My love, I promise you my ink,
My heart bleeds of words I think,
Of impossible love and pain,
My tears flow incessantly as rain,
Eroded a painting of sea and sand,
Dreams of escape to a green island;
My love, I promise you my ink,
As long as my breath doesn’t sink,
Blood flows in my veins,
A song in my memory remains.
Anita Bacha
Photo credit @anitabacha
How to tell you,
What is softer than the skin of a baby,
Softer than the feel of snow,
Softer than the petals of a rose,
How to tell you,
Nothing is softer than your hand,
Lying under my cheek,
When I sleep;
How to tell you,
What is a hand without warmth,
Or warmth without a hand,
Or a 🌹without petals,
Or petals without a 🌹,
Or me without you,or you without me.
Anita Bacha
Photo credit: Anita Bacha.
This is the third poem entitled ‘How to tell you’ that I have penned down. I thought my readers would be confused to read (3) in the title. Enjoy! The picture was shot by me at the wedding of my friend, the groom,in Rajasthan. His hand decorated with henna in the picture. I am using the picture to illustrate my poem. There is no connection between the poem and the picture.
My Birth Mother and My Adoptive Mother.
Her shiny brown eyes like ripe tamarind pulp,
Her olive color skin, her long flowing black hair,
Her cute oval face and sweet, crying voice,
Her fragrance, vetiver interlaced with wild musk,
Tore my heart apart as I let go of her linen camisole;
She is my mother!
Locked in her arms, I snuggle, forgetful of the world,
Throwing my legs and arms in gleeful abandon,
I yawn,
Languidly I open my eyes,
Her loving, sky blue gaze,
Her porcelain white skin glowing in the sun light,
Her golden curls dancing around her pretty face,
Her perfume, carnation interlaced with red rose,
Fill my heart as I bury my head in her silken stole,
She is my mother!
Mother is the one who renounced me,
Mother is the one who found me,
Mother Is
Mother always will be
Anita Bacha
I am sharing this poem that I wrote a decade ago when I was Head of the Central Authority for Inter-country Adoption , set up by The Hague Conference , in Mauritius. Strange are the ways of God, I found.Not every bud becomes a flower; not every daughter becomes a mother.Anita Bacha.
Illustrative photography: Anita Bacha.
You walk in my life unaware,
Inviting my pen to play melodies,
Of indescribable beauty on strings,
My fingers throbbing with love;
Don’t walk away unaware,
Breaking the rhythm of my heart beats,
Striking your name on strings,
My fingers blemished in ink;
You are the dancing script,
The humming pen, the amorous words,
You are around me, within me,
You are the poem you whispered in my ear.
Anita Bacha.
God only knows,
I saw your smile in the crescent of the moon,
I saw your tears sashaying the window screen,
Or was it raining on a full moon night,
God only knows,
I am madly in love with the idea of you,
The scent of henna on my beloved’s hand,
Breathes the perfume of rose in the desert sand,
God only knows,
How far the traveler has run around the globe,
I saw your footprints in a puddle of water,
I saw your fingers running in my tangled hair,
Or was it the rustling of the mimosa leaves
God only knows.
Anita Bacha
Photo credit: Anita Bacha
Take me with you,
To a land where white flowers
Bloom in the night,
Where moths freely die in the light,
As I bloom and I die in your favors;
Take me with you,
Keep me close to you,
As the scent of white flowers
Invigorate the breath of lovers,
And I write with the ink of your eyes,
These petals of poetry,
Chaste as white flowers in the night.
Anita Bacha.
Photo credit:Raj Swami.
Goodbyes are for those who love with their eyes; for those who love with their heart and soul, their is no such thing as separation. RUMI.
