Three Poems by Dilip Mohapatra

Dilip Mohapatra

ADRIFT

Lost in the high seas

with no seagulls in sight

except for the flying fish in flight

which land occasionally with a thud

and wiggle helplessly

on my ship's rusty quarterdeck

and the relentless waves 

lashing and splashing against

her crumbling gunwales

I straighten up my crusty sextant

to shoot a faint Polaris at twilight

that gives me only half my position

just a crude latitude.

Strangely I am no longer scared to be lost

with no hope of reaching the harbour

or hugging the shore

for now I am used to lose my being

in so many beings 

and I am no longer worried about my frozen feet

 which do not get defrosted any more 

with the morning sun

and look beyond all the fears

overlooking the doubts and the tears

not bothered about the certainties 

getting dissolved in the cesspool of chances.

My resources are running out

my weather beaten sails are in tatters

my rigging in ruins hanging from a broken mast

my rudder is in shambles

and my anchors are sunk and stuck 

at the bottom of the sea.

But my heart is beating a cool rhythm

and my soul soaring high

with prayers on my lips 

I await my ship

to be sucked into the eye of the storm

the storm of the cosmic eye.

  

FADING AWAY

You stoked the fire

and kept fanning it 

to let the flame leap up

into an inferno

and you doused it too

deliberately and ruthlessly 

the cold soggy

ashes standing testimony

to your brutality

while I scrape through them

to discover a tiny cinder

that may still be hidden

but in vain.

You dipped your brush

into myriad colours and with

the crimson red from the newborn sun

the cerulean blue from the boundless skies

the verdant green from the fertile foliage

you painted me with

colours of pleasure 

colours of commitment

colours of ecstasy 

and now you paint me with

colours of pain

colours of denials

colours of indifference

and I realise that all the while 

then and now 

I had lost myself

subdued and overshadowed

with the layers of colours

that you chose to smear on me

whenever

and whichever way you pleased .

The orchid in your pot blooms for me 

no more

the thirst on your lips throbs for me

no more

the tides within you swell for me

no more

while the seasons have given me the slip

the springs 

the falls 

the rains

and the summers 

have surrendered their boundaries

and all look so very grey

in consonance 

with your image in the mirror

equally besmirched

and stale

for all the colours have abandoned you 

for good

along with me

never to return. 

ELLIPSIS

When we walk together

and I hear the lone cuckoo

cooing in the boughs

I hear more than just a song...

When we sit together

and I look up to see the lone moon

swimming in the clouds

I see the moon in many of its clones...

When I cup your face in my hands

and look into those doleful eyes

which I have by heart by now

I see more in them than 

what you may see in mine...

When we bring our lips closer

they may not tremble anymore 

neither of the feverish fire 

nor of any fatal fear from

the scythe of the Grim Reaper...

But we know for sure

between the hellos and goodbyes 

the moments do linger

between your lips and mine

love lingers for ever

and along the unending continuum 

and beyond

exist only pit stops 

but no period...

Author’s Profile

Dilip Mohapatra, a decorated Navy Veteran started writing poems since the seventies. Post Navy he worked in senior leadership positions in Tata and Suzlon groups of industries. He is currently the Chief Mentor and Strategic Advisor to KIIT University, Bhubaneswar and freelances as an Executive Coach and High-end corporate trainer. His poems have appeared in many literary journals of repute and anthologies worldwide. He has been recognised by various organisations for his contributions to literary excellence. He has six poetry collections to his credit so far. He holds two masters’ degrees, one in Physics and the other in Management Studies.  He stays with his wife at Pune.

His website: dilipmohapatra.com

Setu, November 2018