Who Goes To School To Study

who goes to school to study!
we went looking for friends,
we'd love the school choir,
the piano classes, 
the founder's day functions 
and the teachers' day skits,
when every day was 
a festival
who cared for
the sweltering april mornings 

who cared for the books!
we loved our ma'ams and sirs
who brought the books to life,
and faced our whys and hows,
with a graceful smile,
they'd let us fall, and fail
and watched us get up,
as they chiseled the edges,
and polished the corners 
and they carved our smiles
for a journey, thousands of miles

who cared for the exams!
we went to have fun,
with the questions and graphs,
played chor-police, 
built paper rockets and
sent them soaring,
played colour-colour-which-colour
do-you-choose,
fiddled with pebbles and rubble,
to create ripples in the school pond
made sand castles,
and saw them crash
learned to swing from the banyan trees
with a bunch of lifelong friends

who went to school for classes!
for the classes were
the time between breaks,
for school was a long holiday
year after year,
not even a day to spare,
who went to schools to study
we'd long for monday mornings,
so we could let our hearts free,
and set our dreams on fire

as the kid gets off the bus
tosses the lunch box in the air,
ran with a spring in his step,
with his white shirt untucked,
he scales the wall,
and runs straight to the sandpit,
my heart leaped out
as a thought flashed my mind,
do they still make schools 
like them, today,
where classes are the breaks
where bonds are cemented for life



© sashikant mohanty 

You Never Come Alone

when your thoughts come rolling
in my loneliest moments,
they're chased by tears,
of angst, 
and a strong urge
to run to you.
you'd never come alone,
and you never leave without
robbing my heart

when your dreams
come to light up my dark,
they don't leave before
planting grains of hope,
to be back together again.
you never come alone,
and you never miss
to steal my sleep

whenever you come to me,
and my soul soaks
in bliss,
you never miss a chance
to hurt,
so i don't miss you a lot and long,
when you're gone.
you never come alone,
and you never leave without
touching my heart strings!



© sashikant mohanty 

When The Masks Came Off

they sat inches apart,
each putting up
a brave smile,
as their breaths
turned shallow,
and hearts hammered, 
for the smiles held back
a lot more
than they seemed to say

one hid her pains
growing deep in her chest,
to curl up her lips
into a smile,
her best jewel as he'd say,
the other,
hiding the missings,
deep in his heart,
for years, 
yet wearing his smile
that she'd fondly call
cupid come alive

one last blush,
they forced,
and he swiftly turned
to leave,
but a thud
broke the silence,
as the masks came off,
and then -
their bloodshot eyes met
all at once,
one choking up,
and the other -
fighting
the fierce flood of tears



© sashikant mohanty 

Melting Tears

don't stop the melting snow,

let it melt when it's heavy,

with its own weight,

and when it thaws and rolls, 

it doesn't merge into the stream,

it becomes the stream

don't meddle with the flow of the river,

let it roll, burble along gently at midnight,
gleaming in the moonlit sky, 

when it's come all the way down,

braving deep valleys and steep bends, 

when its dreams come alive, 

it doesn't merge with the seas

It becomes the seas 

don't hold up the pacing wind,

let it carry your whisper to me, 

and race your heartbeats,

when it's nervous with thrill, and shivers,

it doesn't merge with the storm,

it becomes the storm

don't stop the melting tears, 

as they force their way
all the way up from your heart,

let them choke you, 

as there's no going back,

and when the upwelling peaks, 

your soul doesn't merge with mine,
it just becomes mine 



© sashikant mohanty

I Wonder How!

you rise in my skies
even before the sun takes to its sky,
you're the first one my eyes see,
even before they open, every day,
every breath has your name
writ large on them,
wonder how you felt,
you were not the loved one

i fell for you, eons back
i'd fall for you, 
as the moon ebbed and flowed,
every day, month after month, year upon year,
i long for you every moment,
wait with my eyes open,
as dreams and fears take turns,
as the warm tears climb into my eyes,
only to be knocked off by the chill breeze,
under the watch of a million stars,
wonder how you could think,
you were not the loved one

you are the wind beneath my wings,
for you alone, my heart skips a beat,
every time i see you,
you steal it all over again,
every single time you meet me,
i dream of starting days with you,
i fancy dreaming with your eyes too,
wonder how you could even think,
you were not my loved one!




© sashikant mohanty 

Say Something

say something

even if it's a whisper,

even if it's miserly little,

even if it's through your breath,

doesn't matter if it hurts,

open your eyes, sweet,

will you just say something?

i can't wait any longer,

say it with your eyes,

but, please say something

write something,

how you're holding up,

even if it's a line,

even if it's a word,

even if it doesn't make sense,

do scribble something,

your silence is scary,

please say something

i have spent days,

well, many, and years

not hearing from you,

was forced to make friends

with deafening silence,

but moments take longer

than years, today,

talk to me, 

i can take it even if you're rude, 

but, get up, 

say it with gestures,

say with nothings,

but, please say something!

© saahikant mohanty

Why this bias

 

running
through the valleys, ravines,
and the gorges,
rolling over the stones and the logs,
the deep falls and the steep curves,
gasping for breath,
after the painful journey of a thousand miles,
as the river prepares for the final plunge
to merge with its love,
the sea doesn't choose who to embrace
and who not to

bracing
the hills and the hillocks,
the dunes and the jungles,
the pines and the oaks,
the tall skyscrapers and the tough alleys,
waiting for days, weeks, and months
for the spring,
as the breeze can't wait to merge with its love, 
the flower doesn't choose
which breeze to pick its pollens,
and which not to

battered
by the rains and the sun,
and chipped away by the biting winters,
bruised by the tiring walks and falls,
worn and torn by the sleepless nights,
when the pilgrim makes it to the temple,
god doesn't choose who to show up for,
and who not to

when the sea doesn't choose between rivers
when the flowers don't between the breezes,
when god doesn't between men,
when the moon doesn't between pastures,
why do you?
and how long, more?




© sashikant mohanty