What is Love?
What is love,
If not a curse?
A growing, gnawing, deceiving verse,
That is sung deep within the heart:
A poisoned dart in cherry tart!
What is love,
If not but pain?
Stinging and burning, like acid rain!
Clawing and scratching at your soul,
Like a fiendishly ghastly ghoul!
What is love,
If not a terror?
A consequence of judgement’s error!
Confounding minds and invading dreams
And tearing the heart at the seams.
What is love,
If not insane?
A state of mind, drowned in pain;
A beautiful sorrow that defies all reason;
A rebellious act of internal treason.
What is love,
If not human?
A lack thereof, distinctly inhuman!
A resonant note in wild nature’s abyss;
The warmth of which I dearly miss!
What is love?
Pradyoth Kumar
6th March, 2012
The Puppeteer
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts”
- William Shakespeare
I sit here at my table
Quietly writing a fable;
A song of promises to keep
And many nights of hindered sleep.
Mimicry is a human trait
Intrinsic to the human state:
Emulation of other men
In order to achieve social zen.
We are but puppets on a string:
Oblivious to summer or spring.
Words and actions we do not steer;
Relinquishing them to the puppeteer.
Directed by cold-hearted reason,
They employ the wolves of treason
To control both mind and reality;
Blurring away the point of absurdity.
Audacious are they; and keen;
Never revealing what they mean.
Yet we dance to their entrancing song
Never realizing: We too are strong!
What has my world come to, I ask?
With every man wearing a mask!
Words and actions of deceit -
Mirrors of human conceit.
And whilst I write my song, I hear
A voice inside me, crystal clear;
Telling of tales, once lost in the wind
I come to realize: We too have sinned!
For mankind’s lust and avarice
Have stolen away his inner peace!
Victims of a world we created:
A link that cannot be separated.
I come to realize, as I write,
That which was hidden from my sight:
Irrespective of what way we steer,
We are both puppet and puppeteer!
Pradyoth Kumar
15th – 16th November, 2011
Toronto, Canada
Come Home To Me
Cold and alone, I wander
Through the streets, near and asunder.
The alleys are dark and eerie;
My emotions solemn; but my eyes, teary.
For one and twenty years, I’ve searched;
Atop mountains and crevices, I’ve perched -
Looking down into endless holes,
Seeing naught but the darkest souls.
I stop myself and ask aloud:
Where is the silver lining in my cloud?
When cometh the day I am no longer down
But up in paradise attired in golden crown?
Where art thou, my love?
Where is the hand that fits in my glove?
How long must I wait to be rid of this pain?
With each passing day, It drives me insane!
Come soon to me, so I may sleep
And drift into dreams, ever so deep!
With each passing hour, I eagerly await thee;
Come home, my love, come hither to me!
Pradyoth Kumar
18th October, 2011
The Weak Pawn
The clouds drift by silently;
The wind blows strong and relentless.
It shakes open my windows violently
And leaves my home defenceless!
Vulnerability is a cursed feeling
Under which I am reeling.
The pillars of strength are attacked;
My foundation of confidence is cracked!
How did this happen I ask myself?
I was once soaring above mountains
and drinking from Olympian fountains
Now I feel alone and all by myself!
No songs of comfort, can I hear;
Looking ahead, I only see fear.
The compartments of my brain
Are thrown into chaotic disdain.
Looking in, I know who to blame:
The very one who kindled my flame.
She, who is welcome within my heart
And who’s presence feels like a poisoned dart.
She enters my soul and addles my brain;
Makes me euphoric and drives me insane!
My disillusioned mind thinks my world is full of colour;
In reality though, it is a whole lot duller!
She brings me a promise of eternal joy;
But over time, it seems, she can only destroy!
You all know of whom I speak:
She is the one who all of you seek.
Love, is she and also her name;
Far and wide and great is her fame!
To me, she represents naught but shame,
I am the weak pawn, dead early in the game.
Pradyoth Kumar
13th October, 2011
Who she was
This is a story about a girl
Who set my entire life in a whirl!
She came into my world when my heart was aching.
She came to give, and give without taking!
She was the perfect woman in the making.
Her hair was the colour of the setting sun.
Her smell, so intoxicating; your head nearly spun!
Her eyes were the colour of an azure sky;
Skin, the colour of honey from a bee-hive!
She was the essence of my inner drive.
One look in her eyes; my heart would discover
A joy that had forever lain undercover!
One touch of her hand would leave me spinning;
One look at her smile would leave me grinning!
She was the one in whose absence I was pining.
One kiss of her lips and time would stop.
She whispered my name; my eyelids would drop.
She sang many songs and laughed out loud.
She held me near and made me feel proud!
She was the one on whom heavenly beauty was endowed.
In times of pain she saved my soul;
Bestowed me with both purpose and goal.
She stood by me through the day and night.
She held my hand till all sorrow was out of sight!
She was the one with the divine light.
But Alas! Alas! Her time has come to pass!
She now lies under both earth and grass.
Let her rest now, peaceful like a dove.
I know she watches over me from above!
She was and will be my one and only love.
Pradyoth Kumar
16th March, 2011
SNOW
Soft as a feather,
Smooth as silk,
Sturdy as a tether
And white as milk.
She enchants me,
She envelopes me.
Her beauty unflawed
Rendered me awed.
She falls from the sky
On the back of a wind.
Her heart says no lie;
She has never sinned.
Long, long have I wanted,
To be utterly enchanted
By her beauty and awe
As such is nature’s law.
For, when first I glanced
To-day at the ground below,
My heart and body danced
With all the beautiful snow!
Pradyoth Kumar
6th December, 2010
The Reunion
The night is dark. I hear the soft blowing of the wind as it blows past my face and ears. Its cold. Not the type of cold that’s bitter and bites. But the type of cold that refreshes you and makes you believe in brighter days and morning dew on flowers. It’s snowing. Well, almost. I look up and I see soft tiny bits of white fluff falling down from the heavens. I look up and I see white dots constantly moving towards me against a black background. It’s almost as though the universe has chosen this day to rain upon me with the most beautiful snowfall of the season: soft snow that melts on your face but sticks to your clothes. It’s beautiful outside and I am barefoot on the pavement outside my home, waiting and waiting, for the one who will change my world.
A low mist settles itself close to the ground. It makes this night seem more like a dream than something real. And for a while I begin to wonder whether or not I am in a dream. Then, in the distance, I hear the sound of footsteps walking towards me. I hear the sound of heavy boots striking the concrete pavement. I hold my breath. It’s been 5 minutes since I got the phone call warning me about this visit. It’s been 5 minutes since I ran out of my house and into the cold night wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I close my eyes for a second and let myself feel the beauty of this night.
I open my eyes and I see a figure walking towards me in the darkness. I can make out it’s a woman. She sees me and abruptly stops. She just stands there looking at me and I do the same. She is wearing a thick heavy coat and warm boots that go up to her knee. The streetlights are on but still I cannot make out the face underneath the big feathery hat. She walks towards me, slowly at first but slowly gaining speed. I start to run towards her as well. Her hat flies off and for the first time in six months, I get to look upon her face; the face that I constantly see wherever I go, whatever I do. We embrace each other in an explosion of joy so potent; it fills my body with welcome warmth.
She holds me in her arms and I look into her eyes; those sweet brown beautiful eyes that are hidden behind a pair of spectacles; those sweet, brown, beautiful eyes that I have missed staring at for so long now; the same eyes that meet me in the serene bliss of dreams; the same which now fill me with a magnanimous calm. Our eyes close and I lean close till our lips meet and for the first time in so long, I feel the universe coming to halt and time itself stopping so as to give this moment the reverence it deserves. The taste of her lips has me a stupor long before our lips break apart. She looks in my eyes once more with all the intensity and beauty of the stars and then tells me that she loves me. I say ditto and soon we are embracing again, more tightly than ever before.
We break apart and she steers me back towards my front door, chiding me for running out into the cold dressed the way I was. I look down at her and I smile. She smiles back and I see the face of beauty etched in it. Soon enough my house will once again be filled with joy and laughter. I am in her arms and I feel the weight of the years lifting off my shoulders. She is in my arms and I know that she is at her happiest. She is in my arms and all is, once again, right with the world.
Pradyoth Kumar
4th December, 2010
About me
A Collection of my poems, short stories and pictures
- Prady
- A Journey Through love
- Social Analyst
- deviantART
