SUNAYNA PAL

SUNAYNA PAL 

APRAADH

(After effects of guilt)

I move the trash can, and find you.

My immediate response is to smash you.

And just like that - you are gone.

But wait, what have I done?

Am I a murderer now?

I just killed a spider.

Don't I believe in non-violence?

I look at your fragile body,

and guilt seeps in,

through the finger that touched you.

Why didn’t I use a newspaper?

I feel remorse, seeing your tiny legs

Just like you, I am unable to move

but I must.

I take the same finger to touch you.

Afraid, I pull it back again.

Will you be full of venom?

I take a paper towel,

and carefully lift your body

and gently, toss you,

in the same trash can

where I found you.

I try not to think about you

or anything.

It doesn't work!

I open the lid, and pick the tissue.

Gingerly, again,

I take your body to the yard,

and dig a small hole.

I pay my respects,

and bury you in the soil,

along with my guilt.

THE REPETITIVE THIEF

Suddenly and unannounced

you crawl into my thoughts

remind me of my mistake

and drown me in shame.

So often, you cheat me

away from joy - that's mine.

You rob me of my peace,

as I recall my regret.

Remorseful and angry

you leave me feeling helpless.

I battle with each moment,

turning bitter slowly.

The what ifs don't leave me

and the why haunts me daily.

"Learn from mistakes" they say

Each day, I can only try.

DREAMS

My gift of a long slumber

or expression of thoughts under.

A safe haven of desires,

possibilities and sometimes aspires.

Random time-pass of the day

by the old and the young clay.

Harvester of many imaginations.

Opposite of real situations.

Abstract and vivid.

Mild or livid.

Glimpses of Utopia,

showing our Myopia

An outlet to my fantastic musing

or past that doesn't want loosing.

Open to discussion and interpretations.

Shows guidance by omens of directions.

Completely vague and unrecordable

But also entirely uncontrollable.

With sleep it blends,

Starts as abruptly as it ends.

ON THIS JOURNEY OF LIFE

While walking on this journey of life,

Hope helps you overlook the defects of the road.

Climbing uphill, may extract all energy

from you but it doesn't mean that the road

will always be alike. It may go downhill

and you’l run, helping you reach your destination sooner.

If the scenery isn't to your liking,

keep hope and keep walking.

A small turn can change it, and soon,

you will be searching for your phone and clicking pictures.

When times are tough and you feel like stopping, don't.

You won’t get to experience the richness

if you stop at the obstacle.

A funny thing about obstacles – They are

always smaller than the imaginations we create in our mind.

SUNAYNA PAL 

SUNAYNA PAL:  Born and raised in Mumbai, India, she  moved to the US after her marriage. A double postgraduate from XLRI and Annamalai University, she worked in the corporate world for five odd years before opting out to embark on her heart's pursuits - decided to raise funds for NGOs by selling quilled art and became a certified handwriting analyst. Now, a new mother, she devotes all her free time to writing and Heartfulness. Her name has recently appeared in "The Hindu," "Subterranean Blue Poetry," "Poetry nation", "Poetry Super highway" along with dozens of her articles and poems have been published and she is a proud contributor of many international anthologies. She is part of an anthology that is about to break the Guinness world of records. Know more on sunaynapal.com