Poems

Dirge

Satyen Hombali6 Comments

When my short life ends
When they receive the sad news
How will they describe me
What words will they choose?

When my short life ends
Was I a good husband, brother, son
Did perform my earthly duties well
Was I fair to everyone?

When my short life ends
Will they say he was worldly and wise
Will they say he was a good friend
Will they regret my demise?

When my short life ends
And I’ve reached the end of the race
Did I help those who ran alongside me
Did I make their world a better place?

When my short life ends
What will they remember of my pith
What will be my legacy
What will I leave this world with?

When my short life ends
What essence will emerge
Will they just sigh and walk away
Will they stop to sing me a dirge?

Six Feet…

Satyen Hombali6 Comments 
Locked down in our separate spaces
Both of us battle our common fears
Anxiety writ large on our faces
Six feet… can feel like six light years

I want to hug you and hold your hand
I want to wipe away your tears
But I might hurt you, I do understand
Six feet… can feel like six light years

I can’t caress you or stroke your hair
I can’t comfort you, even hold you near
Just know, my darling, that I really care
Six feet… can feel like six light years

I’ll cradle you in my arms, ease your pain
But we must wait till this scourge disappears
When it’s gone we’ll dance in the rain again
Six feet… can feel like six light years

This distance between us feels like an abyss
In my every dream your face appears
Darling, your touch is what I really miss
Six feet… can feel like six light years

Have courage, dear, we will get through this
Have faith and pray that the storm soon clears
Stay safe now baby, let me blow you this kiss
Six feet… can feel like six light years

Together

Satyen Hombali7 Comments 
Quick - before the sun
Dips under the horizon again
Let’s make this one
Last shadow rabbit on the wall
Together

Quick - before the rain
Washes the sidewalk again
Let’s play this one
Last game of hopscotch
Together

Quick - before the top
Stops spinning again
Let’s just this once
Relive our childhood
Together

Quick - before the match
Goes out again
Let’s light this one
Last bright candle
Together

Quick - before the music
Stops playing again
Let’s have this one
Last magical dance
Together

Quick- before the second hand
Moves forward again
Let’s finish writing this
Last chapter of our story
Together

Quick - this fleeting moment
May be the only one that’s left
Let’s try to make it
Last as long as it can
Together

Sometimes a Poem

Satyen Hombali4 Comments 
Sometimes a poem is a sudden tear
You never know when and why it will rise
Sometimes a poem is a vivid daydream
It appears in color before your wide-open eyes

Sometimes a poem is a fine sculpture
You can chisel it into a beautiful shape
Sometimes a poem is a lofty tower
You can erect it into a soaring sky-scape

Sometimes a poem is a naughty little girl
Who mocks at you from behind a half-open door
Sometimes a poem is a game of hopscotch
Like skipping through patterns drawn on a floor

Sometimes a poem is a playful lover
Who creeps up behind you and says “Guess who?”
Sometimes a poem is a bashful bride
Tiptoeing tentatively toward an eager you

Sometimes a poem is an April shower
That makes the flowers in your garden bloom
Sometimes a poem is a swing in the park
That cradles you and lifts you away from your gloom

We poets have a secret that is all our own
One that we have never before shared with you
Poems, like saplings, sprout on their own
Laboring over them is a thing we seldom do!

Which Me

Satyen Hombali6 Comments 
Which me is the real me
The person that I am
Or the person I want to be

Which me is the real me
The person who chases mirages
Or the person grounded in reality

Which me is the real me
The one who’s an alien everywhere
Or the one for whom the world is family

Which me is the real me
The one who longs to belong
Or the one who’d rather roam free

Which me is the real me
The man standing on solid ground
Or the man who’s unmoored, all at sea

Which me is the real me
The man who has it all together
Or the man with a fractured personality

Which me is the real me
The person you fell in love with
Or the person you wanted to make of me

Deeper Well

Satyen Hombali4 Comments 
Don’t tell me about the power of now
Don’t tell me about the farmer and his plow
Don’t tell me what my stars foretell
I need to drink from a deeper well

Don’t insult my feelings with your inane labels
Don’t make my life sound like Aesop’s fables
I’m not in the market for what you want to sell
I need to drink from a deeper well

I’ve heard enough tales of faith and imagination
I’ve heard enough about the need for self-examination
I’ve heard enough clanging of the same old cowbell
I need to drink from a deeper well

Sometimes I am amused by your simple allegories
Sometimes life doesn’t divide neatly into categories
Sometimes life’s answers are not on a carousel
I need to drink from a deeper well

Frankly, I find your good cheer pestilential
Frankly, my dilemmas are quite existential
Frankly, I just don’t fit into your clientele
I need to drink from a deeper well

I’ve learned the lessons that a hard life teaches
I’ve no time left for motivational speeches
I’ve no penchant for philosophies in a nutshell
I need to drink from a deeper well

The inspiration I need will not fall from a tree
The inspiration I need is not in a book or a movie
The inspiration I need lives in my every cell
I need to drink from a deeper well

State of Mind

Satyen Hombali2 Comments 
Sequestered, secluded
Cordoned off and confined
We can stew in our own juices
Until we lose our minds

We can rue what we’ve lost
Like our youthful good looks
We can rustle the yellowed pages
Of those old, dog-eared books

We can argue, we can bicker
And get on each other’s nerves
Or we can stop, we can think
Of what purpose it serves

We can remember the time
When we first became lovers
We can recapture the joys
That together we discovered

We can remind ourselves
This is a blessing, not a curse
If we didn’t have each other
Life would be a whole lot worse

We can rely on each other
For comfort and consolation
We can inspire each other
In our splendid isolation

We can cherish our good luck
That we are holding up so well
Our home’s not our prison
It’s our stronghold, our citadel

Let’s become who we’re meant to be
Loving, compassionate and kind
‘Cause baby, this confinement
Is only a state of mind