Shadow Of Silence...

I took a stroll across the street 

Alone was I, as was the deserted path

Along which I treaded, ivory rocks and mellow grass

In search of questions I wished to ask.

There I met Shadow, after the second lane

she was fearful, but eyed me discreetly

I stepped closer, she hid herself in her cloak some more

I wished to see her face, her pale blue eyes, more clearly.

She was the shadow of silence,

who was finding her way around

I asked if I could help,

she laughed, Could I? she asked again.

Her smirk took me off guard

I looked angrily at her face

Why do you doubt, I shot back

She eyes softened, but the humor did not elapse.

She held my hand and shook it slightly,

And felt my veins and my fingers

Looked at them as if reading my life in the lines

Then jerked off my palms, as if they were flawed.

She took a step back, I must go, she said.

No, you must wait, I need to know you well.

I protested. But she had started to walk

I went behind her, I knew I needed to talk.

She stopped, and looked back at me

Her eyes, now steel blue, shot anger

It scared me, and I stood, stunned

As she put her hand upon my heart.

She smiled, I know you now she said

Why do you fear, you are Mine.

I could not make sense, I asked her what she meant

She cupped my chin and hugged me tight, in reply.

  

And then she hurried again, and I followed,

and a sudden splash of water, with a gasp I swallowed.

I got up, from the ground, amidst the road I'd fallen

It had begun to rain and the birds were calling the young ones home.

Was it a dream, a fantasy..I may never know,

she was the shadow of silence, that was for sure.

I know not, which road I'd travelled

I cannot go back, but only follow from where she'd left.

I shall speak Silence, breath the nothingness of the air

Be with my own, in her own way

I am hers, as she is mine, she'd said.

And all of a sudden, it all makes Sense.

By

Priyanka Dey

Priyanka Dey, pursuing her Masters in History from Delhi University, is a prolific poet. Her poetry is mostly available through online forums, while her blog is a virtual stream of poems.Though her artistic soul embraces other art forms, words has always been her first love.The language she uses is that which relates to the lay man, but which is nurtured by the ethos of the Indian as well as global culture.Her blog is priyankazneverland.blogspot.in . She believes that poetry is the best medium through which she can bring in change. And she wants to include poetry-writing as part of the educational curriculum too.Presently, she is also working on her first full length novel and poetry anthology. Her works have been featured in various anthologies and she is at present, the managing editor of a literary magazine in India. She is a die-hard optimist and a hopeless romantic. 

I Realize...

She balances both grotesque and grace,

And pulls me up to an uneven place.

Where I know not what is right,

Yet obliged to take up my flight.

She shows me light,

But that’s not bright.

There are shades, I vaguely realize,

There’s hope too but in disguise.

To pull her cover,

She takes my labor.

Demands concentration and needs patience

For she hears and bears but is in silence.

She blooms like a flower post some winter,

But again she withers, grows fainter.

Well that’s not the end,

For she tries again.

And this time round she succeeds,

She satisfies and meets my needs.

To conclude she is hard but sweet,

Sharp but smooth like the knife.

She is pleasant, she is life.

Like a flickering candle she may glow with difficulty,

Like a struggling player she may win with penalty.

But looking deep I realize,

There is light in this life.

By

Mitra Samal

I am Mitra Samal an Information Technology Analyst at Tata Consultancy Services.I have done my Bachelors in Engineering from Eastern Academy of Science & Technology, Bhubaneswar.Though I love technology I also have a great respect towards literature and it amuses me a lot. Some of my hobbies are writing poems and articles, reading books, browsing,watching movies and partying with friends.

THE DILEMMA

Enchanted by the dark night,

The sea, the star and the sky

Little Mary asked her gran

“Why can’t I fly?

If only I could swim sea or have stars

Why I am in dilemma, I just can’t decide”

Her granny’s lips curved into a smile

Her wrinkled face showed wisdom of life

“Let me tell you one story

About a little girl

Let’s call her Jane”

The old lady’s favorite name

“At the crack of dawn Jane would wake

Lie still listening to the waves

To the dolphins and the fishes

And the chirp of winged species

The bright yellow rays

Called her forth

Outside the tiny window

Lay her dream world

 Mystifying sea, enchanting birds

Each had a story she craved to discern

She wished to twirl with the sea

To surf the crystal water

She yearned to fly with robins

To search a new horizon

She made sand castles

With her hopeful mind

Wondering if she ever

Can truly explore the world outside

Her mind ventures deep into the sea

Imagining the life within

While the heart pulls her back to reality

Reminding of the awaiting kith and kin

“Stay” she cried

Her mind and heart had split again

The dilemma rising like a tide

Is breaking her nightmarish dream

This dilemma she faced everyday

Whether she should be quite or say

The feelings she have hidden for long

About how she wants to break free

From the knotted chains of love

Which her heart doesn’t want to leave

The dilemma was not one but many

Should she do the expected chores?

Or the ones she dearly hoped for

“If only I had the courage” she thought

Everyday a war within her surfaced

As she tried ways to live through it

Torn between her heart and mind

The dilemma left her wilted

With every grey hair

Her hopes diminished

But a new dilemma emerged

And slowly her dreams were blurred

Left her with just

A vacant core”

The old lady took a pause

The little Mary was waiting for more

“If only Jane had the will and courage

The window would have been a door

The world outside would have been the world within

And beside would have stood her proud kins”

“So little Mary

Believe you can fly

Dilemmas will come

Don’t be affright”

So the child went off to dream

About the sky she was determined to achieve

But the old lady’s eyes had no sleep

She went beside the window

And looked at the dark sea

The same old noise of the beating waves

Still left her tingling the same way

But this time no dilemma

She had made a choice

Jane would not let little Mary be her vice

By

Aastha Channa

About Aastha:

22 year B.Tech graduate who loves to imagine and put it into words. For

me life is a rainbow- different colors put together and hence I believe

in trying all the different shades. Love swimming, reading, playing music,

baking and nature. But most of all I love donning new hats. Writing for

me is a way I connect with people around and with myself- my worst day

can turn into a fruitful one if I end up writing a good piece. I believe in

honesty and patience. My dream is to publish a classic fiction one like

Jeffery archer and Sidney Sheldon.

Contact id: aastha_channa@yahoo.co.in

A non-existent dream shattered

  

I acquired an aura, got a fragrance

As I grew, danced my plait,

My eyes glowed like agate.

I became product in the bride market,

Competition among neighbors

And giggling girls of my age.

He would come, I’d mouthful of smiles.

Would weave an instant dream with cream,

Only to find a ghastly gale devastating.

I was pretty good, cultured and natured,

Got some certificates of merits

But no one reached till the wedlock.

Time passed, I walked on the ramp,

Dreams shattered, dreams replaced,

Gradually, dreamy air betrayed.

No dream was for me, nor a flick of smile.

Pressure of sisters was evident

And I withdrew from the race, reconciled.

Desert in my heart spread, oasis disappeared,

Only hot sand and thorny cactus of miles,

I tried to smile with others.

Saw the blossoming of dreams of my sisters,

As they smiled with kids and hubbies.

Somehow began to live with blisters.

I became forty four with so many sores,

More than half of the life passed

Loneliness strolled, when I felt alone.

One day, the crow cawed on our roof,

“Who comes my dear?” I asked.

Yes, a gust of cool air brushed anon.

A middle aged groom desired happily

To make me his friend of loneliness.

After thinking, I said yes with gaiety.

Marketing done, relatives informed,

A temple became a venue,

As tent house paid and smiles scattered.

What happened, god knows, it shattered.

The air became hotter, as I singed. 

Flowers wilted, my heart splintered.

What was my fault, why dream shattered?

Why the oasis vanished?  

And again I was after a mirage going farther.

Barren I was, that was better,

Why gave me a candy of dreams,

When it was not there to blossom?

God, what do you want my Lord,

Why you wanted me to stroll

Along the rosy path, oh dear?

Can’t you bless me death

Or take me there

Where no wishes exist?

 Sudam Panigrahi

He reads fiction, writes short stories, poems and novel in leisure time. He has been writing off and on as an amateur. He has signed a deal with a publisher for his debut novel LOVE ACROSS BORDER.An anthology of poems entitled SPARKLES BEHIND CLOUDS is scheduled to be published by Tylor Publishing,US.He thinks away from the mass. His religion is humanism he is a self taught person, from a rural background.