From The Quill of Suranya

Does spring remind you  Of rejuvenation and rebirth? To me, spring is nostalgia.  Of childhood days and observations  Of whirling fans in examination halls The stress of all-nighters  The loadshedding spent telling and hearing stories. The first blooms of Krishnachura  Painting the concrete bright red. Spring reminds me of sunshine days. The first saree, clad in yellow.  The first date by a lake  The first kiss of what love should have been.  Does spring remind you of someone? You love and celebrate? It reminds me of the me I lost, loved and treasured. The innocence of youth  The trauma of heartbreak. Spring reminds me of where I was  And where I belong In better spring memories. ~ Suranya

 Sometimes life feels like  Someone who can't swim  Being thrown into a vast ocean  Gasping for breath  Hoping to stay afloat  While the salty water accumulates  In the lung. And then come people.  Who are the one boat you see while drowning  And you wave frantically at it  In a last bid to survive  Hoping to be seen and heard.  The one boat that throws a life jacket at you  And pulls you up and safe  On to the shore. You saved me. I whisper. But you cannot hear it. Gratitude turns into a slow-burning sensation.  Of unravelling the mystery that surrounds you.. The saviour, the Messiah, the Beloved. It was time for the boat to sail again  And I find myself being scared of the ocean; The storm that engulfs and eats ships Disturbs me to the core. But you seem to have your eyes set On the horizon, far beyond me  Your dreams to stay afloat  Surpasses my phobia of drowning. So you leave with a promise...

 My heart is wild and in a frenzy  Like a sudden spell of rain  Makes a peacock dance.  For I see you then,  O Lover of Love,  In amidst the grey scale clouds,  Like a ray of sunshine,  Rebelling through the sky. I see you in the soaking earth  That smells so sweet. I see you in that puddle and mud,  Perhaps a rainbow rarely in sight.  In the raindrops making art  On the window panes it hit.  In the music they make  On each plastic sheet. The monsoon has arrived in all its glory  And with each droplet that falls,  Like a waterfall  Curving through my body  Into my soul, I feel you nearer, in me,  As the monsoon drenches me in your love! © Suranya

 I fall in love every day. It comes as easily as I breathe. I fall in love with the sky,  With how it changes into  Thousand shades of blue. I fall in love with the wind,  How it whispers in my ears  Plays with my hair. I fall in love with the leaves,  How they rustle  Make music under my feet. I fall in love with sunshine and rain  Playing hide and seek again. I fall for the aroma of flowers,  For the sunset in the hills,  The stars from the fort,  The smell of the soaked soil,  The sight of bright yellow sunflowers; I fall in love every day.  Just not with people anymore. © Suranya

 The storm lashed through my city today.  The heat of the moment, building up  Between the Earth and Sky, lovelorn.  It poured as though the Sky was in a hurry  To meet the Earth in petrichor  Thirsty, lashing through the scopes.  In a loud, rebellious protest  The storm marched along the concrete streets  Like a knight invading a city  Claiming what is his. Does the storm take a port of the  Earth with him to the Sky? Does the Sky wash away her pain?  Wanderer as the heart is, never fixed to a place,  Why does she then wait for him this way? © Suranya

 The sound of raindrops on my panes, Haunting wail of puppies in the lane; Existential crisis of mindfulness;  No moon to muse on, no stars shining Only the city is visible in the lightning. Wide awake, not a wink of sleep, On these days, the thoughts run deep; I gather them together in the warm blanket  Carefully hide them away in my emotional casket. The mask of the strong has fallen for the weak,  The rain wipes it off like a magic trick. Slowly, I blend in the waters of heaven,  As it flows upon my cheeks,  And I know for sure that I must endure  In the path that I seek. © Suranya

 You have heard that tale as a kid,  When Aeshop told the story of the  Sly Fox and the Crow. The Fox once praised the Crow;  Its voice was melodious enough  To melt the coldest snow. The Crow was manipulated to lose its meat,  Trying to display its magical feat. Today, the world isn't any different,  Social media illusions: praises and fame. Does the Crow see its potential on its own? Do the lies fed by validation make it lose its course? The sly foxes hide behind innumerable usernames  Follow unfollow a game despicable When do we learn what moral stories teach? Do we ever get out of the circle or drown in the sea? Fox or crow, bunter or hunted, which one are you?  For the curated world to see? © Suranya

 Alone on a bench in a park, she sat,  Staring at the couples on the picnic mats. Children playing in the lawns, She spotted a man all alone.  Shook her head in a disapproving glance  She should never have taken the chance.  "One human? Ill omen", She shrugged, flapping her wings,  She flew away from the scene. © Suranya

 The family sat on the darkest branch,  Of the neem tree beside the pond.  The Owl warned her Owlets right,  "Be careful, dear children,  Do not venture into the light;  It is a blinding, scary illusion  Not worth your innocent intuitions." "But why, mother?  I want to see the morning sky. I heard it is blue. Is that true?  I heard there are birds exactly like us  Oh, won't they love to be my friend?"  "Silly boy, what a fool you are,  Yes, they look the same but are very different.  Their thought and life, their clear blue sky  All are but a distant story, untrue, unreal  As we are, the creatures of the darkness for them." The Owlets listened with open ears,  Twisting their heads, eyes wide and eager.  The smallest one was perhaps the bravest  Or the foolest, depends on who narrated. He stepped out one morning when the sun shone bright,  He was blinded by the power of the light. He flapped hi...

 The call of the universe is surreal,  The time has come to feel  The joys of a new life. But the path leading to light  It is suffocating and dark  For in every bend fear larks  I must not give up,  I must not lose hope.  For once, I get through these difficult days,  It is only the journey that stays  While I spread my wings and fly,  Away from the cocoon of chaos  Into a world unexplored;  From the darkness that should not fear  Even if I feel my end is near  Because from this very nothingness  Comes the light of a renewed life that awaits. © Suranya

Skins charred, bodies saved  Living yet gasping for breath.  Here She stands watching on,  Not a soul to be seen. And till it lasts, getting worse and worse  Just flesh and blood in a sinful curse  Exploiting Her without remorse  Destroying Her bit by bit; Ignorantly intelligent, foolishly wise,  She had seen enough,  She had heard helpless cries. Her rage engulfs them now,  Before they can realise  In a slow and steady apocalypse,  Which could have been averted otherwise.  ~ Suranya

 Showed faith upon constellations afar,  The Sun, the Moon,  A universe ajar.  Cards, Crystals, beads  Telling the future of human beings  Claiming to be written in the stars,  Alas! None could tell the fate  Of a falling star. ~ SURANYA

 The Storm gathered speed;  It roared in a ear deafening spirit.  It picked up droplets from the Sea,  Ready to destroy the Land  As his messenger of wrath. The Sea was fierce  Like a warrior focussed  To destroy everything around him. The Land stood like a silent saint. Guards let down,  Accepting the storm's message; Not scared of the noise,  Of what harm might come upon her. Destruction was her only way,  To soak in the love of the Sea.  Naive as she was to understand,  What she mistook as love  Was always the Sea's attempt  To display his strength. © Suranya

 Once in a Universe of parallel time,  Was a human, appreciating the sky. On the tree beside them, chirped a bird; Looking out for prey was a puppy,  Near the water, not very far. From the water, a fish poked their nose out, Thus began a conversation That led to no solution. "I can see the sky  From where I lie,"  Smiled the human,  "In simple shades of blue and white. Perhaps a dusk in pink,  A dawn in red,  Or a yellow flicker of light." "I can see the sky from where I stand" The bird chirped in glee,  "It's a shade of royal purple,  Can't you see?" "My sky is blue and yellow" The puppy woofed,  "Loyal I am, not a liar.  Why can't you see what I see?" "I live in the water, blurred all around," The fish popped in,  "Black and white, with bubbling sounds,  I see no colour in the sky or me,  How can I be the silver you see?  Why do you lie to me that way?  My world isn't what you tell it to be...

 The dawn breaks with the cuckoo's cry  The breeze blows away leaves long dried.  In Your grace, the planet survives,  In rejuvenation and newborn sprite. The birds chirp, nestling their chicks.  Somewhere in the silence, a puppy squeaks;  The Earth is healing in our sight  From everything wrong we did for might. To Mother Nature's flowers and trees.  Fired forests and animals forced to flee,  To all the innocent birds and bees  We didn't care enough to see. No honks no smog, no human in sight,  Empty roads and clear skies,  See how tables turn so fast,  All your mighty endeavours barely last. Alone and trapped Mankind shivers,  While You bring relief  To all of Earth's silent givers. ~ Suranya

 The last leaf the tree holds on to  The last sign of dear life  Brown crisp and about to be lost,  The bare barks in winter cry. Roads laid down with fallen ones,  Like a carpet all brown  Making music under your feet;  The last one twitches in the breeze. A sudden gust of wind blows  Teaching the tree to finally let go  Of what was never his.  Slow and delicate, the last sign of fall  Welcomes winter with a free fall. ~ Suranya

 The earth in her thirst to meet the sky,  Endless, boundless, and high,  Prayed to the heavens above for miracles. Thunder roared, and the rain poured  Unexpected gale stormed my city. Falling droplets in the street lights  Like star dust in disguise,  Blessing the earth with bits of the sky. ~ Suranya

 The Shore hid treasures of shells,  Like a man with secrets,  Calm, quiet, with intent,  Appearing like an unsolved puzzle to the Sea. In the distance, the hues of the setting sun  In the vast, endless Sky,  Spread light across the world. The rays touching the Sea gently,  As the Sky watched her dance,  Kissing her waves are blood red. The red was perhaps a pinch of vermilion,  The Sky painted the Sea with.  He made her a reflection of him,  From the blues to the darkness; Days and nights, the unaware Sea reflected in his colour,  While she had tried all her life in vain  To meet the mysterious shores  Perhaps impress him with her pearls. The Sky met the Sea silently, in all his vastness,  Claiming her as his, reflecting his strength and flaws on her,  As the lovelorn Sea, tired of chasing the shores,  That paid no heed to her turbulent waves,  Finally looked up and saw the Sky. Accepting the unre...

 Slow and steady hidden from gaze I meander like a river across the graze;  Twist and turn until I reach my destination Why are you so scared of my mention? Swift and stealthy, my eyes shine  Like precious stones from a mine. I raise my hood,  Looking for danger in the wood,  Not crossing your way  Unless on my way you stood.  What scares you? I know not. For my poison doesn't kill my own  I shed and change like your mind does;  But my skin, not in your ways,  My skin is new but I remain the same  Unlike you who changes everyday. © Suranya

 In a hundred years, the city has changed  People, climate, concrete jungles  I witnessed it all in silence;  The flowers died in people's laughter,  The animals were lost in the crowd's clusters. Until today, I stood proud  But the gust has now uprooted me. The birds and bees escaped on time,  As all of me came crashing down. People gasped, the rain lashed;  All my fruits went scattering about. A single root stays grounded still,  I smile at nature's wrath in disbelief. Kind she is, giver of life  And yet she destroys,  Takes away a thousand lives. Light dawned on me as I saw,  Many more are struggling with the storm. "Alive I am! And breathing still,  The storm can do no more harm to me. © Suranya