Thursday 30 July 2015

BLUE KYOTO SKY


A swarm of fighter jets  whiz across the eastern  skies 


Trembling below 


The city of wood and beauty 


Serene gardens   


Ten Thousand shrines 


A life of millions 



But then; disarmed and un-pickled 


The planes just fly away 


Was it the pilots 


Was it the western  cabinet 


Was it the beauty of the gardens below 


No one really knows!







Seventy years have gone since 


Two big bombs fell elsewhere 


Million lives  lost  to hatred 


Cities burnt down to ashes 


Urban Monsters have now  taken their place 


But down here 


The temples stand  tall against the cedar trees 


The gardens are  still tranquil and green 


As an  alien to this drowning civilization 


I sit here by a temple pond 


Beside me, carps swim  and dance in a myriad of colors    


As  clear water ripples around their snouts and fins 


The reflected sunlight shines and glitters


Standing in  stoic silence


Stone lanterns and  tea houses tell tales to one another as they relive the past glory 


Another plane flies high now 


A white streak is left behind as a trail


Slowly,  like human history 


As all the traces gently fade 


The eastern sky is finally blue again 





ANOTHER DAY OF CHANGE


The clear blue skies 


Just a few  clouds floating by 


The sun sets 


The moon rises 


The clouds too pass away 


Sitting by the window


As life around me changes 


The I in me wonders 


Will I wake up to another day ?



JUST ANOTHER DAY


The  Autumn rain has stopped now 


But not the drizzle and spray 


Heavy with the rain drops 


The flowers of the morning  bow down  and sway  


Perched on the wet branches, fluffing their features,  the little  sparrows chip away 


As clear water glides over the smoothed pebbles 


Lost in this sparkling beauty 


Sitting under the shade  of the cherry tree 


I wonder !


How can this be! 


Just another day! 

MIRROR OF YOUR SOUL


To the knowledgeable and wise 



I am just a  fool 



To the religious 



I am another confused soul 



To the pious 


I'm blasphemous and unholy 



As I Wander in lands far and wide 



Seeking nothing from within or without 


The heretic says! 



I'm just a mirror of your soul my friend!





PATH OF THE PATRIARCHS


Silent and tranquil 


The rock stands still


As I walk this garden  path 


The gravel beneath speaks 


The water trickles in prosody 


The birds hum in tune 


The pebbles shine as they  reflect the filtered sunshine 


Not very long ago 


Wasn't this  is the path of the patriarchs!


But then! 


Does it matter now !


I'm  just a man with nothing more to seek ! 





WORLD IN A TEA CUP


The summer sky is cloudless 


The garden is fresh and green 


On a stone bench by a bamboo hut


I sit here drinking tea 


In a  distant hill a trail of  smoke rises


In the canal beside me water gently  flows 


People in the road  chatter 


Cars rush by 


As the world moves on within this tea cup


What else is left to say !

LOST SILENCE


Trees sway against the mossy landscape 


Clear water ripples amongst the lotus flowers


Embraced by the comforting beauty


In this garden of tranquility 


I sit here seeking to write poetry 


Nearby, in a temple by the brook 


A little boy rings an ancient  bell 


People come and go in reverence 


As the mountain air reverberates  with the lost silence 


Deep within


Stillness remains !







STILL REVELATION


The ancient cedar croaks with every step  


The mountain behind stands tall 


Thoughts and trees merge 


Ideas vanish in silence 


All seeking ends here 


All findings cease 


As the water fall sets the tune 


And stillness plays as music


Nothing more can be said 


As all is revealed in this  very moment ! 

BAMBOO GARDEN


The garden is  alive and  green  


stone lanterns and bamboo stand tall 


Silent rocks and raked up gravel 


As the water trickles in the stream  


Deep within the stillness 


The Lotus  blossoms






Wednesday 29 July 2015

MOSSY STILLNESS



Mossy landscape 


Lush and green 


Gravel pathways 


Leading on 


Not swept away in all  beauty 


Stillness  still resides!





SHADOWS ON RIPPLES



Shadows of the swaying leaves 


Entangle in the waving ripples 


Gently the cool wind blows 


Thus awakened 


The mind  within ceases