a long walk

of those streets — untrodden and unknown — white
blossoms hanging in shame — i tie my knots
to a sun-bedazzled horizon — rites
of passage — grey streets, umpteenth times, (un)sought:

from the beachfront to a temple’s tempest,
there is music in every step — stone-dreams
of our bodies, long dead and alive, blessed
by the lilting lights of a silent scream.

of motorcades and urine stains — these walls
reek of years and litters that have inhaled
the bequest left by the bay’s sunken souls —
plastic pools, sodium sands, holy grails:

where all did i wander through this caffeine-
daze?— not all trees that stand are evergreen.

.
© Anmol Arora

Linking it up with dVerse, where i am hosting the Poetics prompt this week. The theme is: On Wandering & Observing

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day-breaking

delhi-smog-afp_650x400_71478106108

a blushful pride — the grey cloak lifting
gently, sweet dreams rising, treated with
sulfur and carbon all night long — PM 2.5
as the air emanates a deathly spell, ghostly-
white with specks of pink-red phlegm on
a boastful sky —

take a whiff of cold and dust, rubbing
irritable, sleep-deprived eyes, and find
the wind-passage to comforts of urban
pleasures and umbral treasures —

waiting, waiting for it to become a time-
turned reality — the morning of this hour,
the cajoling fear of the march —

a numb reckoning for another one to pass,
a chimney-reserved sigh to veil the dark.

.

© Anmol Arora

For Midweek Motif at PU
Image source (A cyclist rides along a street as smog envelops a monument — NDTV)

Hotaru (Firefly) Haiku

shimmering fireflies

into the eyes of  beloved

a passionate love

~

old stream of water

soldier returns home from war

black tears, fireflies gone

~

midnight moon shines bright

hotaru glows at distance

illumination

~

a mid-summer day

young boys trot towards river

waiting for the fire

~

waters set on fire

man gazing into his soul

a soundless twilight

~

splendor of fireflies

fairy tale coming to life

spectators gather

* Written in response of Carpe Diem # 221

* Won’t be able to post for the next 8 days or so; going to miss the wonderful prompts.