life is waiting. Consume the drugs we sell to you Keep you begging for more And soon you will forget The world you were longing for. Childish dreams — sinful I have seen — passion Fearlessly — chainless All this hope is forever lost.

Silver stars in my black night Cold as ice but beautiful Wandering through broken shadows The river of life is all filled with sins The water I drink is the blood on my hands. Pray to the gods I have sold in this game of live and let die Pray for my soul in this world to deliver me from my sins Pray…. We have come a long way Through rain and the dust of time Times full of wonders Full of secret signs. The song now has ended And the last notes fade away But a new one begins The music will stay.

A past destined to fall down The final brick in the wall Was so hard for me to see But now I see it all. Now we see our tomorrow The night is long ago All the fighting is over But the dream is still alive. For the lost desire, the star of once been higher light the face of dead worlds, forever in my heart.

Rivers of red run through the land Cover the ruins of once golden past When starlight was strong and I did belong To the almighty light. Burned are the homes where dreams could be born The whispers of hope, into hate they are torn Letters to fate, tears like a blade Wisdom of Shar-Ilya. Secrets are lost, arbors are crossed The doors of this house will forever be closed Nothing remains, all full of stains The colours are fading away.

This world full of fear, of lies in my ears This peace is so false, only greed is sincere Oh how I wish to be once released But nothing will turn back time. Born from grace and silence, blissful sound of sirens For the lost Elysion can never be found again. Trying to hold a piece of this gold Back in my heart till it all will be sold So I hold the key to open and see The world behind the lies. I can almost create the picture before my eyes again But most of it has been washed away for years Gone for being able to live in this world.

Come and sail along the shores of your homeland See the waves that break onto the walls surrounding all. Tell me Why have you lost all your wildest desires? Where is the treasure to die for? Is there a heart that longs for the unknown in yourself?

No one else but you can…. Leave behind the land that has been turned to grey Where the winds have whispered only from so far away. When is the time that you wait for? There will be nothing to lose but your fear So come on — and follow me now. A last embrace, last words to say Before the war took their fate away Before to kill became his forced task And bleeding fields were covered with sins His wounded heart is crying out for home.

Away away my love to where all darkness will be gone Away away to our land Where you will be forever in my arms again. Days of dust, of cruelty and death Broke his soul until there was nothing left Only her love that carried him through all. He passed high mountains and rough rivers He wrote a letters to be near He walked a miles Just to see her smile again Just for returning home.

Navigation menu

Have you been to the water Have you gone with the tide Have you heard of strange creatures Beware of the moonlight. Down falls the light as they rise from the sea In comes the night, give your soul, pay your fee Living a curse, they were born by their sins Soon life and death will become evil twins. Bound to go where the wind blows Bound to serve the unreal Bound to dwell in deep waters Greed and fear cast their seal. Cursing their non-lives Living a curse is their lot Life without senses Seeking escape from this plot.

Silent are the winds as he travels forgotten lands Outcast, yet not fallen, and no-one knows his name. May the winds do once rise again May the magic be strong to stand For the dark and the light to come Soon to an end to give a new way. Over the mountains from the tower above the world Secrets were given for in his hands to unfold. Will the winds do once rise again? Will the magic do lead his hand?

For the dark and the light to come Soon to an end to give a new way? Over the dried moss rains have grown new layers making the path more slippery for all of us falling is a postscript now Laden with new shoots the trees promise mangoes to celebrate summer: Waiting for the remains of sacrifice vultures on the temple tree stink with humans and goddess on the river's bank Awaiting the wave that'll wash away empty hours and endless longing in this dead silence at sea I pull down chunks of sky Two moons so far away yet so near like rain landing gently on my open arms Unknowable the soul's pursuit hidden by its own works: Conveying the inexpressible her lines and curves: Brooding condemning things not done and unable to undo he prays ceaselessly fails to stop now compelled to make a choice Try to sense her in a moment that she's never been I walk with light in hand how will she know it's me?

My legs heavy with pain don't move: When I roll within veins crackle like dried wood breathing is oppressed I can't leave the four walls to survive midnight attack Leisurely the birds keep talking beyond midnight hot humid summer keeps me sleepless too It is for their love of God they play loud music or chant His name on loudspeakers but it kills my peace the whole night I can't sleep Couldn't sleep all night darkness of thought spread over the mind with closed eyes I negotiate fear of missing the train and loss She is so upset with my repressed anger she doesn't sleep with me and questions too why I take alprax when it doesn't suit me An insomniac meditates at night and says: Short nights and long days sleep loss rustles a friction echoing in bed the cycle of cravings over and over again In his ochre robe the rebel sanyasin says he'll drop his ego like the skin's layers torn off and starts peeling an orange Did I kill a snake or do I pass forked urine the astrologer asks to calculate my future I tell him no and yes Unable to see beyond the nose he says he meditates and sees vision of Buddha weeping for us Resting his chin on the back of his palms he stands at the dusted railing to watch the planes roar and take off Silence of birds and moon so miserly I feel homesick: On the roof top she waits for her man with moon cake and lantern: Rises with the lingering shadow of the dream: Pie-eyed from the back door enters concealing smell from his sweetheart The maid fans burnt coal and dried twigs fire to make tea for her hubby lying in sun and shouting Filled with worries all her dreams in one basket- runs to catch the train sand and mud dried on hands ghost fish biting the lungs Burns spiders' net with incense stick in the alcove paper deity unmoved by prayers for safe sojourn in the new city In their drunken chant lurks divinity, the joy let loose in rhythm roses colour the spirit drowsily lost and regained It's prayer to sink into her flesh and bury myself in her breast to escape the faithless hands that never became mother Seeks music in love's masturbating keys at his bed's foot the breath of God lies forked like a tongue of briars The cocktail of drink drug and meditation- nightly yelps tease unshared guilt the hell of silence Transparent in a one-piece dress she tiptoes waving from the window not seeing him leave I love her undress the light with eyes that spring passion with kisses she leaves her name again for my breath to pass through It's not ageing but eternal delight: The beads of sweat on her breasts do not touch her years or face in candle light her shadow is more restrained than my thought A mist covers the valley of her body leaves memories like the shiver of cherry in dreamy January Watching the moon in the western horizon two haiku poets scratch each other's back and mock the rest as neophytes Once so intimate now uncomfortable strangers smile at each other in the party no one says my name even once At the crowded window implores the clerk to process his papers but he ignores, irritates at the end, abuses A black dog moves freely among reporters lying on the ground to shoot militants in Taj resisting the commandos Amidst trees without fruits and the rising jungle flowers a seasonal grace in colours coexist with disfiguring autumn Whatever the rut they mate without the season ejaculating hatred from their mouths and stink- their cum doesn't turn me on Covering with soil their ill will excreted from the anus at my gate in the morning even sun despises villainy Love runs awry in the name of Holi yields to revelry of colour and sex: Delayed monsoon may now come early and quench earth's thirst with respite from heat and power cut: I smell wetness in the air Fear of rain and driver's non-arrival at night spoils the cool drizzle this evening can't relish even the drink No one gives him what he needs after a day's hard work in lab — a lover, a good night's sleep and it passes again, waiting Eternity too short to quench love He walks down the aisle looking for the nave to kneel and slide out After prolonged heat wave sky watery explosion earth lovely doom Seasonal change viral suffering, realignment with doctor's bill Each morning the sun shines through window panes, revives the dream for verses Smell of kamini in front of my house excites: Each stone, drop, pebble waste of life in worldly self: In the darkness of backyard he searches his shadow: I stir the water to pierce clouds in it: He has no wind-rope to tie waves in the net: She reads my age in the synthetic dark of moustache and whitening chest Willow summer-sways its bough half-rests on the pole light goes off again Silence is sound in the blank of unthinking mind poetry is peace The child lost in letters and numbers spins new designs She waves a quick smile from her new Maruti— tyres screech The sun vanished in the blue morning couldn't last the flower's smile He sees the ape in the glass self-satisfied his own image The blue white dapples on the canvas seeing the eye of silence Sipping gin he says he loves sex each night but hates the smell They are skinny but skilful, can't be swatted: He sweeps yellow leaves or gathers years in a heap burns to merge with dust After hours of power-cut cobwebs in the room swing in thanks My bedroom a maze of cobweb spiders breed The red light is on: In nightly silence glides the airbus through the clouds trail of white smoke After sleepless night a drowsy sun tears the morning sky A lamp floating on river breast in bridal grace waves in the gloaming Looking for Taj in grains through sand storm find history trapped between toes Shining from the blade of grass a drop on earth's breast: I know waves that roar I live through silence of shore: I felt her fingers the strings of my son's guitar unplayed for a long time After hurried lovemaking we drift to sleep: Flickers of peace hide god in heart like running brook love in nudity Monsoon shower after a long heat wave monotony breaks Ripe on the branches mangoes fall one by one end of the season Coal grows golden each moment in quiet corners raw wind singes It hangs like a drop any moment evaporates love is gullible Morning mist rests on a swathe of pond lone fish looks for sun The moon glows and heat wave all through night scalds leaves kills butterflies The mynahs herald the day clamouring for moths Vacating the house he leaves four decades no thanks to any Not age but years of worries — his furrowed face The leaves sway to fly like birds free in the sky Long forgotten the beginning and the end: He closes the eyes expanding inner space a short-cut tour Looking lovingly she bends his head down to hers twines like a creeper Unable to change time my watch doesn't move moment at will The rains wash the paints that hide the face The frog in mirror slips by damp towel cold sets in slippy hands Half -fleshed faces track from behind the windows rawness of journey Falling chalk over head clouds understanding: Rains leave soil soft — seeds sprout with first sun pearly dawns Frosted faces dissolve in stale rain clutching female body We lie together filling our body with each other's sensation Celebrating forgettable memories at public expense A star shines bright beside the crescent moon: Shaking hands couldn't part with the henna on her palms Reluctant to climb the spiral staircase- bathing in kitchen Measures loneliness sip by sip at dining table From the alcove removes faded flowers and kills black ants 8.

Thick dust on leaves unwashed by rains for days- stagnant time Oleander and hibiscus blaze with passion- making love in sun Two wolves smell the carcass in field heat wave chills Dust storm this evening- end of the mango season without tasting fruit Throwing stones at unripe mangoes- two urchins Couldn't keep freshness of leaf in water The first rains coming back from the desert home- plateau souvenir One more empty day but in the mailbox a hint of hope tomorrow Where shall I keep the thirty years junk if I go elsewhere?

A sad soul under the mango— my husband Ending the night's long journey her short story Patterns of hair block the flow: Cooking smoke waves to the afternoon sun: Chilly night no soul on the road guard at gate Welcoming the sun dew drops on dry leaves-- an epitaph After the walk two women relax on bench exchanging tensions After cleaning the maid leaves behind an oily smell A tiny spider on the marigold sucking its golden hue Seeking its roots around oleander leaves custard-apple A Christ crucified with the violence of music in the hall After the party empty chairs in the lawn new moon and I A dead voice calling up at dawn: Such a wild change in the mirror beside her- I look a stranger Stoops to set pleats of her saree mid-August Meeting her once and so much love in one night to last the whole life Each sun aggravates sadness moment by moment: Narrowly escape the midair web of spider perched on hibiscus After extraction he gives me my old tooth list of drugs and new bill Collecting fallen twigs on road half -clad women Palms waving to greet the first rain of the season: I wait in the room Craving for a lick of the salt on her skin to become one with her Desire for diamond dies with price I can't afford: Wish I could be part of the quietude this morning: Between virgin curves he deep-breathes evening mist rests in the hollow A load of wood on her frail back autumn evening Their shadows dissolve and reappear walking along the river On a cycle he sells bouquets and roses peddling dreams A watchman gazes the stars on her body elements clack Alone on the platform wait for the train swatting mosquitoes Scars of existence- wintry sun and chilly night crouching on footpath A dead man couldn't keep standing- lies in dust Knocking emptiness I cross the valleys within now stand at stone gate Love's beauty happening in the soul God presence Silence of class test occasion for haiku thoughts lost in lecture To give voice to stone he chisels the soul-image Krishna plays the flute A lamp on the river— the breast in bridal grace waving in the gloaming In the spring sun the lone pomegranate tree smiling with buds The blue-white dapples on the canvass seeing the eye of silence The mirror is so small I can't see the ocean beyond my own look Silent Ram sheds tears over the bodies burnt in temple's name Violence breeders climb power ladder- peace stings Tears invisible on his water face Buddha meditates Through long shadows in the morning remembering gradual death After the 'plane bomb stuck between concrete rubbles a mother and child In the naked grave some flesh still clings to the bones: Lost in black box he searches love to live- smoulders in ash They still bomb lands for peace repeat August 6 They kill and hide in mosques pray, in fear kill more, and flee To hunt the hunters flames mate with flames- touch the sky Her presence- alien sensation in my veins In my courtyard swoop neem, peepal, cheeku leaves: Between her fingers and lips swaying some puffed rice Still fresh in the hanky's fold- jasmine Soft footsteps of students bunking class test Her smile arrival of spring at the bower A butterfly restless over the other trying to console Ahead of us-- racing hyacinths in the river Two lizards inside the switchboard turned on Two of us at the waterfall spraying love The whole night waiting for the train running late drowsy sunrise The night queen fragrance seeps in from the windows my bedroom blooms She snuggles up in my arms her dimples joy of heaven Her birth- a poem dancing in the eyes Swirling spiral of her skirt spills tides of dream and memory Echoes of night song flutter our embrace in bed: Drowsy day waning sex and love- seasonal trick Unattached- drop of water on lotus leaf Baked and cracked the sugarcane field melts into mud Receding winter leaves behind allergies One more year hanged with calendar- a new god Picking at a dead frog on the road- a crow A crow picks at cow's back in the afternoon- drooping rag-picker Green velvet from gate to door- monsoon end A moving train- confined in water bottle rhythmic ripplets Two toads croaking in the drain celebrate sudden shower Chased by a cat a rat sinking into the sand Sculpturing psyche in the city of dumb dreams: Elements clack in the small house shudder the harp and strings God, the first victim in the divided city: Basking in the past they grow backward and yet talk about the future Tattooed on her back a nude exhibits a nude- FTV model Cut wrongly each body a slave- grey faces Tainted tongues weave mazes to stop birth of light Continuing after ejaculation-- anti-climax Her wet lingerie reveals more than her body— I drown in her sea A stray sperm grows in the ovum blooms as puffball Winter chill- her face grows more wrinkles I see a finger point to the eye in her breast mist lingers on lips No letters today- addresses of his dead friends greying in diary With changing weather they look for sun and shade both: She resents remembering allah in her car In the class test etching nudes on the desk two late comers Night bombing oleander garden white as death Vultures waiting for the remains of sacrifice on the temple tree Seeking for the white of the sky in your closed eyes It's still overcast fumes rise from smouldering ashes- terrorists' attack On a marble grave mating sparrows celebrate peace in cemetery So much night around the street light- no one's safe Heat wave burns and blows the withered nests whole night birds wail searching for shades In the AC room last night's coldness continues: Clad in swimsuit her body in water sweeps waltzing ripplets He sees the world through the light of the body with single eye Bedside- our night clothes await washing It still lingers like the taste of stale love last night: Joy of union reduces as rhythm falls: She hides the mirror with rose and lipstick and keeps her fiction Reshuffling the shelves it's only dust, in alleys sneezing scholarship Gentle breaths prick cheek and chest unclinging looking away She undresses in dim light perfumes her body fills room with herself Love waves rise and fall between our shores of soul drinking each other's sea Shouting at her-- the breakfast aggravates fire in the throat The lone mushroom- - a pregnant woman stares out of the window After dinner leaves a freezing banana on the bed Moving shadows in the silence of the room- windows rattle Hungry eyes rest on their graffiti on the desk Face hidden at the window hear known voices Facing the sun the lone flower dying to bloom After the sunset wheels of a returning cart along the paddy Unmoved by the wind he sits on a rock wearing peace of the lake Unable to see his pale shadow reeling through vapour of the earth Night washes the sky-- the sun brings morning freshness to my window After days of depressing rains golden orb Her frisky bounce like snakebird springing its head in water preying Her eyes flash in dark the eel slides into her cave I watch the mirror They take off again their un thrown nets frighten fish- water turns whiter Storms circling within love is vision in action blue dot in deep space Sound turns fainter with greying geometry a rusted sign Hope in hidden words the invisible essence nearer dawn's glory The mountain doesn't know the river flows through its skin now stains memory Filling emptiness of the room with ikebana A fly flying in IC free of cost On a sheet of ice the chick trying to free itself from its mother's claws Two souls celebrate sailing on flames of white light new millennium The lone hibiscus waits for the sun to bloom: Rain-soaked sun sheds its sultry light-- her bare back Dew drop on a blade of grass rainbow A child's fingers feel the butterfly lying one with yellow leaves Shell -shocked or frozen he stands in tears on hilltop craving nirvana A dead leaf hangs by a spider's thread invisible in sun Staring at each other two fishes in half -filled tank ready for truce Only two of us- and a big house with roaming rats and cockroaches Meditation cell phone rings love echoes No god appears in the dark of my closed eyes— dream-image falters The little toddler with her fey appearance: Seeking good news I watch the lines on my palms taking new turns We meet again in the album ever fresh her memory Tending the hooks she blushes to see the line of jewels The half moon on her neck reminds of love before departure Her trilling laugh on the phone- spring love Falling leaves-- a sheet of autumn in the courtyard They all look for a little more moon coming back from movie Waves of mist shine with sun the day resumes laughter shakes each bough Fearing allergies he misses full moon party savours white light After morning walk the trio gossip each day fresh revelation The holy Ganges tolerates the city's garbage even rape and death Greeting the first rains after months of soaring heat-- the lone mango falls Exploring the world in haiku silence God an event The string of life lost in the knots of small things: Sweeping gelled leaves they raise dust in my compound agitate windpipe The lone letter box rusting in rain for years none come to open Prolonged rains keep dahlias from blooming- seeds die again Shining on rose-leaves silken layer of dew drops: Chilly wind slaps the window panes closed to keep cross-legged couples warm Cloud over cloud darken earth and hide stars: Red oleander and hibiscus calling morning to Kali Making love she presses with her nails: After lunch stretching legs in cubby-hole: Love tickles with erect pistil: Without washing hands he touches hibiscus for worship: After little rain lilies smile with hibiscus- the sun in May Too short can't reach the height: Around falling leaves a lone dreaming flower- mid-February 9.

Stands alone in the assembly of flowers- Valentine' s Day Not sad to die blooming after a day's rain- the mushroom A frog in the drain stares at the traffic light turning green December morning — the first roses in the lawn: Leaves sway to fly like birds free in the sky Waving down a leaf settles between her breasts All night trees wave with roaring winds: Bluebells and hazels lost in rustic kisses: On a lean branch of neem swinging a bulbul The courtyard stormed with dried leaves and tamarind: From tree to courtyard cotton balls blown on the wind- seed in the centre Her scarf — a rainbow of flowers moving in the sky Her visit — a transient painting on holiday's floor Painting mom's smile with broken crayons — smiling Winny Intruding her voice on the phone Switching on the hearing aid: With her saree hitched up between the legs my wife in bed Raising her saree above the thighs bends to ease and blocks my way Rising early to make tea for everyone the newly wed wife As the duo sit lights go out — sofa springs creaking Dissatisfied with each other the two of us in an empty house In the grey of dusk sway between hope and despair their dream promises Leaning sideways she looks at mango picklt caries ache She repeats my ills to express her anger but I know only her love Basking in the sun files nails in garden chair my wife's friend No joy in lighting the candles this Diwali: Awaits his son's phone call from the border: His son's voice not relayed by wire: Distance mounts each time he visits home: Shadow of age on the wall — second full moon Whiteness of the moon and rocks howl with the wind- December in the veins The sun not yet set but the full moon rises as if in a hurry Enveloping all of the moon at night- white chrysanthemums Setting moon leaves behind sparkle on the waves Noisy birds don't let me sleep: Through the window gaze at the moon hid behind cloud after cloud Caressing her pregnant belly — water lily Still night nude kisses in park images haunt Standing behind the window bars observes darkness in shapes Night bombing leaves the garden white as death Vultures waiting for the leftovers of the sacrifice In the ruins searching her photo: Rutting dogs sleepless the whole night cries for sex Parents pelt stones at the mating street dogs- nosey children Nothing changes the night's ugliness in the lone bed Alone in a shrunken bed aged love In the well studying her image a woman Knitting silence my wife on the bench after lunch The lone mushroom — a pregnant woman stares out of the window Under the tree in meditation sunken a lone stone Alone on the National Highway Hanuman So many headlights and my myopic vision- walking difficult They walk on red coal matching steps with drum-beats: Keeps him sleepless fireworks and high decibel puja all night Sleeping on the cold floor a mother with child Awaits sunrise to hire an auto safely sits at the bus stand Two women argue over price and weight offish: Carbon flakes drift high above the flat I cough they widen the roads Burning tap water and seething house in the morning heat wave cripples Chanting mantra with wine in one hand and torch in other Building bridges where there is no river— the politician A mother and child stuck between concrete rubbles: Setting ablaze Muslim houses and children seekers of Ram White-yellow trail the Mirage on mission: Amidst roaring guns clouds blossom snow lotus: On the margin of home-to-work-to-home routine — life's achievements Shivering in the cold young boys sell balloons late night- New Year revellers Journeying tries to raise his silence to prayer Never enough the earth's hunger for graves: In measured pace hit for divinity two political golfers Disposable blades one over the other- dusty switchboard Seismic lab a network of cobweb: No Zen thought — scribbling haiku with gun in hand Staring at the huge stone penis at Shinto shrine- two female lovers With her breasts bobbing up and down she challenges the moon as she walks Sees the eyes in walls as I rise to kiss her Drowned in empty whiteness: Wiping tears from each other's eyes two souls in love Writing with strands of watery hair on her back a love haiku Love of three decades extinguished in a moment- anger in the mouth Shedding bitterness of the tiff in sex act she and I Moist lips parting on a tea cup promising expectation Bending down to pick up apple she presses piercing embrace She preys the body behind obsidian sheath fatuous flap After burns leaving the body the dead skin Her palms the only lingerie in Fashion Show Crouching out of the bath with hand on the genital his new tenant A pregnant woman bending over the mushroom bloomed under a tree Awaits the bloom of love in her womb: Lovely with hope the glow in her eyes: Her body — the night's perfection in dim light Seeing her a liquid sensation between the thighs On a canvas a poet in twilight painting her skin Sensing her presence he stares down the street- lingering perfume A star in making — but an island appears: Sipping gin with lime he says he loves sex each night but hates the smell Bleeding fingers draw new domes of betrayal in windy matrices His tongue between the teeth- sudden sneeze Fed up with my sex she threatens to move to our daughter's room Leaves him alone to escape daily rape in bed his wife The bedroom altar no substitute for temple- sacrifice of sex Winter's chill — sweating under the gown her thighs and breasts Scanning her stooping breasts — the first night Measuring life with ejaculatory rhythm — envies sparrow sports Her thighs — resting place for my head on bed Trying to decipher the complex curves on my palms in the morning rays Fondling her breasts I incite a poem on her body A film of mist between my eyes and her image Locked in her eyes the bright glow of the goddess Melting in the colour of the heart the sun in the west A lizard shrieks before the climax: The blood passes through green veins I hear the heart play melody of dews Every breath love in action — fire in the hole No bottom reader but the shape and the lines do tell she can stir the soul The aching limbs and blood dripping between the legs: With his head between the knees he squats and smells the body's sweat Bones rattle to make a song of flesh in the night- togetherness Insomnia blaming her not old age Lies with her in freezing cold: Invisible jangles odours presences- twinges in bed Drying on the line pork venison and beef-- the room smells their vests Don't know their tongue — the stars beyond the mountains whisper among themselves While I lie alone shapeless fears rest on my eyes heavier than time Searching salvation a moth flies into the lamp: Colours sparkle in the morning's dew on the blooms- my breathing changes Nobody cares burial of my dreams in coal dust Besides allergies so many other complaints: Bronchial breathing — the only sound audible in the soulless space Cleaning dusts from the old sandals for a walk: Peeling paint from the drawing room- shadows flicker Seeing no image in the mirror of time- foggy blankness Hot bath or no bath — the cough persists unmindful of the New Year's eve Sees in a flash — opening the eyes takes a long time Linked with anxiety my comfort at his home: Fear of forgetting — car insurance premium paid a month ahead Fears the approach of night with him — twisting tassels In the lone room prefers haiku to yoga drinking scotch Sunday afternoon- waving into gin two drops of lime Difficult to change I am what I have disowned- dressing down salads The bed is short and the covering shorter — crouching alone Unruffled by passions and clamours — Buddha's calm Seeks Buddha's stone bowl to win the bamboo princess: Her heart a thousand doors of oneness Disappears into dust her last photograph Trying to read good news I look at the lines taking new turns on my palms Looking for riches in her left hand shortening days on the pavement They sculpture psyche in the city of dumb dreams: Pulling out white hairs she reminds increasing age: Still a child- embracing a breast sleeps her man Exchanging anger with roses: They all walk like shadows in night for themselves Lying on his table a few unanswered letters and unrealized dreams A little child chases the painted dreams on butterfly wings Two butterflies racing with each other perch on the wire Sudden rain drops wet the wings of a butterfly lying at the basil Lost my way again asking for direction: Locked between the cracks cockroaches in the alcove dropping their eggs Awaiting their turn to feast on a dead dog crows in a circle A crow hits the scare crow and cracks its earthen head A crow picking at the ripe papaya and another waiting A yellow spider on the blooming marigold weaves tiny webs Two lizards fight to mate on the wall — balancing act After the quake a dog sniffing his master's presence in the rubble Searching Christ's sandals in the pile of shoes at the church's entrance Traffic snails through the water-logged road I feel a manhole cover Dust mites devouring the secrets preserved in my diary Seeing my shadow three fish in the pond look for a safe corner Sitting with its tail coiled round sweets in the box a lizard A hooker hides behind the green letter box: Too heavy these man-made machines choking weight Students murmuring over the class test result: In the moving train sleeping on his feet the newspaperman Flowers inviting seeds of love scattered in the perfumed garden Looking for a prey a snake slides through the fence warmth of the sun Safe from sun under nascent leaf a gold fish With sunrise gone to sleep the morning moon Two dreamy eyes await the rising sun through the fogged window A sweating sun after the midnight chill- changing hues of spring The sun conceals aeons of darkness planets mirror in the sky Closing its eyes in the setting sun — the Ganges in autumn He sees art in her wanton dress- crawling curls A butterfly rests on the butterfly tattooed on her sunning back Setting sun leaves behind sparkle on the waves Suddenly rise the sleeping waves from far off- 'quake in the sea Swollen sea boiling over the head- roars increase The sun rolls on the waving Ganges- whitens love-hope On the wave's crest travels a fallen leaf- rot on the bank Couldn't erase the wind's soliloquy from the waves breaking on the shore Travelling back from the waves of bliss a foam-leap On the waves rise shells in accents lie with love — beauty on the shore Bathing in thousands they float lamps on her breast the river sparkles Knee-deep in the pond standing obeisantly nude worshippers Ends with ritual one more morning — sun-worshippers in the pond Awaits the sunrise in the chilly Ganges a nude worshipper Sees visions eating food of gods- mushroom Fills the void with illusions and self- names them god December almost over what new wish to add to Christmas wish list On Christmas eve santa claus takes leave — mist on chairs in pairs Standing between flowers Jesus on the cross Making holes in the wooden cross white ants Colours of envy stick on their colleagues' faces: Krishna offering parijata to Radha: Narada looks on The temple's dome in the flooded Ganga- empty kalash Fermenting spring in the arms of lovers: The cherry pink in the spring — a framed nude Embrace suffocates in bed — chill seeps through slit Wintry chill — enters the cold bed: Winter rain bends the roses low- lumbar pain The long night passes sleeplessly I deep -breathe the December chill Alone and sleepless count hours by asthmatic bouts- the long winter nights A part of the night hidden in the morning moon: The first night spots on the sheet: Long wintry night — opening the mail box for a date Vulnerable darkness of the opening: Seek my haven where the sky arches the sea— a white gull leads Stars mock his drinking alone on the cement bench: Spend our short time together after a long watching the moon Along the road in shanties they shack up — dreams in smoke

• BIBLE STORIES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ULTIMATE COLLECTION - The Life of Jesus retold in stories that children can hear and appreciate PLUS Old Testament Stories
• Lords of the Starship
• The Accidental Ambassador
• Neopes War: Book Three of the Erinia Saga
• 1-2-3 DiaperFree