Expressions writings

Thoughts on observing people at Kumbh Mela - 29 Jan 2025 (Hindi) by Shreefal Mehta       

  Anticipation Moment by Shreefal Mehta    31 Dec 2024 To listen, click here: https://youtube.com/shorts/jeOLFxDFUbc? Can you anticipate without anxiety? Like birds, on winds gentle, ride,  wings stretched out, let thoughts glide. Are you eager without expectation? Circling in thermals they slowly rise, let the fragrance of ideas mesmerize  Are you excited without hastiness?    Hovering, hovering, now swooping, enjoy the scene just now forming. Eager, awaiting, excited, taste the moment.  In the eye of the storm, I’m vividly awake;  let thoughts circle;  ‘tis the ring I take.  Only the moment lives with fullness complete. Years months weeks count in days Many hours or minutes, all is just a haze Happy new year as fireworks flash and bells atoll. In each moment is the seed of eons, new and old At the stroke of midnight, the year past and new, lo behold! Hurtling through black space an inch at a moment… As I look down at the earth bel...

 On our 30th anniversary  In the middle of the cosmic dance, Two prancing waves resolved. Swept away in just a single glance Two hearts into one dissolved. Creating gardens of joy and play Forging dreams in fire and clay Gardeners, artists, cooks and carpenters My hands are yours, move hills, grow trees. Programmers, dancers, thinkers and designers Your eyes are mine, dissolve doubts in peace Creating gardens of joy and play Forging dreams in fire and clay Merged in the river that pulls planets together Sharing to grow with much love to share … (and then some more)  The wonder of our dream that there is no other We are universal as one the ardhanarishwar Love  And then some more 

  The air we breathe the fragrance you bring   By Shreefal Mehta   11 April 2020 What perfume that wafted, what fresh meaning that drafted What generosity of spirit, what talk of clear merit What new excitement to re-learn, what old conditioning we un-learn Why this choice of partner unknowing, just following deeper emotions flowing What perfume that wafted, breathes mingled, selves lofted  Why we trust each other so much, like clouds in air when gently they touch  Why completely, longingly we love so much, unknown the connection deep our lives touch; What fresh eyes that you lent me,  in what fresh joy you enveloped me  What perfume was it that wafted what beautiful thoughts to me it drafted Daily we’re renewing the blessed outlook, projecting beautiful worlds from our little nook  Daily we awake from whence we were blind, to the beauty that abounds from the bouquet of your mind. What is life doing now? giving me a glance; with a slight...

  (c) Shreefal Mehta.    6 Feb 2021 To hear it read aloud click here : https://youtu.be/0nh959EZAb0 Twist my nose, make a squinty smile Furrowed brows, fake a silent shout,  In play shock, eyes widened a while.  Lips in, brows up, tongue out. The bathroom door closed, alone I play the fool The mirror plays along, now laughing now cool Staring at those eyes looking back at me - come nearer Something shifts - I see, now, not me, stranger from the mirror.  Who’s this strange face, should I feel terror?  Am I in the mirror or in between?  I wonder. The face with no name, where did I step out? Gestalt into the other view- where am I? I doubt. Saying a word over and over andover andover andover Under pure sound a world of meanings collapses over! And with that shift, the world has no name The mirror extends all around - has no frame. Disembodied, disengaged Unlocked from inputs, switched around in the mirror Meanings disconnected. Same but differen...

  @ Shreefal Mehta, 4am, 4th Nov 2020 To hear this said aloud, go to:  https://youtu.be/K0RlhmNu5eI Woke up at four AM 4th November twenty twenty Surprisingly, unchanged from the PM No answers but results a plenty  The USA is trying to prove  How a two headed animal can move Can visions seemingly far apart Mesh like gears and move the cart?  Trying to see – how, now Do we fulfil the vow ? Our constitutional’s preamble Do we see through the bramble? Thinking some more, the coin drops in the slot. Heads and tails we are in the same melting pot. We must live as one heart if not one head The right side pumps blue blood and the left, red.  When we look at the blue gem of our spinning globe  Seen from space flight, we know we’ll be all right While half is always in a dark robe The other half is always in the light.

The rain drops a human       @ Shreefal Mehta. 11 Jul 2020     To hear it read out loud:  https://youtu.be/w2q9KIO5ckU The dry baked earth gulps in vain No soothing touch for this deep pain The raised voice, dismissive look and wave of hand Still the needy tap on the glass pane of wonderland.   The soft sinking couch of secure comfort Embracing, it fills the bubble with my high worth. Discomforting is the wanting gaze. How can a touch so fragile Crack the egg? Do we fear it will let in the whole camel ?   Dehumanized, “poverty its ways should mend!” But of comfort and novelty there could be no end... In this icy calm cocoon, lies a pulsing red ember Quietly raises the question that can tear asunder.   Neglected and ignored, parched for a touch or a sign A marker, a hope, an answer, for this question mine: Where is the humanity in this self-enclosing bubble? Where is the uplifting of spirit from amidst the rubble?   Arms outstretched...

The beauty of attraction     © Shreefal Mehta  5 July 2020   To hear this read aloud:  https://youtu.be/81-bcM42vH0 The continuum that we call our life’s existence Is woven from moments of insight and experience My memories of our past reactions Is make believe for today’s actions A like here A dislike there Form a self Shape a person   Whence these fleeting joys? From where arise these tears?   An atom here A particle there Form a shape Make a substance What this magical cohesion? Why this random collision?   The meanings we draw, memories give A sense of self, with which we live.   Present ourselves, we bend all space Why do others bend more Why do some turn their face When love’s waves pulls the sand under their toes   Which memories we choose What thoughts follow we Into a world view we fuze Each sticky memory in the me   The beauty you see, Is not in the memory But what powers that selection Is the beauty in the attraction...

Not every poem must be finished     © Shreefal Mehta   3 July 2020   Hear it read out loud:  https://youtu.be/jwbEDNOh14U Not every poem that starts must be finished Not every dream must be dissected and diminished Some thoughts just offer a rare glimpse into the beauty of light Some birds soar high, not for food, just for freedom of flight.   Not every rule is meant to be followed or broken And not every thought must be followed or spoken The fading soft light of a dream often awakens a song, Your looks in the morn give life more meaning than poems long.   Not every poem that starts must be finished, Next dawn’s hidden in sunset’s curtains undiminished. The tiny seed hides a tree in full sight of those who would see The tiny atom holds more energy than all the waves in the sea   Behind the curled fist, unspoken, unseen muscles flex, Not every life that blinks is forgotten, as the poet reflects.

LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN   © Shreefal Mehta    28 April 2020 You need to hear this one read aloud:  https://youtu.be/pYLQJi4lQqg   :-)     I don’t want your assistance, just keep your social distance Hear me out I just want to vent, avoiding careless bumps I feel so spent! I do my bit! keeping my social distancing, Why the hell are you out dancing and prancing? My good health I would like to keep, free the hospitals for others to seek. I’m running running running from the sneeze, I’m falling but don’t touch me please. I see him coming quicken my pace, move out of that ill-conceived embrace Overwhelmed facing a crowd of three, trapped in the store aisle just getting my tea. I hear the virus knocking at my door, is it the pizza boy or the grocery store? Hold on now, should I cancel the uber? Walking in the crowds! I’d feel safer in the sewer. How do I meet and greet, my friends and aunt so sweet. Gnawing anxiety on this expo...

HIBERNATION TRANSFORMATION © Shreefal Mehta  22 April  2020 To hear it read aloud :  https://youtu.be/rIpaIvhYrYc   While spring now germinates, all of humanity now hibernates Day after day twigs and strings, Loving beaks wind into rings, With full belly in her simple nest, eagerly ready going into house arrest Pregnant is humanity with this pause, seemingly wrapped up in TP gauze.;-) We too will emerge in the fullness of summer, not hustle and bustle, with a slow murmur. Never before motionless as one body, Letting earth rest from making it so shoddy! Slowly its turning we feel the earth breathing, robed in grand silence, our absence the cleaning. In the silence as we sit at home and rest, learning and growing would really be best. While around you spring now germinates, you stay home but your mind integrates. Cold ground all is brown quiet under white frost; Underground busy roots, green shoots, no time lost; Humanity seems to ta...

HOW LONG UNTIL TOMORROW ? © Shreefal Mehta 14 April 2020 To hear this read out :  https://youtu.be/jSgTOkvYYWI The green mango dangles luring me from my room The season’s turning here, tell me how’s it in dehradun? The first green shoot breaks through the earth, Spring is ready, I just want to give birth. Mothball away the cold brown earth; I long dream of warmth and mirth I see you all here but today I’m blind; Longing for the morrow is what’s on my mind. A nation in hibernation, a virus on the wing; Waiting I sit for the yellow flower of spring Pregnant moments attack, my plane is on the tarmac Passengers riled up to the gills! Head for the exit, never mind the bills. I learn to forget the recent past; how long can a moment last? I see the path is long and winding, yet tomorrow’s spells are ever blinding. The need of the hour is but to wait on my flower The hour of reckoning is today; even though my wait is until May I am in this day and night...

THE LONG WAY HOME © Shreefal Mehta 11 April 2020 To hear this read out:   https://youtu.be/Mbfl1oZfFmY A dusty road takes my steps along; To none left behind do I belong One among many vanishing feet;  no place I can find to earn my keep Cannot get paid for fear of the germ; drinking wine while they know we run Cut from its thread like a kite; we’re still hurting from the bite Sinking and swinging; floating but no mingling Thousands yet alone; each step is going home We walk forward to leave; No more bricks for us to heave We built the gates they closed on us; What if we don’t return don’t catch that bus? I have no food no water;  I carry two clothes my daughter. I go to heed the call of my land; I have no fear I have given my hand. There is no way no bus no train; I need no seat no more the crane; The land of gold I came broke stone but see their apathy I must go home The warnings I ignore, the troubles we all bore To walk thos...

THIS PARTICLE BRINGS MOMENTS CATHARTICAL By Shreefal Mehta    4 Apr 2020 To hear this read out:  https://youtu.be/-0MALwyRawA An unseen particle has brought alive the Neanderthal When this particle arouses your fear, the best action is to stay put with near and dear For some the solution is bravado and they must challenge the status quo Their arrogance or ignorance raises public anxiety, but for the love of all, stay home with great piety. Staying away is now my affection standing too close can bring affliction Taking this chance for self reflections, a moment for thinking about the best actions They say that this tiny unseen particle, brings for humanity a chance cathartical. One leader’s voice can become our choice The PM of a billion point four, with voice clear spells hope and more You are not alone he says with a roar, the symbol of light will make our spirits soar. Whether you own no cars or four, you have to stay behind that doo...

GIVE DIRECTION TO MY DISTRACTION By Shreefal Mehta. 1 Apr 2020 To hear this read out:  https://youtu.be/vCIoPjryMjU This lock down not shut down I slow down Home stay videos play   Minutes hours slip away A new day but old way habits just stay This work I must - this distraction I trust With the rules we make, a world view we bake With thoughts to myself I give my life; make a change cleave mind’s knife I give a glance get a wink;  life’s changed in a blink The world’s another distraction-  it’s just made from my reaction We dive into old dejections drive ourselves to new elations It’s a bore this here distraction, time to make a new transaction? Which way you glance, whose hand you shake The world you see, your reality you make. In cloudless sky watch hawks as they soar In layered cities above the buildings ten score Effortlessly they go with the flow. So smoothly directing their own show! Their shrill calls pierce open h...

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER NOW ITS 2020 DECEMBER ? By Shreefal Mehta.     29 Mar 2020 To hear this read out:  https://youtu.be/dr4mosoVhPY What do you remember             Now its 2020 December In your elbow the sneeze             Or at home the squeeze The employers who dropped             Or the workers who walked The ex-President whose cluelessness we bore             Or the PM of a billion point four What do you remember             Now its 2020 December The fear that made you lock and load             Or was it joy that made you stock and hoard? The time you had to rejuvenate     ...

PERSONAL FREEDOMS By Shreefal Mehta   27 Mar 2020 To hear this read out:  https://youtu.be/H0SVfRzl5zI Free-dom is mine I am free under this skydome Personal freedoms we all hold dear but with me your freedom ends here Step back don’t come near Free to be - whatever on tv I see? Free to act out - challenges on tik tok ? Freedom to choose whatever is my muse I can go far and near as long as your space I keep clear Your freedom to light up a smoke - ends when it makes me choke What freedom is it to hold and compare? Freedom is to not grab but share Can we meet on the same line ?  Your freedom is yours and mine mine Listen to your heart - we are not apart, If your free choice is also my voice. Your coin is tails and mine is heads Your light is my shadow and my light your shadow. Free will is choice to make with one voice Not a shout not a whisper, but a song like that from a vesper Our freedoms are of no use if others rights th...

BOUNDARYLESS by Shreefal Mehta.    26 Mar 2020.   To hear this read out:  https://youtu.be/emqwQoW6M9k Boundaries boundaries Borders borders you’re not us let’s put you on the bus close the door wipe the floor run! a sneeze! give space please behind borders behind closed doors breathe! safe air!  is it in my hair?  6 x 6   4 x 6 one room for six Find my boundary need my space in open air I breathe at my pace boundaries boundaries borders borders need to stay in    need you to stay out safe distancing but my food can’t do without I can close my mind but I am really in a bind close the borders! we place orders our society in stasis our spaces in crisis The world reaches out - social media can’t do without  prize our boundaries highlight our geographies Keep the playing order Close our border! Yet when I see you suffer – god damn the order I want to reach y’all but I buil...

THEY WERE A BILLLION POINT FOUR By Shreefal Mehta.    25 Mar 2020 To hear this read out:  https://youtu.be/To0LPaYu3IE They were a billion point four Or so, who’s keeping score? Seven hundred million arguments or more Travelling on the same path;  but right not left, left not right. Still carrying the same past, creed and caste, black and white Me before You, Us before them Look up Look down, Lock down Lockdown! Billion point four no more going out All together breathe in breathe out Look up look down look all around Who are you? My family and my brood My help, my ‘hood and yes my mood. All together now breathe in breathe out Billion point four in my neighborhood!! Air is clear – peace is dear Can’t go out. Time to go in…. Watch the food!! Spark a good mood.. Games within games. Don’t call them no names… Healthy body and healthy mind… Oh, go ahead, I don’t mind… All is clear, life is dear. Mind is a bird, have n...