" Mirror of my soul"

I am water, the elixir of life, 

Sparkling, gleaming, holding luminous light,

Gentle, seemingly quiet, without any strife......

The transparency of my being,so cool to behold,

Come sit by my side and soothe your weary soul,

I'll fill you with love, stillness and peace,

Breathe me in and find in yourself a reflection of me....

"Flame of the Forest"

Fiery, searing flames of fire, 

You fill my heart with beloved's desire,

Forbidden, passionate and mystical,

Thrilling, tender and magical.

Oh Cupid, why is there such yearning,

For unrequited love, intense and burning,

That it irradiates the forest with it's luminescence,

Dazzling the sky with all it's brilliance....

Seemingly to shout to the Cosmos,

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love....

इन्तज़ार

Intezar ;fun या फन'

सालो बाद उनसे मुलाकात हो गई;
जिन्दगी कैसा इतफाक हो गई॥

उनके चेहरे के आते जाते रंगों को देखकर;
मेरी उनसे पूरी बात हो गई॥

हैरान वो इस बात पर है;
जिस मोड पर मुझे छोडा था;
वहीं पर फिर मुलाकात हो गई॥

तूने कब कहा था इनतज़ार करने को;
ना जाने ये इनतजारी;
कैसे मेरी आदत में शुमार हो गई॥

इस पेड़ को जरा गौर से देख ;
यही से तेरी मजबूरी ;
हमारे बीच की दीवार हो गई॥

हमें तो खैर इनतज़ार करना था;
पर तेरे बगैर जिन्दगी बीमार हो गई॥

कुछ तेरे गम कुछ जहाँ के;
कुल मिलाकर जिन्दगी पार हो गई॥

अब के बिछड़े तो फिर शायद हि मिले;
जिन्दगी अब सासों से लाचार हो गई॥

अब आ ही गए हो तो शमा भी जला दो:
तुम्हारे बगैर जिन्दगी जैसे मजार हो गई॥

घमंड

घमंड
आज बुलंदी पर तुझे कितना गुरुर है;

याद रख जो चीज चढती हैं वो उतरती जरूर है;

हिना का रंग है या शराब का सरुर है;

आदमी वक्त के आगे कितना मजबूर है॥

करवा चौथ

Karwa chauth ka chand;

Aaj phool kar koopa ho gaya hai chand!

Gubbare ki tarah garam hawa se bhara hai chand;

Upper hi rahta hai ;
Kyun zameen par nahin utarta hai chand?

ख्वाइशें

'Sinful Wishes'

Ye khwaishen kitni gulabi hain;
Dil inke liye bilkul sharabi hai;

Ek poori hoti hai : hazaar chunta hai
Unke liye kitne zaal bunta hai?

Kuch poori' baki marti hai khwaishen;
Har din mandir mein' chadhti hai khwaishen;

Samunder mein lehar si khwaishen;
Nikah mein mehar si khwaishen;

Poori na ho tau' zahar si khwaishen
Pyaas se marti' behar(desert)si khwaishen;

Hothon par adh-jali' cigarette si khwaishen
Ash tray mein bujh chuki' cigarette si khwaishen;

Jawani mein sharab si khwaishen;
Uske baad khizab si khwaishen;

Kuwaron(unmarried) ki na jaane kitni khwaishen;
Married ki hardly any khwaishen;

Zindagi ke saath chalti hai khwaishen;
Marne par kya kafan mein zalti hai khwaishen?

Manacles of my Mind

   

Shacked, chained, bound to the floor,
My tired, callused feet you hold,
Cramped, weary, listless, what do you behold?
Is it my body that's chained
Or my fettered mind that's pained?

No.... it's my soul that's kept chained,
Boundaries and walls that have me maimed,
Incarcerated, imprisoned, tied and constrained....

My mind wants to break free from these bonds,
Like a chrysalis that opens up to a world of charms,
I want to dance, dance free in the wind,
In the gentle rain that drenches my being.....

But who, oh who, will set me free,
From these shells and walls that hold me,
To fulfil my desires to soar,
To touch the sky and clouds that roar.......

To reach those dizzying, dizzying heights,
To break free from a mind that fights,
To do everything that I want to achieve,
Even if the path has no rest or reprieve.....

And then, stark realisation dawns.....
It is me, it is me ,it is me,alone,
Who can liberate me from this prison of my own,
Some day ,I too will be free and soar,
Liberated in heart, mind, spirit and soul.....


And that is the hope which keeps me afloat,
And that is the hope that keeps me afloat......

घर

Unka Ghar'
Ye tumara makaan' acha laga;
Yahan ka khula aasman' acha laga;

Shahar ke shor sharabe se door;
Ye ilaka sunsan' acha laga;

Khud bhi hum ukta gaye the' is jamane se;
Khud se milna yahan' acha laga

Bahut si yaad judi hain' in tung(narrow) galiyon se;
Saalon bad yahan aana' acha laga.

Song of the sky

Wisps of cotton, ever so sheer....

You sashayed into my life shining and clear...

And I fell in love with your brilliance,

Dazzling in your glory, sparkle and ebullience.

Laughing, cavorting, we danced together,

To the pure moments of bliss we surrendered,

The breeze, our friend pushed us flirtatiously ,

A cosmic synchronised dance we danced, so joyously.....

Happiness, happiness in the depths of our souls,

Waiting and craving for joy some more.

There was no strife, there was no fight, 

Everything on our canvas seemed so right.....

And then, woe betide, all that joy you couldn't hold, 

All those happy tears in your fold,

They fell on the parched Earth below, 

And drenched it to it's very core......

But where oh where did you disappear out of sight?

When we could have the Universe with our might,

Sigh, sigh, sigh, why did true love not survive,

Inspite of our union that felt so right.....

Now I cry and laugh alone,

Blue and anguished on my own,

For that soft touch I crave, I long,

I wish we could jointly sing our song....

Dr. Shelly Singh

(Photo - Sanjay Dhawan)