A sonnet on randomness:
You are serendipity, you are luck,
Is there a life untouched by you?
Directing us to raise our pluck,
You enable us to break through.
Time after time, we crave control,
Deluding ourselves beyond measure.
Letting go may avoid this toll,
'Tis a skill we truly treasure!
Is the Universe a friend or foe?
Is that really the key question?
Sans an answer with what we know,
We bias ourselves to an obsession!
You bring joy, you bring pain,
Seeing through you brings peace.
Repeating this again and again,
Illusions of control do cease.
You are abhorred, and you are praised,
But you never fail to leave us amazed!
Monday, November 16, 2015
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Together
Day and night, you're all I dream about,
Your eyes, your face, your beautiful smile,
You have me under your spell, no doubt,
No games, no hesitation, no guile.
My penetrating gaze makes you blush,
A sweet smile forms on your lips so red,
Enjoying every moment sans any rush,
There is no one else I'd be with instead.
O my dear, look what you've done to me,
With your smart mind and gorgeous grace.
It seems this is how love is meant to be,
Everything seems to have fallen in to place.
In my arms, you are light as a feather,
And time itself stops when we're together.
Your eyes, your face, your beautiful smile,
You have me under your spell, no doubt,
No games, no hesitation, no guile.
My penetrating gaze makes you blush,
A sweet smile forms on your lips so red,
Enjoying every moment sans any rush,
There is no one else I'd be with instead.
O my dear, look what you've done to me,
With your smart mind and gorgeous grace.
It seems this is how love is meant to be,
Everything seems to have fallen in to place.
In my arms, you are light as a feather,
And time itself stops when we're together.
Monday, August 31, 2015
A Poem about Poetry!
Lifting my mood when things go blue,
The beauty of the world, you do show.
I know not if I can live without you,
An endless sense of awe, you bestow.
When words so musical start flowing,
Even the stars of the sky come to play.
And all things around me start glowing,
Ah, this feeling, no words can convey!
Enabling an experience so sublime,
Very few can match your resplendence.
Losing track of all space and time,
Yea, a truly tranquil transcendence!
With ethereal moments such as this,
You always yield a beautiful bliss.
The beauty of the world, you do show.
I know not if I can live without you,
An endless sense of awe, you bestow.
When words so musical start flowing,
Even the stars of the sky come to play.
And all things around me start glowing,
Ah, this feeling, no words can convey!
Enabling an experience so sublime,
Very few can match your resplendence.
Losing track of all space and time,
Yea, a truly tranquil transcendence!
With ethereal moments such as this,
You always yield a beautiful bliss.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Celebrating a Free India!
A poem celebrating a free India! Happy Independence Day!
Disintegrate you will, they said,
Your diversity baffled many a soul.
Defying the gloom, you surged ahead,
As you continue to be on a roll!
Faced with challenges one by one,
Language, caste, religion, and war.
Unity in diversity has always won,
Yea, that's the Indian way of yore.
The story of your birth does have pain,
Yet, it continues to inspire the world.
A bittersweet, it may very well remain,
Lest we forget, as the flag's unfurled.
A beautiful land steeped in history,
Your spirit has endured many a storm.
What makes you tick is still a mystery,
Our notion of nations, you transform!
Disintegrate you will, they said,
Your diversity baffled many a soul.
Defying the gloom, you surged ahead,
As you continue to be on a roll!
Faced with challenges one by one,
Language, caste, religion, and war.
Unity in diversity has always won,
Yea, that's the Indian way of yore.
The story of your birth does have pain,
Yet, it continues to inspire the world.
A bittersweet, it may very well remain,
Lest we forget, as the flag's unfurled.
A beautiful land steeped in history,
Your spirit has endured many a storm.
What makes you tick is still a mystery,
Our notion of nations, you transform!
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Unrequited
A sonnet on unrequited love. :)
You visit me in my dreams,
My sleep, you make me lose.
Lost in you I am, it seems,
For you have become my muse.
Ever pondering where you are,
And what you might be up to.
For you're neither near nor far,
Sweet agony, because of you.
Whenever you speak to me,
I wish we could go on and on.
In my eyes, do you not see,
Over you, how madly I fawn!
Pull you in, or push you away,
What do I do, I do not know.
Befuddled by this everyday,
My life is now a tale of woe.
What a mess I have become aching for your every word,
Unable to put an end to this, even if it is all absurd!
---
Another sonnet, but seen from the other side. :)
In together on many schemes,
Our friendship does enthuse.
Sans the drama of any extremes,
That a relationship might infuse.
The time we spend is so above par,
No petty fights that make us rue.
Though once in a while we do spar,
As good friends, we carry through.
But now, a change in you I see,
Something strange is going on.
This pretense is unfamiliar to me,
Are our good times now long gone?
Pulling me in, and pushing me away,
What wrong did I do, I do not know.
Befuddled by your behavior everyday,
For me, you are now a source of woe.
'Tis sad that this is what our friendship has incurred.
Alas, now I wish that none of this had ever occurred!
You visit me in my dreams,
My sleep, you make me lose.
Lost in you I am, it seems,
For you have become my muse.
Ever pondering where you are,
And what you might be up to.
For you're neither near nor far,
Sweet agony, because of you.
Whenever you speak to me,
I wish we could go on and on.
In my eyes, do you not see,
Over you, how madly I fawn!
Pull you in, or push you away,
What do I do, I do not know.
Befuddled by this everyday,
My life is now a tale of woe.
What a mess I have become aching for your every word,
Unable to put an end to this, even if it is all absurd!
---
Another sonnet, but seen from the other side. :)
In together on many schemes,
Our friendship does enthuse.
Sans the drama of any extremes,
That a relationship might infuse.
The time we spend is so above par,
No petty fights that make us rue.
Though once in a while we do spar,
As good friends, we carry through.
But now, a change in you I see,
Something strange is going on.
This pretense is unfamiliar to me,
Are our good times now long gone?
Pulling me in, and pushing me away,
What wrong did I do, I do not know.
Befuddled by your behavior everyday,
For me, you are now a source of woe.
'Tis sad that this is what our friendship has incurred.
Alas, now I wish that none of this had ever occurred!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Paradox
A sonnet on paradox:
Of binary logic, you are a bane.
Perplexing many a smart mind.
Analyzing you again and again,
Unending you are, they find.
This statement is false, yet,
Reading it again shows its truth.
Read it again, and do not fret,
For 'tis false again, in sooth!
If even when falling in love,
We first need to let them go,
How does one even do the above,
For it first needs love to grow?
You bring sorrow, you bring joy,
For one might lead to the other.
It seems this has been your ploy,
To show us we need both together.
Form may be emptiness, and emptiness may be form.
A cliché perhaps, but our thinking, you transform.
Of binary logic, you are a bane.
Perplexing many a smart mind.
Analyzing you again and again,
Unending you are, they find.
This statement is false, yet,
Reading it again shows its truth.
Read it again, and do not fret,
For 'tis false again, in sooth!
If even when falling in love,
We first need to let them go,
How does one even do the above,
For it first needs love to grow?
You bring sorrow, you bring joy,
For one might lead to the other.
It seems this has been your ploy,
To show us we need both together.
Form may be emptiness, and emptiness may be form.
A cliché perhaps, but our thinking, you transform.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Madison
A sonnet on Madison and the UW!
A visual treat are her colorful Spring flowers,
While in the Fall, the leaves take their place.
Apart from the odd mid-summer cold showers,
We enjoyed all her seasons' beauty and grace!
Yeah, a polar vortex was such a small price,
For all the joy that Mad-town did bestow.
Never before did we skate so well on ice,
And throw in jest so many balls of snow!
As a course for fun, we learned social dance,
Yet, for all the finals, we still had to cram!
Who knows, they will come in handy, perchance,
But boy, are we glad we'll not take another exam!
Relishing the world's cuisines on State street,
And looking in awe at the majestic Capitol dome.
In spite of its small size, it felt so complete,
If only for a few years, we called this town home.
We swam in the waters of her gorgeous lakes,
And cheered with thousands at a homecoming game.
Admist all the turns that our journey takes,
"We are Badgers!", we will proudly proclaim!
A visual treat are her colorful Spring flowers,
While in the Fall, the leaves take their place.
Apart from the odd mid-summer cold showers,
We enjoyed all her seasons' beauty and grace!
Yeah, a polar vortex was such a small price,
For all the joy that Mad-town did bestow.
Never before did we skate so well on ice,
And throw in jest so many balls of snow!
As a course for fun, we learned social dance,
Yet, for all the finals, we still had to cram!
Who knows, they will come in handy, perchance,
But boy, are we glad we'll not take another exam!
Relishing the world's cuisines on State street,
And looking in awe at the majestic Capitol dome.
In spite of its small size, it felt so complete,
If only for a few years, we called this town home.
We swam in the waters of her gorgeous lakes,
And cheered with thousands at a homecoming game.
Admist all the turns that our journey takes,
"We are Badgers!", we will proudly proclaim!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
An Ode to Science
An ode, nay, a paean, to all of science and technology. Enjoy! :)
We see you in the beautiful helix inside our genes,
And in a black hole that bends distant star light.
You are the changing bits in our computing machines,
The object of our wonder every time we board a flight.
The eternal engine of our enigmatic existence,
You have revolutionized our entire civilization.
Defeating all forms of irrational resistance,
Your advance will continue without any cessation.
No nation on Earth can claim you as theirs alone,
For you are a unifying language for all nations.
Little by little, all of the seeds you have sown,
Have blossomed into deeply helpful applications.
Alas, you have often been misused due to our flaws,
Leading to tragedies on an unimaginable scale.
Still, the pursuit of you has never stopped because,
In the end, your righteous use does always prevail.
The contrast of your rigor with the arts is stark,
Yet, at the very frontiers, you seem to converge.
Indeed, what powers both is a bright creative spark,
From which the best of both science and art emerge.
Yes, the most incomprehensible thing about reality,
Is that so much is comprehensible, thanks to you.
Even our finite and fragile minds grasp your beauty,
Though like the vast cosmos, you are infinite too.
Discovering a timeless objective truth will leave us profoundly awed,
For this experience enabled by science is like seeing the face of God!
We see you in the beautiful helix inside our genes,
And in a black hole that bends distant star light.
You are the changing bits in our computing machines,
The object of our wonder every time we board a flight.
The eternal engine of our enigmatic existence,
You have revolutionized our entire civilization.
Defeating all forms of irrational resistance,
Your advance will continue without any cessation.
No nation on Earth can claim you as theirs alone,
For you are a unifying language for all nations.
Little by little, all of the seeds you have sown,
Have blossomed into deeply helpful applications.
Alas, you have often been misused due to our flaws,
Leading to tragedies on an unimaginable scale.
Still, the pursuit of you has never stopped because,
In the end, your righteous use does always prevail.
The contrast of your rigor with the arts is stark,
Yet, at the very frontiers, you seem to converge.
Indeed, what powers both is a bright creative spark,
From which the best of both science and art emerge.
Yes, the most incomprehensible thing about reality,
Is that so much is comprehensible, thanks to you.
Even our finite and fragile minds grasp your beauty,
Though like the vast cosmos, you are infinite too.
Discovering a timeless objective truth will leave us profoundly awed,
For this experience enabled by science is like seeing the face of God!
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Impermanence
A sonnet in Tamil on the doomed quest for permanence:
Un nizhalai pidikka odinaal,
Mudivillaadha oru otram.
Nilaiyaai nindru naadinaal,
Puriyum adharkillai thotram.
Maatram undaakkum kalagam,
Maaraamal iruppadhu edhu.
Maarikkonde irukkum ulagam,
Sollum mattram mattrume adhu.
Edhayum edhirpadhoru gunam,
Aanal thevai adharkum mudivu.
Etru kolla vendum manam,
Vegamaai vandhu vidum vidivu.
Interpretation in English:
After your shadow, if you dart,
It will have no conclusion.
Standing still, pick it apart,
Its form is but an illusion.
Change does muddle the mind,
For nothing remains forever.
A changing world does remind,
Change alone changes never.
'Tis our nature to resist,
But it cannot go on and on.
For acceptance is the gist,
As it ushers in a new dawn.
Un nizhalai pidikka odinaal,
Mudivillaadha oru otram.
Nilaiyaai nindru naadinaal,
Puriyum adharkillai thotram.
Maatram undaakkum kalagam,
Maaraamal iruppadhu edhu.
Maarikkonde irukkum ulagam,
Sollum mattram mattrume adhu.
Edhayum edhirpadhoru gunam,
Aanal thevai adharkum mudivu.
Etru kolla vendum manam,
Vegamaai vandhu vidum vidivu.
Interpretation in English:
After your shadow, if you dart,
It will have no conclusion.
Standing still, pick it apart,
Its form is but an illusion.
Change does muddle the mind,
For nothing remains forever.
A changing world does remind,
Change alone changes never.
'Tis our nature to resist,
But it cannot go on and on.
For acceptance is the gist,
As it ushers in a new dawn.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Potato
A sonnet on my favorite vegetable! Enjoy! :)
With water flowing from the kitchen tap,
I wash my potato nice and clean.
Out of my daydreaming I do snap,
For the cold splash makes me careen.
Peeling it is indeed a chore,
I wish it would happen on its own.
Ugh, I consider it such a bore,
That I play some music on my phone.
Eventually, I reach for the knife,
For it was time to chop the spud.
Distracted by the vagaries of life,
I let it slip and fall with a thud.
Resting mere inches from my toes,
I see the sharp and shiny blade.
Relieved it did not add to my woes,
I carry on except being more staid.
Drizzling some oil on the pan,
I prepare it for a good saute.
It gets cooked as per my plan,
Browning in the heat, as they lay.
Mixed with herbs, salt, and spice,
My dish is ready for me to taste.
Mmmm, my senses it did entice,
Not a speck of it will go waste!
As I gorge on it, thoughts of the past and future fade away.
For this humble potato on my plate has indeed made my day! :)
With water flowing from the kitchen tap,
I wash my potato nice and clean.
Out of my daydreaming I do snap,
For the cold splash makes me careen.
Peeling it is indeed a chore,
I wish it would happen on its own.
Ugh, I consider it such a bore,
That I play some music on my phone.
Eventually, I reach for the knife,
For it was time to chop the spud.
Distracted by the vagaries of life,
I let it slip and fall with a thud.
Resting mere inches from my toes,
I see the sharp and shiny blade.
Relieved it did not add to my woes,
I carry on except being more staid.
Drizzling some oil on the pan,
I prepare it for a good saute.
It gets cooked as per my plan,
Browning in the heat, as they lay.
Mixed with herbs, salt, and spice,
My dish is ready for me to taste.
Mmmm, my senses it did entice,
Not a speck of it will go waste!
As I gorge on it, thoughts of the past and future fade away.
For this humble potato on my plate has indeed made my day! :)
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Happy Pongal!
Alli podu sottrai mun paanaiyile,
Pongi varum paar siru velaiyile.
Suvai migundha karumbai kadippom,
Kadhiravanukku kaanikkai koduppom.
Unnadhamaai uzhaikkum uzhavanai potrungal,
Thamizhar thirunaal idhu endru koorungal!
Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum paarungal,
Pongalo pongal endru koori magizhungal!
Iniya Pongal Nalvaazhtthukkal!
Add fists of rice into the earthen pot,
And watch it overflow soon as it gets hot.
Let us bite into the delicious sugarcane,
And pay tributes to the mighty Sun again.
Praise the farmer that works so hard,
'Tis the day of all Tamils, no holds barred!
For the hopeful month of thai is here,
Wish a Happy Pongal and spread the cheer!
Happy Pongal! :)
Pongi varum paar siru velaiyile.
Suvai migundha karumbai kadippom,
Kadhiravanukku kaanikkai koduppom.
Unnadhamaai uzhaikkum uzhavanai potrungal,
Thamizhar thirunaal idhu endru koorungal!
Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum paarungal,
Pongalo pongal endru koori magizhungal!
Iniya Pongal Nalvaazhtthukkal!
Add fists of rice into the earthen pot,
And watch it overflow soon as it gets hot.
Let us bite into the delicious sugarcane,
And pay tributes to the mighty Sun again.
Praise the farmer that works so hard,
'Tis the day of all Tamils, no holds barred!
For the hopeful month of thai is here,
Wish a Happy Pongal and spread the cheer!
Happy Pongal! :)
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