Reflected glory

For ages
I have basked in reflected glories
Smiling under borrowed spotlights
Bowing to the absent audiences

Now the arc lights have moved
Towards other seekers of accolades
And here I am
Left with a darkness
So still
That has no sound
No soul
Spread miles across horizons

Why o why
I never bothered to attend
To the small flickering light
That has always been indside me
Small
But utterly my own
It's again beckoning to me
With all its might
Let me take care of you
O my tiny little light
Let me cup you with my hands
Let me give you more air
You may be little
But you can still illuminate my face
You can still guide me to myself

And that is enough for me for now
'Cause you are mine
My very very own
No more
Reflected glories.

Trinkets

Trinkets of memories
I pick them one by one
And put them back
In the same old box
And pick them up again

They become transparent in my hands
I can see through them
Into the long deep corridors of my past
Some unlit
Some well lit
And some dim lit
I can see nevertheless
The path I have travelled
All these years
Yes,I can very well see this
Through my trinkets of memories
They can still get my heart
Warm
Or cold
Soft
Or hard
Sweet
Or bitter
Such is the magic of
Such is the hold of
My trinket of memories.

कुछ न कहना

ज़िंदगी तेरे कानों में
हज़ारों बार
मैंने चुपके से
बहुत कुछ कहा है
मगर तू
किसी से न कहना
लफ़्ज़ों को पंख लगते देर नहीं लगती
आवारा पंछियों की तरह उड़ कर
कब कौन सी शाख़ों पर बैठ जाएँगे
कौन जाने
तू तो चुप ही रहना
किसी से
कुछ भी
कुछ भी न कहना