Author of the Month: Dharmpal Mahendra Jain

Dharmpal Mahendra Jain

Sky Dive 

Close your eyes tightly,

so tightly

that no one could open them,

not even you.

 

Always remember:

you have to wear

your safety jacket properly.

Having jumped through the emergency door,

immediately pull

the strings with full force

so that the parachute opens perfectly

and you start gliding down.

 

Don’t be afraid,

strong winds will get in the way.

The temperature could well be far below zero.

You will feel as if

by the time you reach the earth

you’ve become frozen

and hard like wood.

 

Do not consider that on the way

the birds of prey will eat you;

or that you might bump

into the sharp rocks of a mountain;

or fall into the sea.

Nothing like that will happen to you.

 

If there is an explosion in the sky,

you must make the jump quickly

before the plane,

falling into pieces,

catches fire.

The escape routes are difficult

when sudden troubles loom large.

***

 

 

Love

An invisible string,

so tensile and strong,

vibrates with your touch.

 

The wave weaves a subtle tune.

The mind is subdued

as the heart listens.

***

 

 

GRANDMA'S TALES

You must have woven

hundreds of stories,

without any excuses, Grandma.

You used to fall asleep on your own,

narrating many a time

and we kids continued the tale

the way we imagined.

 

This trick still works today.

I have learned to tell such a story

which never ends.

With the morning alarm at six o'clock

a new twist arrives.

The story moves, growing again.

 

The sun is not credible,

many cloudlets are

scattered to cover it

in the sky.

The horse within me runs at his own pace.

It is not interested in remembering history.

As I step into my shoes

the date changes; so, too, the storyline.

Princesses begin to substitute.

The narrative changes geography,

waterfalls, and flowers.

 

Grandma, you used to call

the princess at your will.

My princess comes at her own time.

There is so much pulling down

                     in the day that

the tired horse

rolls down in the stable.

There is no lesson in my tale, Grandma.

This prince so distempered

can't even sleep.

You used to tell a terrific story, Grandma.

Tell me please,

I desperately want to sleep.

***

 

About the author: Dharmpal Mahendra Jain 

Born (1952) and raised in tribal reserve of Jhabua, India, Dharm is a Toronto based Author first generation Diasporic writer of Indian Diaspora. He writes in Hindi and has seven published books- five collections of satirical essays and two collections of Poetry. He is a columnist for three prestigious journals Chankya Varta, Vishwa gatha and Setu. His works have appeared in prestigious Hindi journals across the world. He is currently working on a full-length collection in English.

His poetry in English has been previously published in Poetry Pause, Leap, Fresh Voices, Harbinger Asylum, Akshara, Impspired, Piker Press, Scarlet Leaf Review, Dissident Voice, and Setu.

e-mail: dharmtoronto@gmail.com                                           Phone: + 416 225 2415

Address: 22 Farrell Avenue, Toronto M2R1C8, Canada

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Setu, August 2022