FIRST TIME

I first saw a picture of castle in fairy tales
Where witches lock princesses
And handsome princes rescue them
To take them to beautiful lands

I first time saw real castle in tourist places
And in visits to Disney land
Never ever built a real castle
Or stayed in one

I first time built sand castles on beaches
But the waves washed them away
I tried building castles in the air
But they got blown away

I first time wish not a castle for myself
Because I am an ordinary mortal
But I genuinely wish a roof
For every homeless child in today’s world

A flight of fantasy

A post written for Short Story Slam


She smiled. Her hand and the hot air balloon on the paper both were full of colours. Her roomies in the boarding hostel were absent-mindedly reading from their books. She pondered for a moment. She wanted to fly in the hot air balloon she drew.
She added her own picture in it and titled ‘The flight’. She wished to fly away somewhere and create a new land. The new land would be a place where she and her friends would rule.

All teenagers like her would be decision makers. All matrons would be woken up early and made to jog at least 10 rounds in the shivering cold. They would be forced to drink milk and eat veggies at every meal. No teacher would be allowed visit to tuck shop to buy colas, chips and ice creams. All teachers would be denied access to iPods, laptops and mobiles. The teens would check each teacher’s cupboard to ensure that it is clean. Timely inspections would be done so that teachers don’t paint their nails or style their hair. The teachers would have unlimited study hours.

She and her friends would have a different set of rules for themselves. Well, they were the rulers of the new land. They would sleep as long as they wished in their cozy beds. Their colourful world would have no books. They would only have the latest gizmos with them. They would listen to songs, download movies and eat chips, drink fizzy drinks and chat online for hours. There would be no vegetables cooked for them. Cheese pizzas, burgers, chocolates and French fries would be the food served. Their beds and rooms would be tidied by their teachers, who would be assessed. All these young girls would style their hair as they wished, do nail art and wear low cut jeans. All teens would visit shopping malls whenever they wished and have fun.
Her smile grew deeper as she imagined. She stuck that hot air balloon on her wall and shared her fantasies with her roomies. One of her roomies drew faces of few adults staring at the hot air balloon. She said the faces were of the teachers requesting these girls to give them a ride on their hot air balloon. These girls imagined flying in the balloon, leaving the pleading teachers behind and had the last laugh.

COLOUR OF LOVE

How does it matter what colour I am
Hope you unlock your inner logjam
Please don’t turn me down
My heart will have a breakdown
My chocolate brown skin
Your lily white chin
Red is the colour oozed
When either gets bruised
My brown or your white
Nothing is finite
Both suffer similar wrinkling
With each passing spring
Even the multi-hued rainbow
Would take a bow
Because my love knows only one colour
And that is to care for you forever.

THE RAIN

The drizzle tempted me
I stepped out in the balcony
To be greeted by the cool night air
The tingling drops tickled my senses
What a delight to be under nature’s spell
Glued to my rocking chair
I watched the remaining night show

The dark clouds resting
The overworked moon and stars
The splashing rain creating
A symphony in the still night
The downpour descending the sloping roofs
Whispering drops sliding from tiny leaves
Ovals glistening in the lamp’s reflection
Each scene a marvel in itself

The soaked earth and showered leaves
Beckoning me to get drenched
The chill on my arms snuggling me closer
To my loved one for comfort and body heat
Hours passed but my eyelids refused to droop
Lest I miss the charm of the bursting clouds
A memorable night of my life.