25 April 2009

On Summer


Balmy afternoon breeze
The scorching backyard stone
The ants on the mango tree
The sound of music
Running free

Happiness filtered through the leaves
Of the laughter shared
Of hearts
Loved and bared

Waking up
To the TV noise
To the AC buzz
To the rememberance
Of yesterday's stuff

Kisses and hugs
And sticky mud sludge
Crabs and lizards and mongooses
Wandering around, or don't even budge

Vivid, alive and sharp
The stinging rain
A running train
Bridges on rivers
A lonely forest trail

Of cricket
And running barefoot
Of stinging splinters
Shouting in rejoice..
For the ball, jumping outside

Welcome sweat and
Accidental blood
The cold water
On the skin
The cold water
Sizzling on hot earth

Badminton rackets
On the shuttle cock
On a lost frog
On someone's head
Swinging short

The melting icecream
Burps and gurgles
And sneezes that hurt
Laughing and falling down
In the dirt

Bruises, cuts, scratches
Stupid bets and cricket matches
Winning, losing, strutting
Blaming and then hugging

Pepsi breaks, the world cup
Shouting sprees
Getting locked in bathrooms
Throwing water, looking at them freeze

Hide n' Seek
Chewing gum in your hair
Groping and tugging
Torn shirts
Made up swears

Changing the score
After the break
Cheating and being fair
Shooting water into the air

Jumping three stairs at once
"Spins and fast and bouncers"
The sun in our eyes
Sneery smiles

Lucky shirts and shorts
Wristbands and socks
Charms, bracelets and
Chanting for your team
Sitting on the bottom stair



The crunch of dry leaves
Dust
Inefficient prayers
Blue jeans
Faded and threadbare

Plans to win, psyche them out
Breaks from the sun
Wiping away
Filthy perspiration

Clouds and the rain
Going insane
Buzzing honeybees
Hiding in the garage
Catching balls with "the" panache

Soaking wet
Mango stains, bamboo canes
Noisy planes
Cars in deserted lanes

TV shows, children's prose
Harry Potter, the guy in the cloak
First love, getting close
Just a few books more

Garden hose
The grass yellow, green
Blue petals, white roses
And the red poppies
The adorable tiny muddy stream

Sprinkled grass on the head
Tattered seat of the swing
Scratching your knee jumping up ahead
Winning and then crying instead

The corner of the black railing
My side of the bed
Mattress on the roof
Reading 'til the day's dead

Calling out to the songbirds' call
Smiling neighbours
Staring, looking at the insects crawl
Pulling up the garage shutter

Learning to ride,
Getting it in your stride
Going the fastest
Acing the speed test

Cycling, whistling, singing
Discovering kingdoms
Letting the streets lead
Clouds in the sky, they're so mighty high
They make shapes and then they break

Circling birds of prey
Letting your mind go astray
Absorb the heat
Go off to the land of sleep
Have a sweet, sweet dream

Midday
Running on the street
Midnight
Torches under the sheet

Singing TV jingles
Squirting lemon on your tongue
The tingle
Then sucking on your fingers

Dangling feet from the ledge
There are bird-nests in the hedge
Jokes on one another
Looking at the wings flutter..

Are they the sparrows in the trees?
Or mine.. could I have it again, please?

14 comments:

  1. I loved your poem....

    the words were so vivid and had a taste to them.... (know what i mean)

    loved it....

    keep writing more.... :)

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  2. Awesome! Each stanza painted a picture on its own, and the pictures combined to create a great visual! Nice stuff!

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  3. Very Cute. Seriously. We all do this but seldom care to write it. and that too this well :P

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  4. There's very summery feel to this poem..

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  5. A good poem, I guess you must have spent a lot of time researching and memorising it. I guess your hard work has bore adequate fruit. I liked it and loved your patience with it. A great piece. :)

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  6. Found your blog on yahoo answers. Beautiful poem!

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  7. @ muthu
    Thank you and I think I know what you mean. I will.

    @ Sauron
    Thank you and that's what I intended. Glad that's how you feel.

    @ Aadya
    Didn't know you had a blog, I'll be sure to keep checking yours out. And thanks!

    @ inihos
    Good to know that.. the "feels" make up my world.. :)

    @ Puneet
    Thank you, but actually I just wrote this poem on a whim and it has no background research whatsoever.
    I think it took 10 minutes at the most and is all fortunately, non-fiction. :D

    @ Valerie
    Nice to know that and Thank you and keep checking in from time to time!

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  8. Very nicely done... describing all that summer's about :)) so cute !!

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  9. Nice one, but perhaps a bit too long to hold the reader's interest till the end.

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  10. lovely post dear. uve captured all aspects of an indian summer...or perhaps even more [:)]

    Cheers
    CRD

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  11. I loved it... took me back to my summer vacations back in school. Those were the only times when summer used to mean fun, now it just means sweating profusely on your way to work on an overcrowded train.

    I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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  12. I really enjoyed it felt like summer was here right infront of me.

    http://cutestangel.wordpress.com/

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  13. @ Adisha
    I like cute. Thanks!

    @ Aparajita
    Oh, variety's what we seek.

    @ C R D
    There'll be even more. Can't rest! :D

    @ Anita
    Glad to know that you actually reminisced on this.. that felt nice. And I hope school summers last forever. Even if it's there our heads! :D

    @ angel from heaven
    Aww, thanks!! :)

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  14. Lovely!!!
    Each stanza was a delight to read.. :)

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