If I Came To You...

If I came to you 
wearing only 
iridescent shades 
of my love 
infused with 
warm tones 
of friendship 
gentle strokes 
of affection 
shimmering waves 
of admiration 
flaming heat 
of passion

If I came to you thus, 
my love 
would you step into 
my kaleidoscope 
of sensations
or spurn 
the rainbow 
of emotions 
Embrace 
the light 
or retreat 
into the dark 
for fear 
of being blinded 
by my ardour 

Would you open 
your heart 
and let me in 
or protect it
from me
Live for 
the moment
or choose 
a lifetime 
of regret


 © 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Music Fades

Dust motes dance
in the still air 
rising and falling 
with her breath

Here did they sway 
to an unseen rhythm 
electric passion
hummed in the air

Fingers strummed 
sensuously on skin
fusing and pulling apart 
fashioning a melody 
out of desire

She reaches out
to grasp memories 
floating in the silence 
clinging to
fading strains 
of love’s music 

 © 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Unkind Muse

Quill of pain
Ink of heartbreak
Your gift to me
given so generously

With impunity
you say
create beauty 
out of sadness

The hurt you inflict 
uncorks tears
that sizzle and burn
as they fall

Use them to 
dilute the ache
Let the words flow
you command

I close my eyes
shut my ears
But your voice
breaks all barriers

goading me on
wringing me out
I spill out my guts
until I’m spent

Your cruelty
is the drug I need
So don’t kill me
with kindness

 © 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Portrait Of The Soul

Drowning
in a sea of yearning 
gasping
for the oxygen of freedom 
wanting to pull free 
from the clutches of 
“what ifs” and “but whys” 
that cripple its flight 

the soul waits 
for liberation from the attractions 
of a materialistic world
so it can ponder the meaning of life
the purpose of its existence

Questions 
that need the clean slate 
of a mind wiped free 
of the accumulated clutter of living
a heart rinsed clean 
of the grime of attachments
a world of solitude
promoting pure thoughts

Trapped 
in the finite mediocrity of life 
stifling limitations of the mind 
physical barriers of the body
the soul waits
an eternity
for release


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Release

Once I bloomed 
when your breath 
skimmed my body 
settled like mist 
on my hot skin

Now I want kisses 
to whisper on my face
land softly on my lips
A passionate frenzy
to ignite in me
at the gentlest of touches

But you lie unmoving
by my side
You don’t reach for me
And I turn away
to find my release 
in dreams

Reality has long since
ceased to arouse me

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

And So It Dies

Born of a chance meeting
it took baby steps
clutching our hands
With our support
it blossomed
a sturdy toddler
full of life
Basking in the attention
we showered on it
it became
a boisterous child
sometimes playful
sometimes fractious
but secure
in the knowledge
that we cared
In its teens
we gave it less time
but we nurtured it
when we could
and it still flourished
As it grew older
we thought it could
look after itself
So we neglected it
Life ebbed slowly out
And here we are
looking at the corpse
of our friendship
Untended
it perished
now we have
only memories
to fill our empty hearts



© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Mean Streak

You are the burst of spring 
that lifts the winter gloom
You are the brilliant smile 
that brightens every room
You are the vivid silk 
spun by a radiant loom
You are the ray of hope 
that dispels the cloud of doom

I tried to think 
of nice things to say 
Actually you're like 
a dreary winter's day 
You remind me of 
a bleached out bale of hay
You would make the sun 
hide its rays

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Changing Times

Incessant chatter 
has given way 
to sullen silence 
Head bent 
fingers flying 
you carry on 
digital conversations 
that have no use 
for your chirpy voice 

I sit across the table 
not daring to speak 
lest you flick 
an angry glance 
my way 
The lovingly cooked meal
neglected 
on your untouched plate 
congeals into 
an unappetising mess

I try not to mind 
but I feel my heart tighten 
Tears rush easily to my eyes
I marvel once again 
at the power you have 
over my emotions
I wonder when 
you learnt to wield it
I am amazed 
at the change 
I see in you
It is inevitable
I suppose 
but I was not prepared 
for how much it hurts


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Endangered Gender

Too far a distance
for me to traverse
the instant
between two breaths
I face slaughter
even before
I draw my first

I nurture
I love
I fulfil
Without me
you are incomplete

Yet you detest me
you fear my existence
your hate drives you
to condemn me
to death
for crimes
I could not
have committed

I'm just a girl 
nestled
in my mother's womb
waiting to be born
wanting to live


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

East Of The Full Moon

Heading east of the full moon
I took a turn west
I walked many a mile
Before I stopped to rest

Sitting on a tree trunk
That magically became a chair
I knew I had stumbled
Upon a mysterious lair

The sky was a shocking pink
The clouds were virulently green
Little goblin folk ran around
They looked a little mean

I decided to continue
Before day turned to night
But the chair suddenly grew arms
And held me so very tight

The arms were attached
To a very handsome man
So I stayed on his lap
And admired his deep brown tan

I could have sat there forever
But he flung me into a red stream
I opened my mouth to yell at him
And woke up to find it was all a dream

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Redemption

Crimson smeared lips 
Mussed up hair 
Cothes askew 
Furtive deed done 
she stares down 
with cloudy eyes 
at calloused hands 
clutching much-needed notes
Unsteady on stilettos 
that drive a spike into a heart 
twisted with dismay 
she walks the streets 
contemplating a descent 
that takes her 
deeper 
farther 
from the heaven 
she set out to find 
Broken by fate 
bloodied by circumstance 
she sold her body 
but held on to her soul 
Is she the author
of her destiny 
A damning indictment
or does she still have time
to script her salvation


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Heartbreak

Suppressed sorrow 
rides on a tidal wave 
floods your sad eyes 
rolls down 
your forlorn cheeks 
Precious pearls 
I want to string 
into a chain of hope 
you can wear 
like a beacon 
to light your path 
through dark times 
The balm of my love 
cannot heal 
the first painful scars 
that mark 
your young heart 
Only time 
and a million more 
heartbreaks 
will build an armour 
around your emotions 
For now, I can only 
hold you close 
and hope the warmth 
of my embrace 
heals your pain


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

A Case For Orange

Of orange, it must be said
It lacks the fiery heat of red

It’s neither as cheery nor as mellow
as the warm fuzziness of yellow

The poor colour has no clue
how to be as cool as blue

It’s also missing the calming sheen
of a deep, peaceful green

It doesn’t have the knack
to make a strong statement, like black

I guess it wishes it had the might
of a pure, glowing white

So what is orange’s claim to fame
Well, a juicy fruit bears its name


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Castles In The Air

Remnants
of many dreams
have seeped
into my skin
settled under my lids

Bits and pieces 
of fanciful notions
making up who I am now

Unfulfilled desires
haunt me in my sleep
taking on new shapes
that vanish when
I open my eyes
revealing a world
without charms

I prefer to retreat
into my private Utopia
where everything is
just the way
it should be

At least in my dreams
I can create 
my own happy ending

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Work In Progress

Chipping away 
rough edges
of personality
to build character

Loosening
trussed-up feelings
in an attempt
to reach
the vaulted ceiling 
of the journeyman soul
cast in a 
perfect template

A work 
in eternal progress

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Words as Weapons

Sharp syllable edges
pierce the heart 
clouding the blood
With doubt

The next attack 
unannounced
stinging sentences shred 
delicate feelings 

Sibilant soliloquy
filled with menace
Effortlessly inflicts 
Irreparable wounds 

Trickle of insults 
turns into a
Hate-filled torrent 
Drowning me 

Uttered with ease
Your weapons are words 
What need do you have
Of knives

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Little Devils

Little devils at work 
pounding away with hammers 
they call by name 

One uses "indecision" 
swinging this way and that 
unable to decide 
which spot to hit 
landing unintended blows
that dent the confidence

Another wields "hesitation" 
prolonging the agony
before slamming it down 
paying no heed 
to the hurt it causes

Here's one more with "stress" 
a dead weight pressing down 
tightening the screws 
until the brain sees starbursts 
in psychedelic colour

Little devils rest 
leaving a raging headache 
with no cure

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Whirpool of Thoughts

Unedited thoughts 
tumbling 
from the mind's cliff 

A waterfall of words 
thundering unchecked 
towards the edge 
of sanity 
falling into the chasm 
of awkward pauses 
swallowed by 
swirling currents 
of the soul 
churned into a whirlpool 
of incoherent utterances 
muddying the relationship 
beyond clarity's reach 

If only it was still 
a placid stream 
free of the rocks 
on which 
the silence broke

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Empty Room

Neatly made bed
Sheets stretched tight
Pillow plumped up
No indentations to indicate 
you ever slept here
How I hated 
the mess you made
piling all your stuff on it
ignoring the cupboards 
where it was meant to be
The chair you sat on all day
holds only a pile of newspapers 
you messily folded up
how it annoyed me 
the haphazard way 
you bunched them up
I would try 
to smooth out 
the creases 
never succeeding
And you never 
learnt to do it right
The television that blared 
all day long is blank
You never looked at it 
your lids drooping
You never listened 
when I asked you 
to turn it off
I never realised
you needed the sound 
to mask the loneliness
Now you are gone
the room is an empty shell 
Untouched
Unlived
Silent
It misses the warmth 
of your presence
And so do I

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved