Disconnect

even the echo of the click
dies down
you wait for a split second
agonizingly
hoping for a revival
hang on
incredulously

the sudden dead silence
kills the hope
irrecoverably
total disconnect
there are no carcasses
left behind,
to rot and stink
so what?
is only flesh sanctified

and when hope dies
a part of you dies too
but who'll mourn
over such banal deaths?
there is always
a bigger melodrama
in the cathode-ray-tube

we're all obsessed
with blood, sweat and lust
we bury our hopes silently
without fanfare
as if it's indiscreet
to even shed a tear
there is no voyeur value in it
no vicarious pain, either

yes, that's an oxymoron
all real pain is private
first hand
deep down we know
and yet we expect empathy
and act surprised
when instead we get
a total disconnect

Kyun Uljhaa Hai Dil Aaj

kyun uljhaa hai dil aaj girah ki tarah
wisaal pe bhi woh roya maatam ki tarah

furqat hai aasaan, tha pata phir bhi
kyun hum uljhe hain, maftoon ki tarah?

dekhte hai jab bhi quaatil ki taraf
kyun yaad aayen woh maashuk ki tarah

rah-e-guzar pe milte hai aadil asuph
jo baatatein hai insaaf inaam ki tarah

Not Quite A Ghazal

kuch dil chaahata hai, aap ki ijaazat hoti
dum todate hue, ek pashemaani to kam hoti

[pashemaani:: Guilt, Remorse; ijaazat::permission, sanction]

yuhin hum na roye, teri yaad har ghadi thi
na ye kaash labz kaheta, gar tuhi saath hoti

[labz:: word; gar:: if]

shaadamaan hum bhi hote, tuzko bhula bhi dete
kabhi haan na kahena tha, woh na hi kahe deti

[shaadamaan:: content, happy]

insaaf bhi ye kaisa, ki tadapna hi zindagi hai
ek din to hai hi marna, muze roz kya padi thi

tuhi bata de asuph, ki kuch tuze khabar hai
aas ek hi thi agar to, fir umr itni kyun thi

[aas:: longing, desire; umr:: life-span, age]

Empty Spaces

Without you
Emptiness
Within me

You say you're mine
But your space
Is just yours

One of these days
The empty spaces
Will crunch

I will crunch
With mine,
You with yours

From outside
The euphoria
Shields emptiness

Inside out
It's just
A prison wall

Can't we
Just Merge
Our Empty spaces?