ghazal: "each paradox"

The page desires the word   don't deny it
the branch requires the bird   don't deny it

our perception of the world   creates the world
what's true   is truly inferred   don't deny it

dim inference   is the narrative we read
the dream's shard   albeit blurred   don't deny it

one third of life spent sleeping   one third working
confusion befills the third   don't deny it

your destiny?   viewing   her perfect visage
when such a secret is heard   don't deny it

every hope   holds one hope   in its heart
when soul's conviction is spurred   don't deny it

we stand on the brink of meanings   that stymie
when something deep has occurred   don't deny it

the undertaker knows   what is his business
the hero must be interred   don't deny it

did poetry expire   last century?
largesse belongs to the nerd   don't deny it

each paradox   a fragment   from one mirror
the glue's ordeal is absurd   don't deny it

your bank account has dwindled   but not perished
when mystery is transferred   don't deny it

the smile   of the belovèd   spells gladness
blithe letters   dance in the word   don't deny it

sometimes ghee   sometimes milk   sometimes buttermilk
for alms   she offers you curd?   don't deny it

when unwinding golden thread   you discover
some debts   were darkly incurred   don't deny it

whatever you favored   that became my creed
but bafflement you preferred   don't deny it

isolation is a fiction   that afflicts
the sheep   belongs in the herd   don't deny it

with each transient transaction computed
time's bottom line rests assured   don't deny it

the balance   of the cosmos   astonishes
its theme proceeds undeterred   don't deny it

the context of each note   thick with nuance
to love   the text has referred   don't deny it

one circles the mountain endlessly   until
of crude impertinence cured   don't deny it

feet lodge complaint unreasonably   perchance
the trek was often chauffeured   don't deny it

the tale looms long?   thank God the night's yet young
a hard travail we've endured   don't deny it

limpid happiness   glimmers   with the dawn-light
to dark   though heart be inured   don't deny it

while roses slumber   the pool   shatters the moon
a vernal breeze has bestirred   don't deny it

when Raphael strings baubles   of poetry
a stealthy pearl is conferred   don't deny it

painting studio glimpse

At New Market (Bhopal) -- with new mobilephne camera

[at Gasco -- where I bought the phone]





















[at Hakim Hotel -- a New Market eatery]

ghazal: "you with your beauty"

Whatever the trial   you with your beauty   bless me
all silent your smile   you with your beauty   bless me

the day starts anew   again the birds broadcast promise
though lengthy the mile   you with your beauty   bless me

absurd are the ways I'm waylaid   seeking your mandir
beyond the world's guile   you with your beauty   bless me

my body I coax to join   your noble endeavor
we thread single-file   you with your beauty   bless me

half a century's gone!   the other half waits   somewhere
let substance lead style   you with your beauty   bless me

there's nowhere to go!   you're everywhere!   day's pilgrimage
describes the sun-dial   you with your beauty   bless me

suppose Raphael grew discouraged?   what consolation
sings soft all the while?   you with your beauty   bless me

ghazal: "the primary thing"

To cultivate sheer soul   is the primary thing
to love   as fate's dice roll   is the primary thing

each day   a different experience emerges
to contemplate the whole   is the primary thing

our efforts merely efforts (chalked off as normal)
to keep seeking the goal   is the primary thing

where the mine looks dark   it harbors hidden treasure
a diamond pressed from coal   is the primary thing

music painting and poetry   three currencies
we've means to pay time's toll   is the primary thing

it was lengthy   and pointless   till you smiled at me
the bottom line read droll   is the primary thing

success and failure miss the point   adventure
with gusto to extoll   is the primary thing

to India or China?   whither Raphael?
a pilgrim's begging bowl   is the primary thing