Lunch

As a tasty morsel I munch

at lunch

in a roadside dhaba,

a gentle tap makes me turn.

An empty plate

I see and a child beggar

to her mouth pointing. Anger

swells. Away! I shoo her;

Can’t she wait?

Can't she see?

I'm eating and very hungry?

A pang of regret

hits as the next bite

finds my mouth.

At her helpless plight,

was it, I lost my cool?

What if she is hungry too?

As pensive mouthfuls I chew,

again that soft blow.

Sensing softness, daring rage,

fearlessly she shows

me, again, her empty plate

I ask her to wait

and she does, patiently,

watching me

as I gulp in silent guilt.

Of vicious kidnappers and

poor, poor parents

images I try to squelch;

my own plate I empty find.

A coin and a belch

emerge. I toss the one I can

into the plate in her hand.

A good deed, I pat me,

full of food and vanity.

I shrug and walk; money

was what she was really after.
Tapping another

she must now be,

I say, and look back to see

that cynical picture.

She still is there shaming me,

tear in eye, plate empty,

my coin shining brightly...

Give me all

Give me not just your love,

I want your respect too

Give me not just you silence,

I want your words too

Give me not just your heart,

I want your head too

Give me not just your body,

I want your soul too

Not for me just a bit or two,

I want the whole of you....

Come back; can you dare?

When I see you in my dreams,

My heart for you loudly screams:

Please come back to me my own,

Like this I can't go on for long.

When hastily in fear you left me last,

I thought as always you'd be back fast,

But to see me you declined every time,

Just left me alone down and crying.

Ever since I've been waiting to hear,

Your voice whispering into my ear:

I do love you and you are mine,

Can you not wait for the right time?

Weeks and months have come and gone,

And yet I wait here hoping alone,

A gentle breeze will bring you along;

Don't you know it's been so long?

Sometimes I fear I am hoping in vain,

For when I go down our memory lane,

I wonder if you really did care;

If you did, come back. Can you dare?

Toothless Diplomacy

Coercive diplomacy sans military might

Can never generate intended fright,

A toothless mouth

Can only shout,
What use a threat if you cannot bite?

Knowledge

The more you know,
The less you know,
You know.

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is designed

To enable

Extraordinary individuals

To deliver

Ordinary results

Far And Near

Though we are physically far and apart

I am in you and you beat in my heart

Our whispers of love we can clearly hear

But not the words of those who are near