if you can't find
what you're looking for
look again
at what you've found

for some of us
the waiting
never ends

even a wanderer
gets lost
sometimes

... and sometimes
life teaches you
more lessons
than you need to know

for all the times
I struggled to hold on
and you told me to let go
... and I did

thank you

nothing's true
and nothing's right

... and there comes a time
when there's no one left to fight

For India

fifty-nine years and still
so many tears in so many eyes

but yet she smiles

... for she is like a child
whose innocence never dies

all that glitters
is not gold

... and this you know only
when it's yours to hold

... and what hurt the most
was the fact
that you never looked back

For Shreya

maybe this is why
we fall in love

because we cannot
change the ending

... but with love
we can change the story

perhaps this is how
it will always be

so near
yet so far

... a fish in water
but out of sea

sometimes all you can do is wait
and wonder:

am I the kill
... or am I the bait?

For Dee

those days
when we were young and free
a distant memory
for you and me

these days
it's all the same
they won't let us play
if it's not their game

I was a fool to think
you'd always be there
like the sand on the beach

.... I was a bigger fool
for trying to stop you
slipping through my fingers
like the sand on the beach

and I know now
that the reason I loved you so much
is because I loved myself
so little

just keep going
it's not over yet

... for the writing on the wall
usually gets overwritten

all at sea
my thoughts and me

neither captive
... nor free

one small step
one giant leap

some will bask in glory
others in silence weep

but no matter who sows
and who goes on to reap

at the end of this journey
there is nothing we get to keep

is it really
what's inside
that matters

... or is it more
what's underneath?

.... and yet
there is always hope

for however hard it might seem
it is better to untangle the knots
than to burn the rope

what I am
what I want
what I dream
what I deserve
don't matter no more

the world is my pimp
and I am its whore

they say the mirror
never lies

... though sometimes it just
makes up the truth

Tell me Master
is it true
that it is I
who hold the strings
and not You?

maybe
this life
is not what I was meant for

maybe
I was meant
for better things

... or maybe
I was meant
for nothing at all

fate
most cruel
took you from me

leaving behind a picture
that refuses to fade

we all need
a wind beneath our wings

... those of us especially
who cannot fly

Every tear you cry
fills an ocean
in which one day
I will drown.

International Women's Day 2006

For Baby

you only truly love somebody
when both sides of the coin
look exactly the same

You must stop
being a dreamer,
she said.

... like someone
who chooses to sing
only because he stutters
when he speaks.

... And what is Love

but a captivating illusion

in a forbidding reality.

life is nothing
but a mutual benefit
association

... and those who use us
often bring welcome relief
from the weight
that bears us down

Goodbye 2005!

I hope I never
see you
again.