Stranded

Every bitter word
I see in your eyes 
straining to escape
the fraught bonds 
of a failed relationship 

so far from

the sweet taste 
of trust crossing 
from your lips to mine 
when I put my heart 
in your hands

turns into

stinging silences
widening into a chasm
without a bridge
to bring us back 
together

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Looking At Sound

I am looking at sound 
carve out a chasm between us
I cannot decipher 
the words formed by your lips 
What I say is not what you hear 
Sound paints a bleak picture
Perhaps the colours of silence 
will be brighter

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Heady Times

Sensuous nights of silk and lace
And the ardent look on your face
You took the lead and I kept pace
Wherever did they go?

Your lips found each peak and valley
Arousing me as you explored and dallied   
Often you detoured down an alley
Fingers trailing high and low

Moonlight set our skin on fire
We burned at the peak of desire
Of each other we never could tire
Our passion made the stars glow
   
Now I lie alone in my bed
Remembering all that we said
I let my heart rule my head
It now seems many lifetimes ago

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Unspoken Love

Let me 
lay my cheek 
in your palm 
one last time 
as I prepare 
to let you go 
and the tears 
wash away 
the sorrow 
of parting
leaving only the
bittersweet joy
of unspoken love

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Revenge of the Shadow

You blossom in colours, I’m always black
You sparkle in the spotlight, I slink in shadows
You walk free, I’m tethered to you

I grow and shrink constantly
You stay the same, your infinitesimal change 
cannot keep pace with me

If you look down, you will find
your true self laid bare for all to see 
I’m the secret you hide

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Deepest Cut

Each day 
much like 
the one before 
the one after 

Nothing 
to tell them apart
the sameness 
a blunt knife 
making it 
excruciating 
to slice through
minutes and hours

Loneliness 
slashes me 
a sharp edge 
leaving scars 
on skin already
riddled with cuts

You don’t bother
to decipher 
my silences 
read my smiles 
understand 
my tears 

Unmoved 
by my touch
you evade
my arms
turn away
from my lips

One day
I hope
the cut
will go
too deep
taking me
beyond
all the pain

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Still A Believer

I’m tired of soppy love songs 
entwined hearts & red roses
pimpled young things
drooling over each other on the train
trying to merge into one another
as if there’s no space in the carriage
for two more bodies

It makes me sick
You could say I’m embittered or cynical
Some measure of truth in both
I’ve gone through that phase
I can’t see how anyone could emerge unscathed
Perhaps some escape with superficial burns
My scars run deeper

So I can do without protestations of fervent ardour
grandiose gestures that mean little
Share my silences, listen to what I don't say
we'll see if our definitions match
I still believe in love
just not the way I used to

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Soundtrack Of the Mind

Soft, muted
a lullaby 
lulling the senses 
into peaceful 
contemplation

Loud, strident
A demand
to be heard
drowning happiness
in discord

Melodious, joyful
A vision of
sunny days
& bright smiles
celebrating life

Keening, tragic
a lament
mourning travails
inflicted, crushing a
hopeful heart

Underlying them all
a constant refrain
uniquely yours
plays from the first breath
silenced only by death

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Under Cover

Darkening day
steals the shine
but the dark casts
a subtle sheen

in the faint glow
of the night
surreptitious silhouettes
meld in serendipity

and the moon scatters
silvery sustenance
as shapes become
shadows in your light 

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved