Wordly Wise

Praying with you is
like walking
on the morning grass
with the fickle dewdrops
tickling our bare feet
while our souls meet
and smile to greet
each other

Praying with you is
like drifting
on wispy, white clouds
on a sunny day, as we play
like little kids
a little fine, a little fey
And as our game starts
our love engulfs our hearts

Praying with you is
Like dreaming
a magnificent dream
where we scream
in ecstasy
as a rainbow wraps
you and me
in vibrant colours of glee

Praying with you is
Like weaving
a fairy story
that we fill with
God’s goodness and glory
Each memory we create
is a tale of our sweet love
so memorable, so great

© Manoj Khatri

My feelings these days
they are so strange
…they have such a range

Now, I am happy and ecstatic
Then, frightened and frantic

Now, I dream, hope and desire
Then, all my hopes catch fire

Now, I want to sing and dance
Then, I just get lost in a trance

Now, I see all so plain and clear
Then, my vision is blurred by a tear

Now, all I want is to conjugate
Then, I wonder about our fate

Now, your joy is my only goal
Then, my soul cries for your soul

My feelings these days
They are so strange
But my love for you
…doesn’t change

© Manoj Khatri

In the hustle and bustle of the day
Surrounded by folks and friends
I feel lost, lonely and astray

Drifting off or awaking,
in dreams and reality
My heart’s always aching
and my soul’s always praying
for you…

Suppressing my urges
to talk to you
curbing my craving
to hear you
ignoring my thirst
to meet you
restraining my longing
to be with you
stifling my desire
to touch you
I feel fervent and helpless,
desperate and hopeless
For I expect and demand,
hope and anticipate

Then all of a sudden I seek nothing
Bereft of hopes, wishes or desires
Left with only a soul that aspires
…for your happiness

Then I experience a holy calm
Peace descends on me
like a soft, soothing balm
and a knowing arises
…that we’re never apart
because you live
forever in my heart

© Manoj Khatri

I don’t know why did we meet?
Then chose to be bitter, not sweet

I don’t know why did we start?
Then chose pain over a joyous heart

I don’t know why did we hope?
Then chose to walk on a tightrope

I don’t know why did we pledge?
Then chose to push our luck to the edge

I don’t know why did we care?
Then chose to let our souls dare

I don’t know why did we pray?
Then chose to forever stay away

I don’t know why did we fight?
Then chose darkness instead of light

But I do know why we chose to love
‘cos God chose to bless us from above

© Manoj Khatri

The life I am living
seems so unreal,
feels like an
endless scary toil,
as I fight
my deep-rooted fears,
unable to hold back
my tears
I pray that
my mind adheres
and my heart also hears
my pleas

I fear
that my soul
is being hoodwinked
by my mind
…my mean mind
that is so unkind
It simply delights
in the agony
Though I don’t think
it’s so funny
making me dance
to its tunes
as if I was a bunny

My dream seems now
like a nightmare
As I feel intense
but bare
Never knew
I had to prepare
…to stare
at dark, starless
nights
missing those
lovely fights
we had…at midnights
those highlights
of our love

© Manoj Khatri

Loving you is difficult
Yet it is also most fulfilling
In ways that I cannot explain
It’s chilling as well as thrilling

Understanding you is challenging
But it is also quite stimulating
Your mysterious ways of expressing
Can’t say if you’re leaving…or waiting

Knowing you is absorbing
And it is also utterly sweeping
I’m blissful when I’m with you
Whether we’re laughing…or weeping

Missing you is painful
and terribly, incredibly agonising
Whenever I am away from you
It’s as if the sun just stops rising

But giving to you is easy
Surrendering my heart and soul
Because finding you, my love,
was my life’s only goal

© Manoj Khatri

Where am I going?
Can’t change the past
Can’t foresee the future

How can I prevent?
Can’t hurt you
Can’t avoid hurting you

Why am I restless?
Can’t reach you
Can’t resist you

How may I restrain?
Can’t cry for you
Can’t stop crying for you

What should I do?
Can’t love you
Can’t stop loving you

Tell me…
When will I get you?
Can’t live with you
Can’t live without you

© Manoj Khatri

I
This silence between us
tears me apart slowly
“Staying away” from you
is killing me wholly

I know our love is sacred
and our feelings are holy
Then why do you suffer?
And why do I feel so lowly?

II
I miss you every moment
and each is never-ending
Though all seems normal
we know we’re pretending

I can hear a gloomy sound
Is it your heart that’s rending
as it craves my sacred love,
while you refuse comprehending?

© Manoj Khatri

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A solitary tree
……….romancing a solitary cloud
………………………………………..in the desert
………………………………………..The dry, hot wind
……….is blowing encouraging
them to flirt

As long as
……….they are prepared to brave
………………………………………..the pain and the hurt
………………………………………..The two lovers
……….can rejoice in the sandstorm’s
musical concert

It’s dusk, that miraculous time of the day
The sun has set on the other side of the bay
Children are shouting, laughing as they play
Birds are hurrying off to where they stay
Pious individuals are bowing down to pray
Labourers seem happy to receive their pay
The Sky looks like a pink rose bouquet
As if His creation, He has chosen to display
If all is so beautiful, why does it seem grey?

Can someone explain to me the reason why?
Is it because beauty is in the beholder’s eye?
What if the eyes are soggy and not dry?
Does it mean everything that’s seen is a lie?
Do the eyes then simply deceive and defy?
Showing a caterpillar, when it’s a butterfly?

When I asked someone who’s wise and smart
He said, it‘s not the fault of eyes, but of the heart,
which beats irregularly when it’s been torn apart
Behaving like a computer that needs a restart
Distorting images to look like a weather chart

So next time, I see grey at sunset or sunrise
I guess it won’t be such a big surprise
That my heart is the culprit, and not my eyes
It is my incorrigible, stubborn heart that denies
The gifts God sends me through the skies

~© Manoj Khatri~