Dinner With Her - II

He sat down after a tiring work shift,
To lie down and rest, so he could rise and shine,
She’d come out to fill his place and give,
What he had given her… and for something else too,

She’d be there to look at the world,
And he, to look at her and her alone,
She knew that too, a celebrity and her fan,
A celebrity meeting her biggest fan to make his day.

Or rather, his night, for once the night got over,
Her time would be done and she would leave,
She would always come here for her next shift,
But he doubted, if he would survive her farewell.

So now, he had a silent prayer, so silent,
He did not want her to hear that,
To her, he was just another crazy admirer,
To him, she was the damsel of his dream realm.

He prayed for a night that would never end,
A night that would not see the light of day,
A night without a morning to follow,
And he did not want her to know that.

He did not want her to be scared,
He did not know if she would fear or favor
The thought of staying with him forever
So he did not want her to hear his silent prayer.

Silent though it be, she might’ve heard it,
Her home was close to the source of the prayer,
Whichever realm she belonged to was immaterial,
She was the queen of his heart.

After the prayer, he had to decide,
About the menu, and if she’d like his cooking,
He also had to think over and again,
If she was on a diet to maintain her figure.

Her figure did not indicate any weird diets,
Hence a plan was on, for a sumptuous dinner,
To be safe, the menu had a vegan cuisine,
He did not want to upset her, insignificant though the reason be.

And he waited, as the night passed,
Expecting her to turn up, to rise and shine,
“Any minute now…” he told himself,
And he kept looking up, trying to stay awake…

And he stayed awake the whole night,
On top of the highest point on the planet, close to her,
Unperturbed by the cold winds that blew.
She still had not come.

He could feel his feet going numb, he wanted to walk around
To check if she had come, on the other side of the mountain,
And was waiting for him there, but realized he couldn’t move,
She still had not come.

He saw the sky in his arms, the color of the sea,
He was not sure which, his vision had become hazy,
He tried clearing his eyes, to see her make an entrance,
She still had not come.

He dragged himself to the edge of the peak,
For want of a better view, and to see her,
See her, before the rest of the world could,
But she still had not come.

When they found him, months later, he lay a few feet below,
Having fallen from the summit in his attempt to reach out, perhaps to her,
His last agenda had been a dinner date with her,
On that day of the month, when she does not show up.

Dinner With Her

He sat down after a tiring work shift,
To lie down and rest, so he could rise and shine,
She’d come out to fill his place and give,
What he had given her… and for something else too,

She’d be there to look at the world,
And he, to look at her and her alone,
She knew that too, a celebrity and her fan,
A celebrity meeting her biggest fan to make his day.

Or rather, his night, for once the night got over,
Her time would be done and she would leave,
She would always come here for her next shift,
But he doubted, if he would survive her farewell.

So now, he had a silent prayer, so silent,
He did not want her to hear that,
To her, he was just another crazy admirer,
To him, she was the damsel of his dream realm.

He prayed for a night that would never end,
A night that would not see the light of day,
A night without a morning to follow,
And he did not want her to know that.

He did not want her to be scared,
He did not know if she would fear or favor
The thought of staying with him forever
So he did not want her to hear his silent prayer.

Silent though it be, she might’ve heard it,
Her home was close to the source of the prayer,
Wherever else she lived was immaterial,
In him, she lived in his heart.

After the prayer, he had to decide,
About the menu, and if she’d like his cooking,
He also had to think over and again,
If she was on a diet to maintain her figure.

Her figure did not indicate any weird diets,
Hence a plan was on, for a sumptuous dinner,
To be safe, the menu had a vegan cuisine,
He did not want to upset her, insignificant though the reason be.

And he waited, as the night passed,
Expecting her to turn up, to rise and shine,
“Any minute now…” he told himself,
And he kept looking up, trying to stay awake…

And he stayed awake the whole night,
On top of the highest point on the planet, close to her,
Unperturbed by the cold winds that blew,
Or the pain from losing his toes to the frost,

He could not even feel his heartbeat,
He wanted to walk around to check if she had come,
On the other side of the mountain, and if he had missed her,
But realized that he couldn’t move his legs, or his body.

He saw the sky in his arms, the color of the sea,
He was not sure which, his vision had become hazy,
He wanted to dig deep, hide his wrinkled skin from her,
He did not want her to flee upon first sight.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t move,
It was as if his body was on strike, and wouldn’t obey
So he consigned himself to shame and ignominy,
And sat there waiting for her.

When they found him, months later, he lay face down,
Perhaps an attempt to hide his unremarkable features from her,
His last agenda had been a dinner date with her,
On that day of the month, when she does not show up.

Forgive Me, Zuckerberg

Sitting in geography class, looking at a map,
Where lines crisscross, and seas clash with land,
Rails to bridge, roads and lanes passed for ships
Telegraph, telephones and the all mighty internet,
With our faces on books and letters filling inboxes,
The last time I ever stepped out was last Christmas,
I doubt if I will step out this time,
Snow Inc. has offered to deliver this year’s snow,
Through the cat flap in my door. I hope they get lucky.
The cat flap had gone out of use long ago
Cats are company lovers and hate being alone,
They’ve probably got a colony built somewhere on the outskirts,
Free from wires and networks and towers,
While we bind ourselves in fishnets and cobwebs,
And claim to live in a free world.

I haven’t seen my neighbor’s face, not since the last barbeque,
To celebrate our wisdom in staying away from the dotcom bust,
Ironically though, we had saved our money,
And lost ourselves in what followed the bust,
We have never had a wall to separate us, but have now started,
To write on each other’s wall, that we did not build,
From sharing bear hugs as men, we have deteriorated into kids
Poking the other and waiting eagerly to be poked back,
Our lives are dependent on the likes and unlikes we get,
And our status updates are statutes for ourselves in a virtual world,
Bounded by communities and stuck inside groups, I now miss my cat,
And the beauty of a summer morning and the chirping of the sparrow.
The moon hates to give me company, the north wind hates crossing my rooftop,
But my recent status update about ending status updates,
Continues to be unliked by people as lonely as I am and yet, so unaware.

Rain, My Love

I saw her when the clouds shed tears
I met her in a drizzle,
And when we met each other, it was raining.

We walked in that rain,
Our words merged worlds,
And we began living in one word, one world.

We spoke a lot about nothing,
You laughed whenever I did,
But every time you did, I stepped into a puddle.

My feet got wet, no matter,
Coz we both were dripping wet,
In rain, in happiness, in love...

That year, the rain,
Was our love’s spring,
For it bloomed as it flowed...

Rivers smile at the rain,
She gives them life,
And I smile at you, for you’re my life...

Flowers dance in the rain,
She wakes them out of a slumber,
Like you woke me and showed me life.

Rain is a mother, she nurtures,
The world is a baby in her arms,
Like me in yours, my love.

My teary eyes remind me of farmers,
We are comrades in waiting,
To him, the rain of the cloud. To me, that of love.

And as you both enter, the frown disappears,
Clearing room for a beaming smile,
That fills the dry cracks, in his soil and my heart.

You are my rainmaker, for you make me fertile,
You are my rain, for quenching my thirst,
You are me, for you made me forget me.

With you there is life, for you are life,
For you I live and in me you live,
So come to me, embrace me and give me life, my love.