Zen-moment by Sunil Sharma

A murmuring river, Stork hunting, A bent tree, Kissing the Gentle waters, Wilderness around, Solitude uninterrupted, A perfect place to unwind, And quietly register the details, For a wandering urban mind: A Zen moment— That reconnects The competing soul  With the Vestigial nature around, And the pervasive divine, In all the revolving atoms, For few […]

Young mother by Sunil Sharma

The Tiny Dark Girl Hardly Seven, Carries Her Famished Crying Five-year-old Sister On Her Slim Back Encased In A Torn Frock, To The School Distant Caring And Loving For Her Little Daily Burden, And Forced To Become A Concerned Mother At A Tender Age To Her Crying Sibling, Forgetting Her Own Pain.

Winter dusk at the railway halt by Sunil Sharma

The dusk Would arrive At the halt, As Abrupt And Quick-footed As the Pink-eyed Rabbit Restless Glimpsed For a second, in the Tall Green Grass, The wintry Dark would Descend fast And hug The lonely Shivering Railway halt, Awaiting The passenger train, In the swirling fog, Near the Red signal Would be A figure Frail, […]

Valley-dawn by Sunil Sharma

The valley-dawn Is a drastically different one, Heralded by the bird-songs, Scattered in the crisp air, And before being carried away To the next verdant dale, is Heard by a restive city-sleeker, Escaping from the fever of city, Dreaming of drowning in the sea, And woken up abruptly, By the sweet songs dispersing as dulcet […]

The workers by Sunil Sharma

On the construction site, In the central suburban Mumbai, Female workers working as a team Pass on the heavy red bricks to the other, Every movement graceful and precise, Like the steps and movements of Ballet dancers agile; These ballerinas rough but full of life, Their heads covered with torn dupattas, Against the howling wind […]

The light from an earthen lamp by Sunil Sharma

On A Wintry Evening When dark falls quick, On a Winding Trail Amid Trees and shrubs, Searching for a House Nestled in a Village, Cheered by The songs of The returning birds, The Solitary Traveler Finds The sight Of A Flickering Earthen lamp, Kept for Such lost Wayfarers, In the Alcove of a Tiny shrine, […]

The humble earthen lamp by Sunil Sharma

The humble earthen lamp— Fragile, brittle in rough and cruel hands, Of clay baked And fortified in furnace-fire, Then shaped and painted By the veined potter’s expert hands; The little lamp from rural India Small and insignificant relic For the gentrified, Still Lights up the dark sanctum sanctorum Of a temple for its faithful In […]

The gypsy song by Sunil Sharma

On bitter winter nights, When a playful moon hides, Behind the dark threatening clouds Billowing in the solitary skies, And an icy wind hollers down The uneven ground Overgrown with the weeds, That stands even to-day, This vast ground Outside the gates of the old town, And the screaming wind Flattens shrubs, elephantine grass and […]

The Chant of the Indignant of the World by Sunil Sharma

Let there be constant rage among us, mates, It should not be allowed to subside at any cost; Let it flow fast and furious and then go global, mates And let the angry youth Occupy Wall Streets In the 1000 towns from Madrid to New York; May 15 is scared for us as It all […]

Surreal landscapes by Sunil Sharma

When dreams become meeting grounds of souls scattered far away And the gentle mists roll down from the white hills, And time stands still and we talk, It is love’s country vast Stretched out in shadows dim, That we come to see Only in our frail dreams, Floating phantoms over the sizzling streams, And frozen […]

To a son abroad by Sunil Sharma

  To a son abroad To another Columbus, Who has left home And gone abroad, To re-script an old narrative Of tired life, and higher aspirations; In my ageing heart But young thoughts, You are there, dear Sparsh— The only constant, In a changing world, You stay on like the Fragrance of the First Sparsh […]

Relations by Sunil Sharma

The relations in urban centers Are like the hulks of graying Cars seen rusting on the roadside Garages of big/small-town India, Only gaping hulks you find there in those Junk yards that hog the roads, Stripped of metal and polish and shine And the empty shells get abandoned by the bored owners Searching for quick […]

Pharaohs, Protests and Public by Sunil Sharma

Hark! New Egypt has woken up—finally. The old pharaohs look down upon the Tahrir Square, While the modern pharaoh runs away From public fury. For 18 days, Starting January 25, 2011, Cairo erupted in protests and rage, Millions staged a dramatic scene of Solid solidarity and unity, Spontaneous People power at its best. Children of […]

Occupy the Wall Street by Sunil Sharma

They came and occupied the Wall Street, By sitting/camping in Zuccotti Park, New York, September 17 onwards, After the amazing Arab Spring and Anna Hazare corruption crusade, And there was a spring of hope for the underdogs everywhere The protestors fanned out across the capitals of the world, October 9 and onwards, An idea had […]

Morale by Sunil Sharma

Life Is Like A Motorcycle Driven By A One-armed Biker On A Rough Terrain, Seen Daily By The People Early In The Morning, Going Up To The Shrine On The Steep Dense Hill.

Finding freedom from invisible bonds by Sunil Sharma

Two young girls riding bicycles On the dusty suburban street, School bags strapped on their backs, Shrieking in pure delight, Racing furiously and Dodging dogs and unruly bikes Driven by youngsters on a high, Chasing each other, These two girls, close friends, On the pot-holed street, Happy to fly at their pace, Smiling, despite the […]

Birds heavenly by Sunil Sharma

A bird flying in the air Is kinetic poetry Sheer and stunning Of the blue vault; The tiny colours And flapping wings Moving against The vastness of the clear sky Against the powerful wind, The radiant creature little, Singing, Soaring, Giving visual delight To the earth-bound watchers Of these heavenly flights.

Afternoon song by Sunil Sharma

In the coastal town, In the silent afternoon shops That yawn on semi-deserted roads, The power outages common and long, And the humid day drips droplets of sweat A dry hot dust-devil swirls up fast, Leaving layers of dust everywhere On the trees and houses, A miller reads on a hard bench Under the shade, […]

A daily prayer by a kid by Sunil Sharma

Every Morn Is A Gift From The Loving God. So, Dear God, Please Tell Dad Not To Worry About The Pay-packages Fat Given To Others In His Cussing Office, Or, Maa Complaining About Her Own Meager Jewellery Or, Salary And Both Mum and dad— Always Bitter About Others In The Housing Society Or Joint Family. […]

A beach dawn by Sunil Sharma

The dawn tiptoes Like a maiden dark, Collecting the sea-shells On the morning Deserted beach, Watched by the swaying palms, The breaking waves singing a song For the shy maiden From the nearby fishermen’s village, A flower garland in her black hair, Kohl-lined eyes darting here-n-there, Like a frightened rabbit crossing a road, The dawn […]