My Poems

No strange when love captivates you at fifty Where the beloved is none else than a lass With chanting voice, magical eyes, rare beauty  And body Apsaras can't match en masse. Some strange the lass' latching onto you fast And loving you if none else does exist  On earth. So is for you - yours flying full mast, Even death for her, finding hard to resist. But all strange when your love is never sexual By any virtues that bind you together At peace - with her head on your pectorals Or your head at rest on the feet of her... Thus, sacred navigates our love 'strong blood' - Between ageless goddess and ageing god. - N P SAMAL

Natia counters a policeman's order, "How can I be lock'd in ever ? On this footpath born, On this footpath grown, On this footpath all through, a homeless beggar !" Natia questions a policeman nearin' : "Ain't it strange the whole humans are shut in ? No kind people that crowded, And my bowl for days dried ! How can I survive without their offerin' ?" The lock-down has gone past sixty. Natia wishes for Corona's pity. On some locals' fitful offers - Some alms, some leftovers - That alive is some humanity !! - N P SAMAL

The difference the rich feel not Of themselves from the poor - both are shut - The rich in treasury, The poor in penury - No qualm they munch on pizza hot... The poor need know no difference. They know their labour gives food licence. But shut is factory, And dry is cookery; And whips hunger with pestilence. As the viral lock-down is at rear, We do face a new public disorder : The poor dying famish'd, The rich dying obesed, The state milking the middle for repair ! -- N P SAMAL

I dread when I behold the earth to come ! There is that earth beyond you can imagine, But I can see what the future does form - A deathless, safe, sublime earth down the timeline. And I dread I will die for good and all, But all will exist with that earth forever - The sun. the moon, the stars, the rain, the fall, The blooms, the birds, the wild, the soil, the river - All with benign earth of beauties and bliss, And, too, immortality, but I'm nowhere ! To death does each fall, no doubt I will perish The soul of my body, self, pride all bare. Mourn I born now to die before that earth Where die will none once they've there taken birth. -- N P SAMAL

The growth of life buoyantly bears the womb With pride and honour, but can't hold the weight When strikes the labour, then puts in the bosom A cute offspring - the Creation's wondrous guest. The bosom laps the glory up with surge Of love and keeps onto the breasts to suckle The elixir as the hands and whole do nurse The blest little thing with love and oracle. But can a life which grows to stray be nestled? And like the womb, the bosom too gives in To toddler's forward impulse and does yield It to the world to grow by its design. Alas, none grows past the plan of the sphere! And in its vagaries, each one does wither. - N P SAMAL

When death reminds me he will come - a truth Inevitable like setting of the sun - I stare at life dumbly from North to South, From East to West. A haze holds me forlorn ! Yet, desperately I float through the girth. Light years deep, but my travail hits no shore ! I look heavenward in awe, then down to earth Beneath my feet, but tiz all death does roar ! What life could I measure if tiz to set  Fore'er - opposed to sun that'll rise again ? Same sun forever : shape, glow, life and zest; And I'm no more , neither my gain or pain ! No count what I have got or will bequeath, My life is short-lived in infinite death !! - N P SAMAL

In my home is my heart. In my heart is my love. In my love is my life. Can life be loveless? Can love be heartless? Can heart be homeless? Away from home I weep No heart, no love, no life, As thirst for home grows deep... In my home, i was born. In my home, i was grown With care, with love, with fun. With friends, neighbours, and kinsmen, With sun, with moon, with rain, With winds, water, I've grown... There's my home 'mong true humans, In the ambience Of truth, trust, tolerance. There's my home 'midst the green, In cool moon, in warm sunshine, In breaths of rose and jasmine. Sings the lark, hum the bees, Pipes the pine, soothes the breeze, Sparrows hop, stroll the geese. Wander fauna, flora blossom, Manoeuvres day in freedom, With no worry or boredom. The day retires to yards, Come out heavenful of stars, And moon for dreamy hours. My mother's sacred wipes, My father's careful upkeeps - With all my home a shrine is.

Can an alcoholic give up drinking? Or a chain-smoker habit of smoking? I haven't seen one such man, Nor till death can I see one, Coz tobacco, liquor, are so defining. There's no street without booze and bars. There's no time that forbids dirty affairs. In the suns, in the darks, Each place bears the pug marks Of narcotic guzzlers, pimps and czars. The uneducated, the unemployed, And the educated, the employed - Some are mad of the gain, Some to forget their pain - The elixir has got all sangfroid. Yet i wonder how they got wean'd off, All of a sudden, those 'life-giving' stuff! No wine, toddy or beer, No ganja, no cigar! Can one-time COVID get the addicts give up? If you say 'Yes', you're gravely mistaken. I bet you'll now find each store clean-shaven... Every store has a back door, In thickets taste doesn't differ, That there're underlying facts you've forgotten. - N P SAMAL

As I sit in balcony chair for sun, I'm amused to behold the skipping fun Of Pauls' son on the front roof, Jumping the rope in full oomph, His flabs sagging with weight of  bulky ton. With the humpty-dumpty at the 'gym', His balloony mom comes and fans him, As his look alike dad Joins, a jump rope in his hand, And both slug like Dhoni with full vim... The two sumos wobble up full each morn Now five weeks into Corona lock-down; With the hissing of dragons, With heaving of the gluttons, The house quakes with clumps of the dual godown. - N P SAMAL

My hair grows down like roots  from the banions, But the barbers, we know all  super cons, Fled the town lock-down ere; Now on 'gaon' river, The son cuts father's hair, and  father son's. As my hair straggles round, I'm  made a creature, A top-bun makes me a mythical  actor; And my wife with blunt scissors, Like Anu for Virat's locks, Storms about like a train'd  hair-designer.  - N P SAMAL

Oh, where is IndiGo the  flyer's pride ? Where is the soul of air? It's roaring ride? Where is across the earth, its endless fly-by? However will the world aviate the entire sky? Unknown, unheard, has gone the wing'd beloved. Nowhere into the air has it dissolved. My soul with deepest yen restless does lie, As hangs o'er me the sky lifeless and dry! But wings of IndiGo can never drop. Its stately steady flights can never stop. Can cease not breaths of human paradise. Can sink not people, their ambition to rise. Immortal is my childhood's  wondrous fly That hover'd over at uncatchable high; My crafty paper planes of halcyon days Now IndiGo the marvel of the skies. I know the avian wonder will soar again - Again across the boundless azure heaven, Astutely through the blinks of snowy clouds So with blinkers of light through nightly shrouds... The wings of IndiGo will always flutter. The sky with arrogance will  alway

As usual the sun rises, as  usual sets. As usual a lovely day he begets. The east ignores not readying him on set. The west ignores not readying him on rest. Pack'd with profound promises he arrives And till the eve he works full verve and vibes. His wakefulness is so  energising!  His presence makes so lively and inspiring! Him up, the earth finds soul the whole of day, And Nature prospers as he tours  the sky. Gets he the sleeping earth up with  his touch, And makes available of things  they search. He lights seas, oceans, and vitalises creatures And those on territories - woods, plains and pastures. Grows he across the vast whole trees and plants And nourishes them bear fruit and spread fragrance. Holds he the sky boundless for birds to fly, The earth for animals each foot  to essay. From mountains pours he rivers, rain from heaven And soaks the drying earth as life does strengthen. Blows he beautiful zephyrs all across And ventilates

There dwells a giant in me. Feeds he in me, breathes he in me. On nourishment of self grows he in me. Sleep i, sleeps he; wake i, wakes he. Goes he with me, comes he with me. There dwells a giant in me. The giant is rude to hear,  and weird to see, and in me lives although estranged  from me. Of envy, conceit, wrath, lust,  greed in guild Of savage sins, is made his  hideous build. His breath is hatred, violence  his creed. He loves to drink blood and eat fl esh with greed. In the blaze of intolerance  he boils. His lava of revenge spreads  extreme bales. Unkind, unsparing; thrills him d eathly throbs. A carnival he fetes over  human corpse... I know not when he came to me. I know not when he enter'd me. I know not how he turn'd the most o f me. And how in times of action he  dictates me. Appears or not, the giant is up i n me. He sees you when you come to me. He reads you when you deal with me. Regard me high, he'll love you hard. Regard me low,

         THE VEHICLE OF FATE The wheels don't know whither  Will roll on they, And follow as the steering  Does show the way; The motor propels the vehicle, Ahead, ahead,  In agreement with acceleration  Well-nick, well-stead; The clutch, the accelerator, The gear, the brake, Do work in tandem, no breach, No mistake; And the motion of the vehicle  Is tied to the whim The driver gets, of a victor Or of a victim: Together they move and carry The fortune and the fate Of the traffic syndicate. The wheels don't burst, nor do  The paddles betray, The built-in whole is too safe to Run astray; Yet, again and again, and again,  The vehicle crashes-- It hurtles, collides, bumps, and Into dust smashes... The villain ain't  The out-of-control vehicle, But the one that's inside, Behind the wheel; The hypnotised man dreads not,  Minds not the hooter to retreat, And fateful accidents unscathed repeat... Once 'van of growth', this vehicle Has gone berserk; On life

Hails my heart the saintly advent  of summer - The inherent plan of the sweet-hearted Nature. With many goodies and gifts it arrives, That makes summer a season full of vibes. Health, happiness, humour, all flair and flavour - The harbinger of wholesome year  is summer. Phenomenal summer portrays itself Vibrant, salubrious, beautiful and safe. Buoy'd in reflection of heavenly beams, The season cares for life, loves and redeems. Returns the life from hibernation - through budding - To summer sun's full lustre and blithe awakening... The life of summer mates with merriment, The whole of it is caught in  wonderment. Wonders like dancing mirage, raining hails, The summer for relish, all  it avails. Blow the summer breaths with  breezy strokes, With sunny surfs they pep up human folks. Turns the summer earth the revellers' pride, The revels make life for each a joyful ride. There's thrill in chilling out, and frolicking At fountai

Wise up, o driver! See how your mad impulse Has set on road the 'wheel of death' that fast rolls. Do heed the alarms the past rings  much in dread, Of gory fact that has ravaged the human breed...! Vehicles are many and chaoticly mobile, The road but one, with them runs  your vehicle. Your craze for speed is by each  norm insane, The spell of haste is bound for fated bane. The road that lies ahead ain't bare or straight, Or not a race course for your daring trait. The right that's yours is that all do possess, On self-restraint and rules rests each success. The vehicle own may you, but road you don't, Licence for all to drive limits  your wont. There's danger in your arbitrary run, To mouth of Death steers your each racing fun. The whim of yours decides your fate alone, To save from misfortune, there is none. Yet, death ain't punishment you get and vanish, But a penance for your kindred you unleash. Far more inhumanly i

Ask me why I am crying, I will laugh. Ask me why I am laughing, I will cry. Sometimes my grief, my glee together come-- That is too subtle for you to ask me why. And when you see my features drawn all bare: I cry not when you see a cause to cry, I laugh not when you see a cause to laugh-- Just ask me why, I'll smile silly and stare. And there are times, when you leave me alone, When solitude has settled, silence drawn, I cry and cry inconsolably enough, Then laugh and laugh all tears inside my laugh... Hunts me my slip that robbed me of my love-- Heart grieves, mind aches, as years painfully go by; Witness the sun, the stars, the sky above As flow my tears stop-less, and eyes don't run dry. My folly is mine, my loss I lone will bear; Alone will I atone, alone will I cry Till life endures, to death till tears run dry, Till on her holy feet I rest my life forever...  -- N P SAMAL