Wishful Thinking

Spent a lifetime wishing away what I had

and wanting what I didn't

A huge house with lots of space

and not the cramped little flat I lived in

A rich dad with an important job

Not a poor mom struggling to put pennies in the tin

Even longed for straight hair as mine was curly

and curves because I was stick thin

If only I had beautiful new clothes

And not faded hand-me-downs

I gazed with envy at well-dressed friends

Who attended every event in brand-new gowns

I wished I could continue studying

And not have to look for a job

But I had to work to pay my own way

So I'd just bury my face in my pillow and sob

I never realised I had much more

than most other people ever got

A decent meal, clean clothes and a loving home

And happiness that couldn't be bought 

Now there's grey in my hair and wrinkles on my face

And when I look back with wisdom I can see

Day to day it had seemed an unending slog

But life has actually been very good to me


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Nocturnal Romance

Darling you can't scare me 
Even if you tried
Come after me if you want 
I won't run and hide

I'll be home alone this evening
That's the best time of all
Just float in through the window
When you're in, just call

If I don't come running
Just put up your feet and chill
I'll probably be getting dressed
readying for the kill

Don't get all fidgety now
You've got nowhere to go
You have all the time in the world
to take it nice and slow

I'll come and stand in front of you
With my hands on my hips
A deep red painted on my mouth
That longs for the touch of your lips

So what are you waiting for honey
Kiss me and hold me tight
Hurry up my charming prince
You may turn into a frog at midnight


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Live In The Moment

Make the most of the time you get

On this, the quiet side of tomorrow

For you do not know what lies ahead

Tomorrow may bring joy or sorrow

On this, the quiet side of tomorrow

Everything is reassuringly familiar

Tomorrow may bring joy or sorrow 

But now is not the time for fear

Everything is reassuringly familiar

This is the beauty of today

But now is not the time for fear

Don’t fritter the day away

This is the beauty of today

For you do not know what lies ahead

Don’t fritter the day away

Make the most of the time you get

*Here I've attempted a pantoum, a type of poem with a verse form consisting of three or more stanzas. It has a set pattern within the poem of repetitive lines.

The pattern in each stanza is where the second and fourth line of each verse is repeated as the first and third of the next. The pattern changes though for the last stanza to the first and third line are the second and fourth of the stanza above (penultimate). The last line is a repeat of the first starting line of the poem and the third line of the first is the second of the last.


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Waiting

I've been here before
The air flows
in my blood
The familiar scent
lingers in my breath
The streets know
the weight of my steps
The trees have cast
their shade on me

Here ... at this very spot
I have stopped
On this bench
I have rested
My fingers retrace
the pattern on the iron
just as they used to do
when I waited
for you to come to me
I sit here again
transported
to another time                                      
My soul inhabits
another home
My eyes see
another world

The moment passes
I'm jolted back into this self
In this place
so new yet so known
So much has changed
yet so much is the same
Time to move on
Still ... I sit
and still ... I wait


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Destruction

The wrecking ball
swings merrily
Tears of rubble
stream down broken walls
With each uncaring blow
a beloved childhood
home crumbles
Among the ruins
splintered shards
of treasured memories
hold a kaleidoscope
of ever-changing scenes
A joyous time
of innocent pleasures    
Sneaking out
on hot afternoons
for an ice-cold soda
Raiding the kitchen shelves
for tidbits to silence
growling stomachs
Hauling buckets of water
to cool off by the well
Lying beneath the stars
for the forbidden thrill
of listening to ghost stories              
Now the final blow lands            
the dust settles
on the good times
The past buried
but not dead
It now lives in the heart


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Nightmares

Sleep eludes my eyes
for long dark hours
it hides from me
as I seek it
desperate to escape
into the world of dreams
But when it comes
it is not restful
My eyes are now filled
with nightmares
Shadowy beings
Struggle against my eyelids
drowning in a wall of water
crashing down from nowhere            
I watch open eyed                            
in my restless slumber
Now I fight to wake
A malevolent force
forcing my eyes shut
I resist its pull
wanting only to escape
With a mighty heave
I snap into wakefulness
Drenched in sweat
I draw huge gulps of air
into my tortured lungs
and wonder why
I ever wanted to sleep


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Barriers

A wall of silence
built with the words
that froze on our lips

We've given it life

For it grows taller
each day that
we don't speak
Our apathy
makes it stronger
dividing our world
into yours and mine

Unnoticed
it has slowly crept up
and now I cannot see you

Has it really been that long
since we talked?

© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved