Demeter's heartbreak

 Red, blue…patterns, the wind whips up,
 Neem shimmers, the doves dive and swoop,
  Yellow strewn beneath the bare brown,
 Balding with the winter’s onslaught,
 Swirl of colours, beautiful, flowing,
 Like the brick walls with carpets green,
 And the autumn flowers here and there,
 Sunny and mellow turns chilly dusk,
 Tingling not biting-with a fragrance,
 The bottlebrush tails, frisking around,
 Beat the spring with all its colours,
 Sights and sounds and smells,
 Like feeling the sun on your face,
 Like the wind whipping your skirt,
 Like bathing in the silver moonlight,
 That little electric shiver,
 They’re returning home, I yearn too…

 Math and Myth

 How ironic it is,
 The way it all comes crashing down,
 So illusionary, so fleeting,
 One moment its here the other its gone.
 A sea change from that carefree atmosphere,
 That once prevailed but has now vanished,
 Sudden panic, the time mercurial,
 With the tinkering of glass beads, they fell,
 All to the mighty onslaught,
 Unable to handle it-lost without a fight,
 But the one who makes the Herculean effort,
 Lest time be his Achilles heel,
 The ode to the Ides, may it usher luck,
 And only strength may I feel,
 The virtues required for the “Labour”
 Perseverance, discipline, courage,
 Let all these and more from Athena pour.

 Alliterate with Abandon

 Pass me a piece of paper please,
 One and one make two of these,
 You mortify me, Mr. Mortimer Busby,
 As you weave a wonderful web of words,
 Don’t be benign and befriend the birds.

 Gibberish, Gobberlish, Gifferlish goo,
 Witch said “where”? and what said “who”?
 I now sing this song in style,
 Soon I would have meandered a mile,
 And taxing toll at the turnstile?!!

 Hush now hear the hurried hustle,
 Tow the train and turn to tussle,
 She said she would skip the scuffle,
 Jog your memory and jibe at Jeeves
 A bitter taste this in my mouth leaves!!!

 Sunday Yellow

 Oh, how I long for those Sunday morns,
 Shafts of gold lighting the blue,
 Setting the mood aglow,
 Familiar strains of easy guitars,
 Like crystal clear water,
 Cool springs, fresh piano,
 Haunting, joyous,” honey lips”.
 So daunting a task-the description….

 Steaming mugs of coffee,
 The gurgling laughter trickles through,
 “My story seldom told”-he said.
 The small figures down below,
 Condescension I experience,
 As I watch them scurry to and fro
 “No time to stand and stare”-he said.
 Don’t let it all in vain go.

 On all fours arrives the toddler, 
Dribbles on the mat,
 The fragrance of vanilla and baby soap,
 Soft and gurgly and cuddly at that!
 Little plump fingers grab and pat,
 As the contended grin spreads,
 Parting my gray clouds,
 The sun smiles through.

 Brick Sunset

 Hear the little birds tweet,
 Atop the red brick work,
 What could be as sweet?
 As to sense the joy of that lark!

 The misty ones sweep by,
 As the winds upon them sigh,
 The yellow and green freshes
 Are crowded with singing threshes,

 The black specks bob up and down,
 Their synchronized spells sound,
 One dives with the sparrow tail,
 Streaks across the blue wail.

 The bush tails prance to and fro,
 Upon the gray boughs,
 Just watch them come and go,
 Is all I do desire.
 Soon the sand dunes fade away,
 The happy pair goes twittering,
 As the high tops sway,
 Back to the home that’s beckoning.
 
 Its magic as I look up,
 The whites don a pinkish hue,
 And the pale turns brighter blue
 Spangled with orange sashes.

 Oh how I wish you were here to see
 What I now look upon,
 The beauty of the calm eve
 And the wonders of the dawn.

 Like the tides that wash the shore,
 The clouds flow on the blue
 However much I do behold,
 I only crave for more…

 Paradise Regained

  Black fans out creamy yellow blossoms,
 Strewn on the wet mud, the little yellow flakes,
 Sets the scene aglow as you look up at the loaded boughs,
 The sound of the winged musicians almost deafening.
 A medley of notes and tunes floats on the wind,
 Carrying the exotic fragrance of the earth and faintly of the blossoms.

 Behind the fence from the low hanging branches,
 Out swoop the tiny sparrows and humming birds,
 Amid the cackle and cry the melodious one coos out,
 The threshes sing shrill and the mainas song…
 Follows the rising tune.
 Look the pair fly and sit atop, do that little jig of joy,
 Off they go again, bobbing up and down,
 As if riding on the waves of Neptune…. 

Medha Madhavan
1 Chemistry