Desire is
palpitations of the heart
restlessness of the soul
almost unthinkable.

Desire is
turbulence in the mind
a cauldron of indescribable emotions
an anguish, unimaginable.

Desire is
being possessed
by a power of passion
unknown, unbelievable

Desire is …………

Over the past few days
You have begun to recognise me
I see you in the morning and evening rays
With friends, and your usual air of bonhomie

The other day I asked your name
And you smiled so shyly
Now every time you wish to play a game
Hurriedly and incessantly.

I am charmed by your innocence
the dimple on your chin
feigning indifference
you dance and you spin.

Like a little fairy
casting a spell
you are trying to be merry
even when you know all is not well.

But time is short
The traffic lights change colours so fast
You are barely able to clear your snort
And the car is almost past.

One day came the monsoon rain
And you stood there wet and shivering
I could see the fever and the pain
Your little sister in your arms, quivering

The wiper cleaned the windshield glass
I sat in the back-seat in my designer suit
But alas, I let the moment pass
Left you behind, drenched wet and barefoot.

In the evening I searched for you everywhere
Enquired about your fate
They said you were not there
Indeed it was too late.

I drove up my apartment’
atop the Malabar Hill
thought of my friend in heaven
and had dinner at Zodiac Grill.

Over Dom Perignon we discussed the BSE index
the entry of FIIs
cricket, movies, economics and sex
but no one could hear my heart cry.

On the way back from nowhere
I paused and stopped my car
I do know you are up there somewhere
My little twinkling star.

Sometimes
You overpower me
With supercilious ease
And your disarming disdain
For my vulnerable heart
Your magnificent sidelong look
Unleashes
A thousand mutinies
A million revolutions
An upheaval
An experience
Within my assailable soul
In the glow
Of the melting candle
I serenade you
With hitherto unfelt, unknown desire
Kiss the tousled tresses on your forehead
Discovering a mystery called you
And my own being
Then just as the flame flickers
Against the waltzing curtains
Making shadow patterns on the walls
You dissolve
Into the hue of morn
And I wonder
Why don’t you just stay with with me
Sometimes ?

Sometimes
You return with majestic insouciance
Teasingly beckoning my yearning self
I phrase a love- lorn prose , my fingers gingerly
Scribbling sonnets on your naked back
I watch you transfigure
The mellowness of a blushing girl
Into a woman afflicted with the first flush
Of love
With every passing heartbeat
I explore a dream
Like an insane beast of the jungle
Lost in the thick- set woods
On a silent tip-toe
You quietly hide
Behind the dark blue memoirs
Of our nightly tryst
Leaving behind the glowing aroma
Of our oneness
And I am left alone to write a poem
Called
Sometimes

I watched the raindrops fall
In parallel shafts
Making patterns
In a misty maze
Overcast skies – a tempest
Sheltered the world
In an embrace
Of everlasting passion
I felt its unfathomable touch
-         Its unbridled love
When I wondered about you