Monday 23 February 2015

Dancing A Dream

To throw off the shackles 
dance in the street 
oblivious to staring eyes

To twirl around in a flurry 
of swishing skirt 
tapping heels 
uncaring of passers-by

In my dream 
it all comes true
So I make it 
my reality

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Eve

Ripped from me 
she became.
morning 
noon 
night. Call it not 
sin. I cleaved 
with her 
to become one. 
Again. 
To be ripped. 
From her. To
become. 
The man 
I know I can 
be.

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Free To Be

You will come to me 
the final shreds 
of your resistance 
melted by the passion 
I know we both feel 

Though there are days
I feel this longing
is mine alone

But I didn't dream
the gentle caress
of your hand
making my skin sing
You did look
deep in my eyes
I saw the need in yours

Then you pulled back
the moment was lost
Perhaps that was all
we were destined to have

And yet, there are more
depths to be plumbed
if we unshackle the bonds
holding us back

I know I won’t regret
plunging into the deep end
with you
So I wait for you to realise
you don’t have to let go
to be free
I will let you leave
once you tie yourself 
to me

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Information Overload

Immersed
in a deluge
of images and words
sweeping me away from the world
I knew

Sinking
in a flood of
data, I tread water
and when the battery runs out
I drown

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Full Of Stars

The sparkle in your eyes
dims the sun's shine 
I bask in the glow
of your bewitching words 
uncaring of the shadow 
they cast on my heart 
When you leave, 
taking the lustre 
of the day with you, 
the night shatters my dream 
My God, it's full of stars 

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Embrace Of The Night

The sun forces the day 
with relentless cheer 
into reluctant eyes 
heralding the start 
of frantic seconds
rushed minutes 
of cramming into them 
more than the hours 
can hold 

Chaotic streets 
blaring horns 
frenzied people 
on crowded trains
leaving nerves jangled

Squeezed in 
an invisible vise
of demands
Senses assailed
by a cascade 
of requests
Stress clamps
iron fists around
a beleaguered mind

longing to escape
into the unquestioning
embrace of the night

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Happiness

Are you happy, 
you ask 
the question drifts away 
on the breeze 
of your arms waving goodbye 
before I can answer

Long after you are gone
I ponder, what is happiness?
Is it what I feel when I glimpse 
a fluffy white wisp floating 
in the bright blue above
the dimple in a fat little cheek
lilting music of raindrops
pattering on leaves
aroma of baking
floating on the air

Was it how I felt
when my senses 
thrilled to your touch
or my heart sped up 
to meet your voice
When I could say I love you
knowing you would say it to me too

If you had paused to listen,
I would have said,
I’m not unhappy
Would you have taken it to mean
the same as being happy?

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Friendships - a Cinquain series

Friendships 
can be wrenching 
your heart from hands that vowed
to cherish a bond but clutched it 
too tight

Friendships 
can be lasting 
like sturdy oaks spreading 
their roots deep into soft soil of 
the earth

Friendships
can be prickly -
while reaching for the rose
heart unwittingly pierced by
a thorn

Friendships
can be scented
with trust's mellow fragrance
infusing a relationship
with love

Friendships
can be hating
the one who held you close
then walked away without saying
goodbye

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Mists of Time

Tall trees 
jealously guard 
their turf 
allowing only 
a faint glimmer 
of sunlight 
to strike the floor

The air 
hangs heavy 
redolent with
the scents 
of the forest, like

the mist, 
perfumed
from feelings 
now evaporated, 
settles like dew 
on my lashes 
to ink 
the reminiscence 
of our time 
together

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Sunday 18 January 2015

Shooting Stars

Your breath on my skin
sparks through my veins
lighting a fire you stoke
with a gentle caress

Your lips leave a fiery trail
along my limbs, every inch 
burns with a thirst 
only you can slake

So come to me this night 
let’s set the dark ablaze
with the power of our ardour
steal the dazzle from the sky

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved


No Damsels Here


Clinging is for vines
or creepers
which cannot stand
on their own

I have a spine
If you think
it’s made of steel
you may be right

I have learnt
the hard way
to depend only
on myself

Yes, it can be tiring

Sometimes, I wish
I was one of those
eternally-in-distress
(or pretending to be)
damsels
It must be great
to always have
a willing man
rushing to one's rescue

But I’m no
simpering beauty
And I don’t know
how to act helpless
I’ve been so strong
for so long
I’ve forgotten
how to lean
on someone

Sure, at times
it makes me
look too unyielding
But I have no desire
to learn new tricks
If you walk away
I may not stop you
But why would you
unless you want
to play at
being a knight

And if you do
I have no use for you
I want a man
who is my equal
who can quaff a beer
as easily as sip
a delicate wine
Who can laugh
and love openly
Who will walk
not ahead
or behind
but with me
by my side


© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Tuesday 13 January 2015

Love's Journey

Love is first a bubbly brook
gurgling
tumbling
rushing to meet her lover
In her sparkling attire she glows
adorned by glints of sunlight
ruffled by wind

Frisky energy takes her far
before feelings
deepen
widen
and she slows
Her heart grows bigger
absorbing the love she receives
she opens her arms
giving generously

On she flows just a little weary
muddied by sorrow and strife
Differences stretch her wide
memories silted up on either side
Yet she cannot stop
even as her lover
turns away from her

Parting causes her to heave and roil
loss overflows to flood the world
In her misery and rage
she leaves a trail of havoc
wrecking everything in her path

Her anger spent
she quietens once again
somber
measured
She know her struggles are past
She has reached the end
She empties herself
in the vast ocean of acceptance

Love falls in love again

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Lines & Lives

Sometimes parallel
divided by space
unfilled

Sometimes tilting
at angles
meeting at a point
moving on -- after a pause
&
sometimes retracing
familiar terrain
again
& again

Lives, lines
both the same
& yet
so dissimilar

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Friday 9 January 2015

Dear Dad

With each passing year, your absence 
makes its presence felt
Now I count your loss in decades

Many lifetimes have come and gone
since you left, yet I miss you more
each time this day comes around

Perhaps the older I grow, the better
I understand the void you left behind
Death didn’t seem a big word then

Perhaps I was too small 
to measure its significance
in the seconds, minutes, 
hours I now count

So I look to the heavens today
with tears clouding my vision
say Happy Birthday, Dad

I wish I could wish you back into this life
So you could see how I’ve grown
Perhaps that twinkle in the sky
is the one in your eyes, the one
saying you are proud of me

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Ebony Lustre

When it comes time 
for the darkness 
to begin burning 
the night will light up 
in a blaze of glory 
&
the yellow moon 
will rival the sun 
to colour 
the sky crimson 
&
the rain will streak 
the earth 
in tears of red 
drowning us 
in scarlet hues 
of passion

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Monday 5 January 2015

Unseen Flames

There are many ways
to burn
I choose to sizzle
for love
until all that is left of me 
is a pile of cinders
still smouldering
with feelings 
not even your indifference
can douse

My skin is singed
where you touched it
your fingers left a blazing trail 
where they caressed me
Your eyes seared my heart
with your brand
I carry long after 
you gave up ownership

My memories are scorched
with your face
scalded by longing
charring me slowly
until I fear there will 
not even be ashes left
to mark my existence

Though I constantly 
fan the hope
of the fire 
eating itself dry
an errant thought 
is the match
igniting a hidden spark
sending flickering embers 
roaring again

And yet — I fail to fathom 
even as I am consumed 
by passion’s inferno — 
why the flames enveloping me
are invisible to the world

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

The Frog Prince

Mr Frog, that handsome fella
with his shiny green coat and melting eyes
could have had his pick of stunning girl frogs
who all thought he was mighty nice

But he wouldn’t give them the time of day
‘Cos he was aiming a lot higher
He had his eye on the lovely princess
Who lived in her ivory tower

He persuaded the wicked old witch
to grant him a magic spell
It would turn him into a handsome prince
if the princess kissed him by the golden well

So Mr Frog, who fancied himself a singer
hopped to the well every single day
Hoping to serenade the princess
if she chose to come that way

Then one day, his patience paid off
he spotted her skipping merrily along
He puffed out his chest, cleared his throat
and launched into his favourite song

Astonished, she stopped in her tracks
Picked him up and planted THE kiss
As Mr Frog swooned in delight
On her merry way went the pretty miss

When he opened his eyes
He felt a weight on his head
He flicked out his sticky tongue
and brought down a crown of red

Alas, he found he was still a frog
So off he marched to the old hag
What lousy spell is this, he said
and demanded his money back

The spell did work, said the witch
who was never among his fans
You are now a prince among frogs
I never promised you’d turn into a man

© 2015 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved