Fried Eye

by Sergio A. Ortiz and Arunansu Banerjee

The drunken clock is broken
hour crowds; room shrinks
on top of its universal ashes, more

Walking through a dark alley
In search of a light, more

I still cry sometimes, rarely

I still try sometimes, meekly

In pursuit of that, still today

In pursuit of happiness, maybe someday.

A battle lost
A soldier left forlorn
Before the gates of a kingdom
Never to be known
The treasures within
Beyond reach
Watching in the most savage of lands
As dismay sets in
Gone the strength of the song
Mourn the battle never won

They come and stare,
At the barrenness of my eyes..
Where nothing is remained with me..
Other than the vicious filth.
My soul surrendered to the soil,
That solaces me in her clinch,
Reminding me of the day’s bygone,
When lovers used to sit by me,
Holding their hands and singing,
The eternal melodies of love,
Birds relished their thirst,
Drinking my water as wine,
And played in my lap,
As they were my child.
While the trees nourished their beauty,
Gazing at my heart as their mirror,
Heaven cried upon my shoulders,
Lending me his tears,
Along with his blessings on me.
And now that I’ve grown old and ugly,
They turn off their sombre faces,
Letting me cry upon my emptiness

Oh the joy of a child’s innocence
I envy the laughter of the infant
Those eyes which see naught but love more

How does it feel to be illegal
To be a dark unknown.
Is it musty and dusty and cosy? more

Early this morning, I had a dream
Lonely, on a moonlit night, more

Beneath the stars open sky
So serene as though all does sleep more

Love fooled me
Innocence prodded me more

The is a joy found in sorrow
Such melancholy emotion
How bittersweet its beauty more

Try not to show how downtrodden you are;
Everyone amongst us is equal; God send us here.
That lazy face admits no admittance. more

The shades that colour you are brilliant,
Chaos from order it creates in a corner! more

Swarming up to my spines,
The lusty fingers,
As I walk, more

a dead crow
under the light-post more

Cunning, clever fate what do you want?
Preposterous, this liking but I have!
You know now the world I show can’t-
Why then do you leave me without a save?
Cunning, clever fate what do you want?

The Photograph was taken by Ranjan K. Baruah after the Ganeshguri Blasts on 30th October’2008. Ranjan is a Social Activist and Development Worker based in Guwahati.

Fathers, husbands, brothers,
How well they tell you
Their house is all yours more

A large, a tiny, a fast, a slow,
These drops come down to the ground below,
Like blessings from the heaven above. more

muse of imagination-
flirtatious
yellow butterfly

Prarthana Mudai is a Research Scholar and a Hobbyist Photographer.

The Haiku has been Written by Pramathesh Borkotoky under the able Guidance of Nalini Hebbar.

I sit waiting breathlessly for the twilight skies
And for the music of the deuri piper
That floats across the streams with the breeze more

Scribbling on a new notebook
Is like beginning life afresh.
New notebooks have always attracted me – more