Things That Need to be Done

 

There are things in my life, that I really need to do.

Those that stay in the corner of the mind - not old, not new.

I need to buy a light bulb, I need to fix my creaking bathroom door.

I need to remove cobwebs behind my bed, I need to go to the pillow store.

I need to clean my clothes shelf and give away a few,

Ok, not a few, I have put on weight now - all the ones that are not new.

I need to change the battery in my weighing machine,

I need to find my bank password.

I need to get a haircut, I need to set some curd.

I really need to clean the kitchen shelves, not to mention the fridge,

I need to call the tailor to stitch up my sleeves.

I need to throw away some shoes, which i do not wear,

I need to ask my maid to sweep under the sofa, to do that myself, I do not dare.

I am a normal 40 year old, I am healthy and I work, I make list of things to do in office and I make it work as per plan.

But the things I mentioned above I somehow never can.

I end my day randomly shopping and somehow manage to buy another shoe. 

What-o-what, how-o-how and who-o-who. 

 

World Peace in 2026!

 Lately the world has been very strange, 

Many nations embroiled in a chaotic and hostile exchange,

Of words, threats, drone attacks and blockades.

Impacting lives, destroying cities, economies and trade.

 

Someone powerful first tried stopping war and strife,

Then vainly thought himself the creator of a great life.

Tried to buy himself a much coveted peace prize,

Then tried to cover a past mistake with misdirection and lies.

 

One thing led to the next, the sleeping unrest awoke,

First in one country, then the second, then the third - all powerful military strokes.

A siege and civilian hits, trade grinding to a halt, 

Prices skyrocketing, major economies facing a currency shock.

 

As a global village, the world is now a connected web,

If a point is burnt, the fires spread.

It leads to a collapse of a fragile world order,

exacerbated with misleading news and reactionary fodder,   

Published all over the world in different ways,

Confusion and propaganda dominating our days.

 

On one side there is AI causing a disruptive revolution,

On the other there is war, with no honorable solution.

How to stop this from spreading we do not know, 

Is the future going to be full of confusion, instability and woe?  

 

When will wars come to an end? 

When can we all have peaceful days?

Can someone good make change for real, not just pretend

Can we all together end our warring ways?

 

Hope some good sense prevails.

Hope our future generations can only remember our smiles and not our wails. 

There was peace on earth until recently

When we were growing, learning, inventing, expanding and free.

 

The World today October 2025

 A world very different from what it was last year,

A world sequestered in global chaos and fear.

Different nations giving different excuses to not end wars,

to not respect and trust and violence and destruction to not abhor.

 

A world where AI boom is being born and bred. 

the old world we know, according to AI pundits is dead.

AI generates articles by the dozen to doom-scroll everyday,

People consuming useless information that make time fritter away.

 

The world today changes everyday. It might be a good day or it might not, people say.

A world where the founding pillars or several institutions are relentlessly under attack,

A world where misinformation, radicalism, injustice control and hack.

 

But on one side we see the ozone layer growing back!

On the other we see the ice shelves of Antarctica crack.

We see volcanoes erupt and earthquakes occur every month,

we see innovation and waste management ongoing to reduce the brunt.

 

We see our leaders say different things everyday,

we worry about AI robbing our future away

but should we really worry we think?

Ah well, in netflix and prime let us our worries sink. 

 

We find solace one day, hoping that once the confusion goes away,

humanity will endure for the next few generations along with nature - the science and AI way.

 We need heroes to roar and be heard over the drowning, incessant mid-wit buzz and hate,

We world need to see a sense of service, grace, patience and faith dominate.

 

 If we cannot find one, then let's be one - a hero who talks with decorum, research and sense online,

A hero who can make people believe that the world is still worth saving, that it is alive and good

That some things can be genuine - people, schemes , institutions and food.

 

Lets hope the world and media find a way,

To pass through this tunnel and to see the light of day. 

Where things are beautiful and real as they are meant to be.

And for once we can smile, acknowledge, praise and see. 

Discount alert on my Book

 Dear Readers,

I am starting a small sale in remembrance of the book I so fondly wrote years ago. It's an easy breezy read and there is a discount for it. 

Please consider reading the book if you have liked the poems I have written : 

Go here to order: https://notionpress.com/in/read/heroes-of-the-hill   Coupon-code: SUMMERLOVE.

Thank you!

Suganya

The Answer

 We don't understand the universe or the way it works,

We don't understand the atom and the nucleus too.

Where did energy first come from we don't know.

Years of scientific discoveries have more questions than answers to show.

How does our mind work and understand reality?

How does our heart impact what we see?

Is our world a figment of our imagination?

or is your imagination a reflection of the world outside?

Why are some people always gloomy and some always happy?

Why do humans go around be sad or sappy in society?

Why do we crave for comfort and permanence so much?

And at the same time collectively destroy nature as such.

Who are we and where do we come from?

Why are we and why are we so dumb?

What are we and why don't we understand our purpose in this world?

How did we get here in the spiral of space and time twirl??

When shall we all cease of exist?

What do we do to resist and persist?

Why are we searching for answers when there are none sometimes?

 What should we do as time unwinds?

Who we are in this world, do we know?

Who we are in the universe, does it show?

Who we might be in the future can we know?

Is human race just a giant comic cosmic show?

Do we know? The answer is maybe a Yes and maybe a No.

Cleaning Up

 When I say "walking across the sands of time",

I see in my mind's eye, walking on the pristine gold sands of a beautiful empty beach.

Will our future generations, who always see beaches littered with waste, foreign objects and grime,

see the same image in their mind's reach? 

Our world is cluttered with gadgets, plastics and object which keep us busy, day and night.

We earn to buy them and we buy to earn them.

Is it sustainable, our choices, our actions, our use of natural resources - are we wrong or are we right?

Cleaning up our natural resources is going to be a long and exhausting fight.

When we innovate we need to keep the planet on top of our mind,

When we spend for convenience, we need to think beyond our daily grind.

When we try to clean up, we must do what is right. In the future, right and wrong will not be black and white.

 

Otherwise, Water will become our liquid gold, a lush green garden would indicate wealth multi-fold.

Clean air would mean a high standard of life.

Pollution and erosion would replace poverty and political strife.

 

The things we take for granted will become precious and rare.

Our world will become dystopian, dull and bare.

Clean up in your own capacity, to ensure life on earth.

Our time, effort, energy and focus, it is truly worth. 

The World Today 2023 Dec

 Sensational news is no longer new,

Authentic articles in mainstream and social media are very few.

 Political play goes on and on,

Wars rage in Ukraine and Palestine, ushering in a gloomy grey dawn.

 

Everyday global recession looms,

predicting inflation, unrest, localization and doom.

People are working in office and at home in a hybrid way,

New work models and trends are born everyday.

 

2023 is the year ChatGPT made an explosive entry.

AI is expected to replace you and me.

ML modelling, generative AI, predictive analysis is the talk of the town,

People use AI to understand things, to write essays and to design their own gown.

 

ISRO successfully landed Chandrayaan on the moon and the moment was watched by millions nationwide.

ISRO's feat had all Indians beaming that day with national pride.

Space is the next internet some say

We might become intergalactic travellers one day!

This is the also the year when natural disasters came to the fore,

Volcanoes erupted and storms caused floods and destruction galore.

The air is becoming too polluted to breathe,

Seems like it is the end of the world as we know it, Indeed.

Despite this all, most people live inside their homes cocooned,

OTT shows and internet does'nt let people out their home.

Insta threads, tik tok, you tube shorts and reels give instant gratification,

Influencers are the gods of the new generation.

Where is the world heading to? Nobody has a clue.

 Hope this year we make a positive impact to Earth and on Earth, me and you.

Hope the world wakes up to climate change and reverses the trend,

Hope we can achieve world peace and see human relations mend.

Hope the children of tomorrow can see what we see today,

The beautiful world we live in, perfect for us in every way!

The Desert Dream

 Nestled in the sands of time,

Amidst the blinding sun and the biting cold,

Covered with dust and grime,

What a beautiful dream it is to behold.

Of summer days of our youth,

Of carefree exchange of music, ideas and thoughts,

When the seeds we had sown then have now borne fruit,

The days we pondered endlessly on connecting the dots.

 

Is it a dream or a memory,

A distant mirage of happiness which I could see.

Of a confused teen which was me,

Who was hopeful, curious and free.

 

I am not that teenage girl anymore,

I am maybe more, much more,

Someone who has since passed many a door,

Someone who has since seen many a  beautiful shore.

 

But the images in the desert which I have seen,

Remain as a requiem of a beautiful dream.

The world today 2021 June

Wave after wave the virus hit home,

On the empty streets, schools, offices and parks, doubt and fear roam.

People are at home, under lockdown and all alone,

But always hooked on to insta, netflix or whatsapp on the phone.

Economy in the family is just not the same,

For some savings increase as incomes remain.

For some, there is no way to earn,

lockdown implies, starvation, crash and burn.

Cities gasped in April and May, as hospitals ran out of oxygen,

towns and villages followed, there was no place which could avoid the contagion.

Politicians blamed and shamed each other for the onslaught,

Pyres burned silently as people hurt caregivers and fought.

People began to get vaccinated though,

when the virus will be stopped no one knows,

Unrest in the world continues to grow,

economic hardship, polarized media adds to the woe.

 

Will crypto make it big?

Will OTT shows take over the movie and TV gig?

Will natural calamities increase exponentially?

How safe can anyone really be?

 

People are sequestered and alone,

mental health deteriorates as people mourn.

but there is hope as always,

if science and good governance embrace.

 

the new normal continues to change,

the world is now online and offline, all different and strange.

Freedom takes a new meaning now.

freedom to step out, freedom to object, freedom to differently love.

New Customs might replace the old,

Or the ancient ones might surface again, after all, old is gold.

The stage is set for 5G, AI, ML and big tech to boom,

AI even tries to find you a bride or a groom.

Reality aims to be virtual or augmented too,

kids can switch on computes faster than wearing a shoe.

People continue to age,

they rant anonymously online, filled with outrage.

but with their near and dear they do not much engage.

All are trapped in a growing fad,

of being outspoken, opinionated, socially blissful but actually sad.

Will China take over the world tomorrow?

Will the environment suffer with irreversible pollution and sorrow?

Can we eat popcorn in a movie hall, happy and care free again?

Are global populations on a wane?

Will we colonize space or will we in earth remain?

So many questions remain,

the world is different but people are the same.

Lets choose love, happiness, sustainability and hope.

Lets get through this crazy, earthly covid kaleidoscope .

Rufus the Dog

 Rufus the dog loved to play,

He wanted to play every second of every minute of every day.

Whenever he saw a ball, he chased it around,

Whenever he saw a piano or a loud drum, he tried to make a loud sound.

When he sat on the sofa he always tried to tear the cotton out,

When he saw real toys, he would play and play, there simply was no doubt.

When Rufus was given food to eat, he would play with that too,

He was always on a lookout to play with something new.

Naughty doggy Rufus liked to play a lot,

he never worries even if he gets caught.

When he saw other dogs he will prance around and fight, 

With him around the house was messy and the cushions were never set right.

Rufus the dog loved to play,

He played the entire winter away.

When summer came, that was fun too.

He only did the one thing he knew.

Shine the Cat

 Once there was a cat called Shine,

she always liked a good rythme.

Tell her one and she will purr all the time.

When Shine heard 'twinkle twinkle little star',

her purr was so loud it was heard from afar.

When she heard 'Incy Wincy spider',

her purr almost scared Ben the dog out of his fur.

Shine loved 'little bo-beep has lost her sheep',

the sound she made startled the neighbors out of their sleep.

And when she heard 'Humpty Dumpty',

her purr caused the birds in the garden to flee. 

She waited and scratched and meowed for a rythme,

and once she heard it, she wanted it again, just one more time!

Strength

 Waking up to a gray new dawn,

with all hopes of happiness and rest long gone,

The body aches without any duress,

it prefers endless sleep, the mind does confess.

 

The are mouths to feed, the mind continues to say,

your children need a mother, some food and study, the heart makes the mind and the body obey.

She goes masked and tired to make a meal,

she picks the milk and the veggies from the shop, hating the feel.

Of curious eyes boring into hers,

wondering if today they are hiding tears.

Tears for loved ones snatched away suddenly.

 How relentless the day can be.

She forces a smile on her face,

as her children jump into her loving embrace.

I can do this, she thinks.

Living on a prayer and the day goes in a blink.

Do you need support, some kind relatives ask,

No, I can manage she says, her face behind the mask.

Time flows and this too shall pass by,

one day she will be free to frown and ponder and laugh and cry.

Until then, office, cooking, cleaning and homework await,

keeping away thoughts of life, pain, destiny and fate.

She thinks - I will live my life holding my head high,

I will rally on until the day I die.

But that wont happen anytime soon,

that's a promise I make every-time I see the sun and the moon.

I have important things I know I should do,

This house, this city, this state, this country depends on me to renew myself anew.

 

And so it goes in the country as of today,

Seems like the deadly virus  is here to stay.

Like her we must find a way,

to keep the grayness away.

Only discipline and hope can save the day.

The Sun and Rain Song

 No clouds in the sky,

The birds chirp, twitter and fly,

The bright yellow flowers smile.

The shadows of  coconut trees dance once in a while

Its bright and hot all around,

summer doing the summer dance with its pounding rays and hot wind sound.

No escape, nowhere to go,

from the heat and the sun and the nature's hit summer show.

The kids are fed-up, they want the rain.

They want the sky to pound the ground until only puddles remain.

and a myriad of lightning flashes to suddenly flare,

and water to make the now sunny street wet and bare.

Oh Please! let it rain, let it rain.

you could let the sun remain.

Then we can see, real world becoming a fantasy.

A great reprieve from summer for you and me.

A rainbow will be there to show,

colours and designs and thoughts so kids minds know,

That there is celestial magic at work everyday,

shaping us up in every possible way.

Oh please, let us see, the sun and the rain or just the rain.

this beautiful fantasticality.

 

A Personal God

 Call me when it rains,

Call me when the smell of the mud floats into my veins,

Call me when you'll be blissful with esctasy.

Call me when the moon plays with the clouds,

and the breeze sways the leaves in the trees,

Call me when you see, a baby smiling happily.

Call me when you feel full and content,

and you are singing songs with no burden or lament.

Call me when you are burning with spirituality,

Call me when you feel light and free.

Call me when love surges around your life,

Call me when magic and joy cuts like a knife.

Call me when you see a shooting star,

Call me when your mind is travelling high and far.

Allow me to introduce your to your destiny,

and I will make it mine to if your are good to you and hence to me.

Timelessness

 The call of the earth or the pull of the world.

The smile of the soul or the grin on achieving a goal.

The peace of the river or the unrest of the sea,

Encasing oneself in a golden cage or setting oneself free.

The legacy of yesterday, the situation of today and the promise of tomorrow.

Like the rising sun throwing away its nightly shadow.

The endless whirl of night and day,

The powerful swirl of success and money may

overshadow the thirst of freedom and peace,

or increase the yearning for everything to cease.

We have but one unique today.

every second is unique in its own way.

it is the hope for a better life that leads you to be,

striving hard everyday than wish for the enlightenment and divinity.

Make each day count, do not ever be,

wallowing in the knowledge of our mortality and stupidity in the emotional shackles of misery.

Be happy and present and you will see,

The world with its light and its darkness,

birth and death, all smiling happily.

And that happiness will momentarily set you free!

Things that make me smile

A child wiping away an old man's tears,

The smell of rain and the roll of thunder after a sunny day,

The widening of a traveller's smile when his hometown nears,

The swell of a mother's pride for her soldier son's bravery miles away.

The constant half smile on a wrinkled, weary face,

A lonely bride contemplating her reflection, in glimmering lace,

Happy babies trying to walk and trying to talk,

Seeing a handsome stranger during a moonlit walk.

A tired and overworked man humming once in a while,

coming home to my mother's smile,

moonbathing and thinking of magic under the bright grey sky,

after a fight, watching two lovers make up and cry.

A kid getting inspired to be a superhero,

A girl in a burkha, dancing in an imaginary show,

Seeing a hint of a rainbow or a glimpse of a shooting star,

heavy rain in the desert, stretching wide and far.

The thought that the whole world is my home.

the love of my family due to which I will never be alone.  

Support for Life

The saddest often do not weep,
still waters run very deep.
The most wronged people do not always call it out,
 they are victims of hurt and self doubt.

People next to us maybe going through terrible things in their life,
Heavy burdens, broken hearts, sad souls, life full of silent strife.
People who laugh a lot are not always happy,
They simply do not display their feelings for all to see.

If we can, we must,
support strangers emotionally everyday.
a quick smile a sudden insignificant favor can brighten a person in disarray.

 If we could, we should,
Support acquaintances every time.
Silly banter, happy chatter, an easy compliment,
Can bring some solace no matter the depth of trauma they underwent.

We must always make it a point,
to support family and friends through ups and downs.
Ignore their anger, their facade and their screams and frowns.
Humans have a collective soul, like the roots of trees in the jungle intertwine,
Some cannot be sad and struggling while the others celebrate and shine.

We must support humanity in the face of adversity,
Only then can we survive and thrive.
Let us try our best everyday, its hard but we can and we must.
And tomorrow is another day.

Nature's Deadly Virus

In history and across geographies,
crossing over high mountains, rocky plateaus and deep seas,
Nature's wrath knows no boundaries,
It sweeps across age, species and countries.

It can be as big as an earthquake or a volcano,
or microscopic as a virus that can travel and grow.
It catches people unaware,
It cause panic and it can scare.

It can be deadly or it can silently disappear,
It can be far or it can be near.
Like all of natures mysteries, its origin can be unknown
But it has potential to make humanity suffer and moan.

But one must never fear but be cautious,
it lurks in silent spaces, in its arrival it is not obnoxious.
One must always believe that they are protected by a higher power.
and if humanity lives sustainably, it can exist forever.

It is the time to be united and wise,
it is the time to not spread fear and lies.
It is the time to be healthy and strong.
It is the time to hope and pray that nothing can go wrong.

Coronas will come and go,
we must put on our best show.
and try to find a cure,
so humanity can endure. 

Starting Anew

Just like a seed grows into a tree,
Dreams grow into destiny,
A person can waste decades or moments on something which fails,
But it takes just one moment of enlightenment to be free of the minds endless meandering trails.

It is so easy to start anew, to break free,
If only every minds eye could see.
If you ever feel trapped with no escape,
Step out of your earthy being and take flight,
Cross the dungeons, the ropes, the chains until you see the light.
Feel your anxiety and fear drain away,
Gather new courage and spirit to face a new day.

It is indeed a festival to start something new,
The celebration of the mind, body and soul, known only to few.
Embrace your life, accept it's imperfection,
But train your thoughts to your one direction.

Make things which you like happen everyday.
Turn a deaf ear to negatives, make your worries run away.
When you have given it all, it's ok if you fail.
Stand up, dust yourself off and start on a new trail.

Having a purpose is important for you,
Focus on your purpose, to yourself be true.
Everything will fall into place one beautiful day,
Before it's time to come down and begin anew anyway.

The Seeker

Everywhere he goes, he tries to find,
a kindred soul and a smile, sweet and kind.
He goes wandering place to place,
He searches every hooded, bearded, muddy face.

When he sees the kindred soul,
He stops to stay  and tries to form a whole.
His weary soul looks to heal,
he smiles, dines, discusses what existence and life is meant to be.

He takes a job and makes a friend,
around the town he goes, trying to fit in and pretend.
 It goes on and on until he realizes the time is past,
his soul is no longer engaged and he must leave and fast.

He says a hearty goodbye and promises to stay in touch,
His friend waves a teary goodbye, missing him very much.
But the weary traveler does not look back,
he travel tall hills, deep seas and the desert sand,
 looking to find something, even his restless heart can't understand.

He writes a diary wherever he goes,
People are awestruck when they come to know,
That this weary man has traveled most of the world,
understanding people and mysteries as they unfurled.

He is old now but none the wiser
He is rich, has many homes, but is still an outsider.
He loved many woman and has tasted many a cuisine,
All natural wonders and amazing cities, he has seen.

But his soul is still seeking and searching restlessly.
He reaches a snowy mountain with a beautiful waterfall and lake.
it is not yet dawn and the air is cold and his hands shake,
As he reaches to drink from the pristine lake, he sees,
His reflection, with his father's eyes, his mother's chin and cheeks,
He remembers his siblings,his family and suddenly his knees go weak.

His wished for his father's approval and his mother's embrace,
Their love, laughter and their affection and grace.
He left home to find more of something he already had,
A happy family, stable family, oh! he must have been mad.

So, at the break of dawn, he was homeward bound,
yes, the prodigal son was to return, what his soul has lost, it had found.
When he reached, his father was ill and very old,
He was dying, he was told.

But the two soul reunited and were finally one,
not age, not time, not space could replace the lost son.
They embrace and cried and laughed and smiled, until the old farmer died.
 the farmer's son untied his boots and his travelling hat,
he wore his father's shoe and took his father's place on earth.
Ploughing, reaping, sowing, smiling with his family, his soul full of mirth.

What he was seeking, he finally found,
But really, it was after one really long round.