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
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