Category Archives: Uncategorized

FEAR IN THE RAW FORM

Posted on by akanksha gupta

ALONE AND AFRAID OF THE UNKNOWN

The heart beats

On a metallic chest

With zest unmatched

But by Sivamani

They say such comparisons

At the inopportune time

Tsk tsk bad humour

But I say, as there is

Despite the need

No publicity

The joke isn’t lost

In the sea of

Controversies

Yet you find

No solace

T’is a moment of

External tranquility

And of heightened sensitivity

Whence the accelerated rhythm

That thus accompanies

Gives an unexpected

Boost of adrenaline

And as morbid as

The thought maybe

It’s the music of terror

That seems to literally

Wrap a venomous coil

Of dread and horror

Around the body

While the sound

Of the heart’s beat

Grows nearer

So much so that

You feel your heart

Stubbornly lodged

In your throat

And all the self help guides

That had aeons ago told

To keep your cool

Become a faint memory

Of a wise old fool

And gradually

The sound of fear

Drowns out common sense

And drives out

Any notions of

Ethics or morality

It is the trepidation

This unholy anticipation

Of an unpredictable

Reality

Resides within

a fear filled mentality

That sits like a cloud

In the mind

And rusts and rots

The grey clogs

That in the face of all

Eventualities

Are unable to formulate

An articulate response

Other than freezing up

Or shooting away

Faster than a cannon

For this sensation

Of paramount trepidation

Refuses to subside

And rears its ugly head

At every moment

Like a three headed dragon

–           Akanksha Gupta

Writing For Writing’s Sake

Posted on by akanksha gupta

When I write
The universe
Recedes
Into the shell
Of anonymity
An essence of me
Uninfluenced
And unhindered
As though
For eternity
Pours through my heart
And my mind
Like molten lava
Impatient
Impassioned
And eager
To burst through
A long dormant volcano
And I write
Like there’s
No tomorrow
For writing is
As timeless as
Photography
And as expressive as
A dance
And as soothing as
Music
Yet writing
Is very different
For every writer
That pens down
His soul’s desire
If you perchance
Stumble upon
Such a treasure
Such a  shrine
In life
Know that its beauty
Is indeed
One of its kind

– Akanksha Gupta

PERFECTION: Attempt 1

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Everything always is

Perfect in absentia

For no one can fault it

But in full view

Of every spectator

The inner artist

Transforms into a critic

And the plebeian admirer

Into a judgmental fascist

And the erstwhile flawlessness

Suddenly seems blasphemous

So then

Where is perfection

In anything and everything

You ask all the –ists

Say the pessimists

It doesn’t exist

Say the optimists

One day I’ll find it

Say the opportunists

Why should I want it?

Say the scientists

It is too ideal a state

Say the socialists

It’s a long road ahead

Say the realists

Waste no time

Striving for it

Yet everyone always is

In pursuit of perfection

And perfection

It is elusive…

Can it bring happiness?

No-one knows

What about poets

Like me? Like you?

Perfection we feel

Does exist

In the eyes

Of the beholder

Perfection persists

In every single act

And every single object

Where there is a flavor

Of effort and endeavor

To do the best

To be the best

And have the best

Then it’s an instance

Of pure perfection

For you can see

Within its depth

And know

Within your heart

Perfection indeed

Does exist

But the inner critic

Of all the -ists

Fail to ever discover it

We you and I

Are not –ists

Fortunately

Just commoners

May be that’s why

Objectively and subjectively

And also in the mirror

You and I can see

Perfection wherever

And whenever

We want it to be

– Akanksha Gupta

THE ERA OF NARCISSISTS

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Every day I look at you

Are you ‘you’ or ‘me’?

The more I look the more I feel

Like drowning into thee

 –

The ocean is too full of salt

The pond full of algae

The river neither is enough

To contain the vanity

 –

“O Mirror, Mirror where are you”

T’is a charming irony

Those that wish to find you not

Are the ones blessed by thee

 –

In their eyes I see myself

Reflected differently

Am I the way they look, or

The way I look, at me?

 –

The answer is too simple

Yet they cannot see

Permanently are they blinded

Thus narcissistic-ally?

 –

“O Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Does beauty speak of me?”

First the Queen, then Narcissus

A fairytale reality

– Akanksha Gupta

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Posted on by akanksha gupta

It’s a fleeting moment

When reality ceases to exist

When you can imagine

On this plane; a parallel universe

Or even absolute silence

A moment of peace indeed

Where every idiotic syllable uttered

Doesn’t go down in personal history

Of insanely stupid moments

It’s an ephemeral fulfilment

Of the innermost desires

A time to escape; a place to escape

No obstacle, no predicament, no quagmire

A moment of absolute clarity

Of great insight yet permissible peculiarity

Of simplification of complexities

Of freedom from social niceties

And a moment sans entanglements

No emotional baggage or responsibility

No delusions of grandeur

But an ambience of elegance

A moment of well-deserved

Self-indulgence

When there is no forced pretence or play,

Neither is it a judgement day

Where you can be you and I can be me

And in this warped reality

That would seem to be

 For just a fleeting moment

A means of escape

A world of you, by you, for you;

Solely built

To suit your tastes

After all everybody needs

A self-styled illusory reality

Where you have the right

At any-time in life

To be or not to be

– Akanksha Gupta

A MOMENT OF CONTEMPLATION

Posted on by akanksha gupta

In this mad mad world

When I stand on the precipice

I let down my hair

Wind swept it literally

And I ain’t no Shakespeare

Yet bemused I can be

By the high and the low

The dramas of a society

I ain’t no Sherlock Holmes

But can observe clearly

Past the facade of warmth

The stark reality

And I’m no solitary loon

But when its just you and me

Alone in our solitude

They may say I’m-a crazy

But after a dose of rush

That defines a modern city

I need a moment to myself

In your undemanding company

– Akanksha Gupta

AN ODE TO MUSIC

Posted on by akanksha gupta

There in the forests deep, dark and sultry

Each and every wispy and sonorous sound

Echoes unbidden the haunting melodies

Of the dead and undead creatures abound

 –

As such; lofty sprites and sky larks prance

Their lithe forms spin gracefully in the air

In a harmonious glorious symphony

Effortlessly, and simply without a care

 –

It is fuel for the soul; It is

The unadulterated passion in their eyes

It is, the palpable emotion in the air

It is, the unmistakable fervor in their voice

 

That adds to the mystery of legs tapping,

Of adrenaline pumping and hearts thumping ­

To the rhythm of a limitless range that

Can be stretched without screeching or limping

 

They are crafty strings plucked up with courage

The dainty keys pressed into a tune filled air

The addictive pipes that sway with the wind

The masks that burn with a whipping severe

 –

But music oh what music t’was then

It saw, came and conquered my all

Imprinted the beats, the tune, the pitch

It made me feel one with the world

-Akanksha Gupta

Nǐ Hǎo Ma?

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Plush red sofa chairs

As comfy as the midnight sun

I freely sit

Its a cold cold world

And in the night

My solitude

I find, a semblance of reality

That wakes me up

Leaves me feeling cold

And outside the window

All I see

What little is left of humanity

Up in embers of smoke

And yet I see through them

The twinkling stars and the shining moon

Beckoning me to a world

Full of flighty delights

And unkempt avarice

My heart stops at once

And melodramatically thumps

Swirling with platitudes

Of suppressed emotions

But I-

I close my eyes

Swipe the touchscreen

Plastering a humble smile

Of utter gratitude

That if I didn’t know me

More than I know you

I think I could convince

My very conscience

And in all honesty can I say

At the end

Of this very painful everyday

“Dear me, I rue,

In this big bad world

How long would I stay

Honest with you too?”

–  Akanksha Gupta

You’ve Got a Hold on my Heart

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Facebook replies:

–

“Obviously…

 

I’m a womanizer dearie

 

Built with natural charm

 

When you try to be apart

 

I send you a notification alarm

 

–

 

We have a symbiotic relationship

 

You use me and I use you

 

I have apps and facilities

 

You force out time to view

 

–

 

I’m like a drug wherever you go

 

Even a rehabilitation centre

 

You can never cure of me

 

We are a joint venture

 

–

 

Even if I’m bad for you

 

You’re always good for me

 

I’m an accomplished womanizer

 

Dearie, I’ll never set you free”

 – Akanksha Gupta

rachel8194's avatarWord-painting

You’ve got a hold on my heart.
No matter how hard I try,
I just can’t seem to let you go.
When we were apart, I was lost.
I didn’t know what to do with myself.
There was a hole where you had been.
But then that changed.
Over time, I stopped missing you.
I became my own woman;
My life was my own, I was free.
And yet I took you back.
You charmed me with your ways.
And now we’re as close as ever.
Despite the fact that I know you’re no good for me,
I can’t help but love you.
Oh, Facebook, why do you do this to me?

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Off With His Head

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Ah… Ere centuries afore

Before the French revolution

Bloody messy decapitators

Wished for a slick solution

–

So 10 October 1789

Physician Joseph Guillotin

Stood before the French Assembly

And delivered a six-point plan

–

Said he, despite royal rank

Or nature of offence, the penalty,

To death shalt remain unchanged

Nay affect any in the family

–

Thus Louis XVI sensing discontent

Banned the painful Breaking Wheel

Appointed physician Antoine Louis

The head of Guillotining Committee

–

That designed a basic prototype

To engineer the instant death machine

So, ‘Off with their heads’ the King declared

With a newly instated ‘Guillotine’

–

A guillotine was thence decreed

The most humane form of execution

As the blade falling on the neck

Could not be ‘viewed’ with trepidation

–

But 1793-1794, thousands of innocents

During Robespierre’s reign of terror,

Were guillotined publicly by the Tribunal

Till the Convention returned him the favour

–

But not before the bloody messy revolution

Saw the incompentent Kings and Queens

Like Louis XVI with wife Marie Antoinette

Been “Offed With Their Heads” with a Guillotine

–

However, the fame of guillotine spread

And even Adolf Hitler was in veneration

It is said his personal guillotine beheaded

More than the whole French revolution!

– Akanksha Gupta

AN INCH OF TRUTH

Posted on by akanksha gupta

What is this world

Foul mouth, pretence and play

Here all are clay moulds

Neigh an inch of truth or fair-play

 

The heart is a mile away

Good men sit in the devil’s lair

Mind is a Luciferian den

Not an inch of truth anywhere

 

Its a tall jungle of wild grass

Housing snakes and cobwebs

You play devil’s advocate

so delusive life or disguised death?

 

Goodwill is dwindling like forests

With police prosecuting the culpable

Pigeons are new-year’s cuckoo birds

Not an inch of truth perceivable

– Akanksha Gupta

 

 

 

A SILENT IRONY

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Silence envelopes the air

Silence still surrounds

The boom of the loudspeaker

The idle chatter of the crowds

 

And speak thou to none

Let the voice inside speak

And discover inner peace

That each one of us seeks

 

But absorb thou all sounds

like the blackest of nights

And grope in the darkness

To illuminate the true sight

 

Whence golden luminescence

And not a pure white myth

For white gives all to all

But no one is perfect

 

No one can give all to all

Never can, even to subsist

Man must also be selfish

So even Dalai Lama persists

 

Selfishness and selflessness

Go hand in hand

And when you find both

T’is a peaceful land

 

In the pursuit of silence

We oft fail to see

It isn’t silence of silence

Wherein soul revels in glee

 

But silence in the noise

Which is hard to find

And harder to endure

But brings peace to the mind

–  Akanksha Gupta

AT WISDOM’S END

Posted on by akanksha gupta

The mahogany wood

Standing in nature’s sprawl

Has seen many years

come, rise and fall

 

Flailing civilization

and dying men

sparkle of new dawn

he has lived through them

 

And seen a myriad

governance grin

Across the world

Of multitude nations

 

He has eavesdropped

The travellers and passers-by

Who quench the thirst

Of shade, and sigh

 

And talk of all the

Worldly selves

But eavesdroppers hear not

good of themselves

 

And so the mahogany

That has seen many years

Knows its future

to be bleak and blur

 

For men with axe

Who come to fell

Hardly came before

But their number swells

 

Standing for years

Resting against a wall

Facing saws and drills

Spitefully rise and fall

 

T’is a cruel murder

That even natural demise

Would seem to be

A blessing in disguise

 – Akanksha Gupta

MUTE SILENCE RINGS RUMOURS

Posted on by akanksha gupta

Whispers rose like smoke

Blew like the wind

Settled like smog

And polluted the minds

 

For they could find

What none could see

With eagle’s eye

buttoned to their feet

 

The feet which greet

suspicious brains

Full of curiosity

Intended to defame

 

Those whose names

Are unknown yet

And whose past

Is a secret

 

Lying in the closet

Like a dead dog

Longing to be kicked

By a drama-hungry folk

 – Akanksha Gupta