Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me. 

  -- Maya Angelou

Life Exam

In this difficult multiple-choice exam,
which is tailored for you alone,
You get ample choices in questions,
(But often you get just two.)
No answer can fetch full marks, and
You can try but not guess, what comes next.
At times, you can only make a blind guess,
as you can't skip one question.

All means, fair or unfair, are allowed,
however, at your own risk.
Feedback, if desired, is available,
you may get a chance for
correction, but, at a price.
You are your own examiner, for
the questions already answered.

You like it or not, but this exam
may abruptly end anytime,
without a further question,
without giving any choice.

Knowing this beforehand
might help you do well
in this exam
called Life.

Nothing twice

Nothing can ever happen twice.
In consequence, the sorry fact is
that we arrive here improvised
and leave without the chance to practice. 

Even if there is no one dumber,
if you're the planet's biggest dunce,
you can't repeat the class in summer:
this course is only offered once. 

No day copies yesterday,
no two nights will teach what bliss is
in precisely the same way,
with precisely the same kisses. 

One day, perhaps some idle tongue
mentions your name by accident:
I feel as if a rose were flung
into the room, all hue and scent. 

The next day, though you're here with me,
I can't help looking at the clock:
A rose? A rose? What could that be?
Is it a flower or a rock? 

Why do we treat the fleeting day
with so much needless fear and sorrow?
It's in its nature not to stay:
Today is always gone tomorrow. 

With smiles and kisses, we prefer
to seek accord beneath our star,
although we're different (we concur)
just as two drops of water are.

 -- Wislawa Szymborska  

Strange attractors

Charges and poles
either both attract
or both repel.

But, what would
they be called,
charges and poles,
if one is attracted
and the other one
repelled?

And why is it ?
When everything
around is just
charges and poles.

Check mate

The game is on, and
I've no moves left.
She knows all of mine
and can easily
cut me loose,
a tired wild animal,
tied-and-tamed.
She wants to wait,
a thing I hate.
I choose to lose,
and she says
'check-mate' !

Love's Funeral

Love was born.

She wanted to grow

And bloom with life,

And bloom lives

But,

She was smothered by

A ‘motherly’ massage.

Not a word was said,

Not a tear shed.

But,

 love can’t vanish.

She will lie buried

In a remote corner

of the heart.

No one's scared

of the consequences.

The only fear,

If at all, is that

Her mother may not

Conceive again.

जब कभी ...

जब कभी मुडके देखता हूँ मैं

तुम भी कुछ अजनबी सी लगती हो
मै भी कुछ अजनबी सा लगता हूँ

हम जहां थे वहां पे अब तो नहीं
पास रहने का भी सबब तो नहीं

कोई नाराज़गी नही है मगर
फिर भी रूठी हुई सी लगती हो

तुम भी अजनबी सी लगती हो
जब कभी मुडके देखता हूँ मैं

-- गुलज़ार