Whispers and Words of M R Maiti

*** I unknowingly uttered My thoughts out loud, 'Amid this rush of endless scrolls, Only a handful read poetry, And even they... They fail to read the poet.' My friend was Quick with a reply, 'It's failure by design. If you wanted to be truly heard, You would have a conversation. You wouldn't write poetry.' *** I said to her, with a sigh, 'Maybe someday, I'll love myself Like you love yourself.' She replied, with a smile, 'Maybe someday, The ones who strive to light the world Won't be immersed in darkness themselves.' *** "Life sucks." "Yes, it does." And just like that, In a string of conversations, Life would have come to pass, Even become a little better along the way. Or so I thought... When I cried at her wedding, It wasn't because of losing her. I was thinking of another wedding, I had planned to attend, But never could and never will. The silver lining has come loose now. Wearing a threadbare coat, I'm r...

***  If he spits it out, The world perishes If he swallows it, Death claims him at once. So, he cradles the poison In his throat, Bestowing a bluish sheen, A symbol of eternal sacrifice. If I lay it all bare, The indifference would kill me. If I keep it pent-up inside, I'll choke and die. So, I mask the poison, With blue markings on paper. The fancy wordplay is nothing but A never-ending compromise. *** Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the one who can destroy the world, but chooses not to. Wish you a Happy Mahashivratri! In 2018, I clicked this picture of Panchmukhi Shivling , located at the top of Chandrashila Peak , right above Tungnath Temple , the highest Shiva temple in the world.

*** I am haunted by humans. It's not a line I came up with. I am not that good a writer. This sentence is from my favourite book. I won't reveal the name, because I don't need to. If the sentence was good enough to pique your interest, you might have already arrived at the answer by the space-age device called Google. (If reading this in 2025 or later, replace Google with ChatGPT, Perplexity, Meta AI or Gemini). There was a time when you had to know the right books or the right people to be aware of things. And asking a question, a genuine, spontaneous query uttered out loud, wasn't met with a look of disdain, but of wonder. Your inquisitiveness wasn't snubbed by the phrase: Why don't you Google it? I recall asking a question during an age when the internet wasn't as commonplace as it is now. Is Alexander Fleming related to Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand Cricket team captain? My biology teacher had no answer, nor did my friends. It wasn't relevant to t...

*** Leave In the morning, Return In the evening, Get lost Somewhere in between. So it goes... Seeking diamonds All day long, Hours slip Like layers of graphite, Amorphous dreams Gather in the night. So it goes... Mind roaming The mountain valleys, Heart left behind In the hometown, Stuck in the city, Body and soul. So it goes... *** Did you like what you read? Leave a comment!