Evening Solitude: A set of Haikus

If friendship measured
In yardsticks of achievements
Prefer enemies

*****

For your professed love
Abandoned those that loved you
Beware betrayal

*****

Wings are for flying
It will be cruel to clip
The wide world beckons

*****

No words are spoken
Silence heavy in our hearts
Forever a lie

*****

Evening solitude
Raging tsunami torments
Forlorn heart sheds tears

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This poem was first published on http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com on January 5, 2019.

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Searching for Muse lost

First published on my blog http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com on Dec 10, 2018.

Was it that long ago, by

The south seas

Warm waves crashing,

Bursting bubbles caressing

Earth, neither Hell nor Heaven

First published in my blog, http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com, on August 5, 2018.

Neither afraid of hell,
Nor enamored of heaven,
I am that fallen angel

Let the Sleeping Monster Rest in Peace

First published in my blog, http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com, on August 2 , 2018.

Buried deep inside
In a corner dark
Lurks the monster
Trying to rip my soul apart.

Our Prisons, Created by Us

The poem below was first published on my blog, http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com, on July 31, 2018.

In our comfort zone,
We build our fortresses.
Keep out, we shout.
None that are
Not us,

Emotional Deluge

I wrote this poem in my mother tongue, Axomiya(Assamese) a few days back and posted in my blog (http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com) on July 26, 2018.  I have a few Bengali friends from my college days with whom I share my poems.  Whenever I share a poem written in Assamese with them, I try to translate that to Bengali for their benefit. I do not claim any strength in writing in Bengali.  So if any of my reader finds my Bengali translation inadequate, I apologise.  Constructive criticism is appreciated as that will help me to improve my translation skill in future.

I translated the poem to English and sharing all the three versions here, English followed by the original Assamese and then the Bengali translation.

If I am swept away someday
In an emotional deluge
Please stand by me
Be my rock
A pillar of patience

Reminiscence

Reminiscence,
Drug of old age.
Shackled to
Ghosts of the past,

Faith, Creation and Creator

First posted on http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com on May 15,2018

Rose is a rose
By any other name
Creator, not sanctioned by
One’s own faith
Why is not the same

Flirtatious Rain Clouds

First posted on http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com on February 26,2018

Celestial nymph
Seduces to deceive
Rain clouds dance
Beguiling, dark

Blood on their Hands

First published on http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com on March 12, 2018

Behind the hearty laughter
Lurked depression sinister
As everyone looks for an answer
After the terrible disaster
What were the missed signs
Was this part of a design

WOMEN

First published on my blog,www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com, on March 9, 2016 in honor of International Women’s Day, 2016. This poem was also a part of my “52 weeks journey with the letter “W”, an weekly poem for 52 weeks starting with a word with the alphabet “W”.

Women
Wonder everyday
Where would we be
Without them
Mother,sister,beloved,lover
Wife

Death is Perfect

A clear blue sky lacks definition
A blank slate characterless
Beware of the one without blemish
Beneath the serene surface
Lurks the deepest secrets
Enemies with flaws

The Key, Lost

Have you found
The key to
Women’s heart
If you have

Answer Zero

Asked only
A little of life
Life offered
Myriad temptations

Divergent Thoughts: Set of Haikus

In the name of God
Millions tortured, maimed and killed
Still preach the gospel

The prophet of peace
Followers kill in his name
Mute spectators all

Crimson Crown

The streets are empty now, mourners have gone home
Lonely flower bouquets keeping each other company
Street lamps casting their lights as shadows roam
Here and there a few walk around drunkenly

My Pancakes Sang the Blues

Poem based on my culinary skill experimentation making breakfast today (8-31-2017) morning

Breakfast time,  to the kitchen,  pancakes on the menu today,
Healthy choice, blueberry pancakes, to start the day.

Searched the fridge, no fresh berries, what to do,
Frozen berries, used for smoothies,  to the rescue.

Peace Has Vanished ( a Ghazal)

I had written this poem ( Ghazal ) a few weeks back in my mother tongue, Assamese, regarding the unrest going on in many parts of the world.  I gave a finishing touch yesterday and translated it to English.  This is not a literal translation. It is difficult to do a word by word translation and retain the ghazal format.  I am including both Assamese ( first) and the English version here.

Previously posted at my blog http://www.fleetingmuse.com on 8-22-2017.

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অশান্তি কিয়

সকলোতে আজি শুনো হাঁহাকাৰ,  পৃথিৱীত ইমান অশান্তি কিয়
প্ৰাচুৰ্য্যৰ মাজত শুনো আৰ্তনাদ, ৰাইজৰ মনত অশান্তি কিয়

বিজ্ঞানৰ আজি জয় জয়াকাৰ, পৰাক্ৰমীৰ শুনো উন্মাদ হুঙ্কাৰ
নৈতিকতাৰ পতন দেখি নিতেনিত, ৰাইজৰ নহব অশান্তি কিয়

চাৰিওদিশে দেখোঁ বাজে ৰণডংকা, জনতাৰ মনত কিহৰ আশঙ্কা
অজান আতংকবাদীৰ মোক্ষম আঘাট, বুজিছানে আজি অশান্তি কিয়

অন্তৰত জ্বলে দুঃখৰ অনল, চৌদিশে দেখোঁ  জ্বলে দাবানল
সৰ্বহাৰাৰ বিচাৰ নহল উচিত, নহলেনো আজি অশান্তি কিয়

বৃথা প্ৰলোভনত মতলীয়া ৰাইজ, বৈষম্যৰ জয়ধ্বনিত সদা ব্যস্ত
ধৰ্মান্ধতাৰ উন্মাদনাত বিবেক নষ্ট, পৃথিৱীত নহব অশান্তি কিয়

Peace Has Vanished

Tyranny of the To Do List

Wrote this poem about three years back but did not post in my blogsite http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com till recently.

Fear and persecution
Of the incomplete to-do-list,
Keeps me awake at night,
Robbing me of my beauty sleep.

Monday Haikus : Don’t Pass The Buck

Today here and now
Tomorrow is far away
Onus is on you

*****
Being good human
Squander not inheritance
Malign not the world

*******
Why do pass the buck
Eyed responsibility
Unite, not divide

*****
Make it great again
By deed, not smoke and mirrors
Talk is cheap, work not

*******
Enjoy happiness
In responsibility
Burden it is not

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©Pranab Sarma
Originally published in author’s blog http://www.fleetingmuse.wordpress.com

Hiking Down The Walk of Life

This poem was posted in my blog about a week back.  It was written based on my thoughts during a hike by the side of a creek, finding similarities and difference between hiking a known trail and journey through life.  Few lines are updated from the original post. 

Melancholy cooing of a lonely dove
Woke me up from my brief reverie
Senses lulled by gentle soothing sound
Of the gurgling merry stream
Hiking by the side of the creek

Blessed Are Those

Blessed are those
Ambitions, tempered with reality
Expectations reined in
Happiness just a step away

Fading Picture of an Unknown Beggar Girl

Fading Picture of an Unknown Beggar Girl was first published in my blogsite fleetingmuse.wordpress.com in December, 2015

 

Settling down on my seat,

For the long journey ahead to my college town,

With a book in my hand

To drown the hustle and bustle of passengers,

All along the platform, up and down.

Shielding Innocence

All those who have travelled this path before
A secret written in invisible ink taken to the grave
Testimony to heart pure as snow, a blank slate
Most dangerous place, vulnerable to temptation
Those who are bitten once, on their guard
Silence seal their lips, guardian angels they are not

Non-believer

I believe in the goodness of humanity
Believe that dawn will follow night surely
Believe in all things beautiful
Though the world is full of misery
Believe in  oneness of mankind, disappearance
Of artificial boundaries dividing us
Believe one day we shall overcome, and
Win our fight against eradication of crippling diseases
Believe we will be able to stop all abuses and exploitation

Bunch of Faded Pictures Lost in Abyss of Memory

The wall is blank for ages now
Lost the habit of framing and hanging
Photographs on the wall
Modern technology brings
Instant attachments
From across the seven seas