Is It Just That

Twenty six years behind me,

dreaming, 

Who will be the one?

To kiss me in the tightest hug

And clasp my hand,

On seeing a beetle buzzing

As we will walk across the valley

Of Tulips and Carnation

Ensconced in the cover of

The rhododendrons, the pines

And the Deodars

Alongside the mountain stream

And a thousand birds

In myriad colours

Forming formations and

Breaking away

Chirping the song

Of my love for you.

Never knew that all the dreams

Would end up just like dreams do

And all would finally,

Eventually end up in

Cooked breakfast and a cup of tea.

.....Ramakant Pande

Trust Changed It All

Adrift in the wide

Without an anchor

In a meaningless survival,

The lost me,

Ever so hesitating,

Hiding in a world away

From that illuminated

By fiery Sun,

Ever so ablaze.

Drowning

In my own loneliness,

Asking questions and then,

Answering myself,

Not knowing which one was right

And what went wrong.

Till that day of spring

When an array of coincidences

Propelled her at me.

A stranger as she was,

She brought me out in the sun

To see the myriad colours

Of a meaningful expanse.

And the silence in me

Broke like a reservoir

And we in that deluge

Of the river of trust

Became one,

Merging in the sea

Of eternal love.

.... Ramakant Pande

Summer Blues

The long lonesome days

In the arid, land locked,

Hot plains of acacia shrubs

And concrete hubs,

The temples of success in career

And growth,

Sweltering in the prickly sticky heat.

Its summer in its blazes

Trying to raze everything.

Against my skin yet

I feel

The cool summer breeze

Laced with fragrance of jasmine

Intermingled with

The aroma of pine tree sap

Blowing from a decade and a half away

As the line of ducks would break

To flap their wings, to dive down under

And reappear in the line again

As if in a regatta

With the yachts cutting wind

Their sails almost

Touching the lake

Atop the mountainous alpine forest

And I hear your voice

Coming from behind me

Asking me to wait for you

As I see you, with effort, climb

And when you catch up with me

I can feel your hands on my shoulder

Gasping for breath

Watching

the suspended Himalayan 

Snow capped peaks.

Oh! But how much I miss you

Everyday,

Till I'll have paid my dues

By the end of summer.

The Silent Journey

Bewildered on that platform

What will I look like,

What will I say, how will I

Sound to her

And that meandering train

Blowing siren,

Drowning any hope

Of me gaining

The lost composure,

As I,

With racing heart,

Saw it stop.

In that dazzling moment

She stepped out

And when our eyes met

After separation of a decade

Distanced by the sea,

And she,

As unsure as me,

Spread the palm of her hands

For me to grasp

And then we held each other

In an embrace

Before she lead me

Not saying a word

Not leaving my hand

Not my eyes

In that coach

In the warmth

Drowning the winter cold

As time stood still

And the life without her,

flashed past,

Like it never was,

Like the unseen farmlands

Outside the train

And the grinding noise of wheels

Turning on railroad track,

On screeching turn-outs, on joints

Rattling window shutters,

All silenced

By the distant promises

Emanating from the childhood and youth

And the long period apart, alone,

We had made to ourselves

And every blink of our eyes

Said it all

And all unanswered uncertainty

Sent to oblivion

As we, as one,

In silent commitment 

Were on our way

To finally live together

Under the same roof

With each other

For ever.

.... Ramakant Pande

It Is Love

When the black clouds

In the overcast sky
In distressed mind
Causing despair
Causing gloom of unending
Murky shades of hopeless
Dark and dull
Begetting
Rumbling and crashing
Blazes of electricity
From a thousand booming thunders
Instill fear
In the terrified hysterical darkness,

It is that thin ray
Emanating from your heart
The tender and warm assurance
Assuaging the panic
Clearing the fog
Comforting and encouraging
To fight it out and live
That breaks the ice,

It is love.

..... Ramakant Pande

Forget You May

You are leaving, you want

To stop seeing me

Stop talking at all

And
You will one day
Forget those long walks
Through the valleys
And mountains,
Where we had
Promised to flower
A future of us,
For us,
For you have the liberty,
The right and
I will not be surprised
That you will
Forget me.

With me though
It is not the same
For
I have loved you.

........Ramakant Pande

In Dreams

In that light with no shine

Of the diffused pre dawn

And everything painted

In shades of grey and black

Did I but see her outline separate itself

From the conjoined continuity

Of everything in dark...

I heard the siren in my mind

Of images flashing,

Of ambulance, of urgency

Of doctors and nurses

Who could not save her,

Could not prevent her exit!

When was it, how did it all happen,

Why was my mind so hazy?

Clouded in thick fog

Unable to recollect

Yet the heart was full of sobs.

But she was there,

I saw her,

Beckoning me to come

Yet the further she drifted

The more I advanced towards her

Across the grey forest,

Disappearing

And appearing again.

I tried to call out to her

Please stop, wait for me, take me

But words would not come out

And heavy legs somehow dragging,

Till I saw her waiting for me

At the edge of the boundless expanse

Where she held my hand telling me

She had to go

To the other world across the dimension

Where she will wait for me

And a dark cloud blended her

Into the azure.

And I alone, bereaved,

Tears gushing down my neck,

Feeling irreparable loss,

Of the only one I ever loved

Cried out loud at the sky

And felt the sound of my voice

When she shook me hard.

What a relief! Oh! What a joy!

To find her there beside me,

Standing with lights switched on,

Holding a glass of water for me.

And I so thankful

That it was just a dream.

.... Ramakant Pande