A Day in the Park

It's a beautiful day
Blue sky, green grass
I have a lot to do today
But alas!

The wind has begun to blow
Reminding me of another land
I do not hear the sound of that crow
For this is not my sand.

Skaters and cyclists are all I see
Children and their mothers are all I can hear
I wonder where is that tree
Oh! I wish it were near.

So much to see
Yet I crave to go back
To listen to the buzz of that bee
To see that night, that colour so black.

Hours becoming days
Days becoming weeks
The pendulum, slowly it sways
I can almost hear the emptiness speak.

The noise is not the same
Nor is the silence
But they are not to blame
For it is my own inner turbulence.

Now as I am about to leave this park
Flashes of that neighbourhood come, yet again
Where is that dove, that dog's bark?
Where is that sun, that crowded lane?

                                                                                                            - Disha Wahi

The Plague

All of us have listened to stories of all kinds during childhood. Some of them managed to inculcate moral values in us and left a huge impact on us. Through this poem, I have tried to rejuvenate those days of storytelling. It talks about a king who, due to his arrogance and malevolence, lost the only thing dear to him.

It was an era of kings and queens

A time of coins in bronze, gold and silver

When the globe was just blue, brown and green

With spotted deer on the banks of every river.

I narrate the story of a king and his kingdom

The king being a miser as well as a dictator

With less prudence and lesser wisdom

He was a ruthless ruler.

The land was often barren

And the peasants were often starving

But the royal treasure was always laden

With pearls, jewels, necklaces and rings.

Seasons came and seasons went

But there was not even a hint

Of that wet, earthy, promising scent

That would give the dry patches a healthy tint.

The poorest of the poor apprehended-

" The Rain God is angry with us."

The average peasant retorted-

" It is just a temporary phase; Don't make a fuss!"

The rich zamindar affirmed-

" No worries, I have an everlasting stock."

And the brave soldier declared-

" Food or no food, I am as tough as a rock!"

The talks reached the king's ears

And as expected, he said-

" Let them starve! Who cares?

They are as good as dead!"

One fine day, little Ravi went running 

With tears in his eyes, to the old physician

"My brother is very ill, he is whining.

Please come and see what can be done."

The physician examined the two year old

With experience and the instruments he had got

"Holy God! Lo and behold!

This boy here is plagued!" and left his body to rot.

One went down, others followed suit

The kingdom became the Land of the Dead

The plague became an epidemic, constantly spreading its roots

Devouring all in the family, from the child to the head.

But the king was unmoved by the catastrophic event

Became deaf to the loud wails of the folk

On his ego, he was hellbent

While the land and its people were broke.

Then a day came, when in his own palace

A shriek went thundering through the walls

For now it was his own daughter in the maze

Trapped by the Devil itself, above all.

Oh! What a pitiful sight it was!

And Oh! How the king shed tears!

And Oh! How he broke all his laws!

And Oh! How he cried- "Don't leave me, my dear!"

But the disease would not leave her

Even after the king offered his own soul

And the entire realm watched in despair

Its own downfall, with the plague taking toll.

She died, leaving behind a remorseful man

But her end taught him a lesson

That The Plague never belonged to another Clan

It was within him all the time, lurking there in the form of a Demon.

                                                

                                                                                                  - Disha Wahi

Declared a Girl

Note for the readers: This post does not refer to a particular girl's life. It is a common observation made by the author, keeping in mind the kind of circumstances that some girls still have to endure, whether in a large city, in a sub- urban area or a village. Also, the emphasis of this post is on the small things or instances that make difference to a girl , rather than the larger aspect of it.

So here it goes......


I write a story here and now,
A story of a girl, like you and me,
I happen to know it by heart, don't know how,
But I guess it was meant to be.

The day she was born, born a girl,
Some were happy, most were not,
Some were indifferent, some were in a whirl,
"What about all those gifts we bought?"

"You are not supposed to go there. It is dangerous."
"You can't be sitting idle when there is so much work in the kitchen."
"Why don't you smile? Is it too tedious?"
Were words she was being subjected to since, God knows when!

"Leave it! Your physical strength does not permit you."
or
"It is out of your brain's scope to solve it."
Were the words, that to her, started sounding true,
And one fine day, she said to herself, "I Admit."

She ignored what was best for her,
Not caring to grab what all girls her age had,
At times trying to calm a lonely tear,
Trying to forget the disparity between good and bad.

Nevertheless, she sustained, she grew,
Like a lotus in a messy bog,
With people's foul sayings clinging to her like a flu,
She survived the constantly hovering fog.


Where did she go.......

I suppose she still manages to live in some corner of the world,
Where she eagerly awaits the 'Flag of Choice' to unfurl,
But one question remains unanswered-
In a race, when people are declared winners or losers, Why was She Declared a Girl?


                                                                                                            - Disha Wahi.