Naina Agarwal

Haiku #1 A part of me builds, And a part of me destroys; This is my nature. Haiku #2 The shore never wanders but remains fixed. Wanting. Waiting. Be someone's shore. Haiku #3 Everybody looked at her, except for the dog that had different parameters of beauty. Haiku #4 Sun extinguishes. Sky splits. Moon eats itself when you lay eyes on me Haiku #5 The real me. Raw me. Unafraid, unmasked, vulnerable me Exists in pages I've lost. Haiku #6 You and I, darling Are the two shores of a river, Destined to hold bridges. Haiku #7 The thing that remains is to find you in reality; I meet you in dreams. ***

Jo had a cat The cat was named Lil It purred all day And died inside the bin. He sobbed all day When his cat was killed Jo ate no food His eyes tear-filled. When asked for the reason How his cat was killed? Jo turned solemn Eyes still tear-filled. He thought for a while What the reason could be? The cat purred all day Could that the reason be? But that's what cats do! They purr all day And so to solve the mystery He employed Mr. Kay. Mr. Kay took Lil And put it in his lab He examined its body Rested on the slab. He came up with a theory; A theory that Jo's Lil Might have eaten a rat That had consumed a Pill. Jo was satisfied; He was kinda impressed. Mr. Kay proudly smiled, And gifted him another cat. ***

मृदु भावों से लिहसि पुती, अक्षर रस अंकित संवाद, अवसाद, अभिव्यंजना से लैस, एक तरफ रखी सिमटी कोने में, स्मृति-भर पर सार्थक मनोभाव है; तुम्हारी एक किताब मेरे पास है । ***

I read an article and scrolled further up, overlooking, denying its importance. Till it came back again and again, dressed in various costumes every time - dancing, mocking, ridiculing me; sneering at my privilege. It once spat on the ground when I insisted on tradition and casually chuckled at an enemy piece. Clearly I couldn't overlook anymore -  it had made allies in time. So I began by observing in silence studying, understanding - she/her ,  they/them ,  he/him "You cannot ignore me anymore -  I do not need your support I will rise in time I am rising now - To paint rainbows in the sky and on the ground." ***

I’ll meet you where it rains acid on the impotent fields across the exhausted canal. Where the walls are parched with debris, And air dusted with coal tar; Skyscrapers surrounded by diarrhoea. Where the sprung laden fountains in the increasing grotesque growing weed sprite Chlamydomonas and Cocci. We’ll tear, hitting, banging the china dish; Petrified mannequins; Plundered domes and scratched epitaphs- Naked body, armours of unicorns in the rosy markets, Cheeks sunken dry in the midnight solar lamps; Making love in front of an impaired bathroom lizard serenading in a cheap lodging. Banging coffee mugs. Lust. Pity. Self-hatred. Pity. Lust. Banging books. My fingers sore by talking to various men. And women. Staring at keyholes and guilty walls; Peeping through windowpane; towards a distant asterism. And speaking to self, alone in 13F, Community flats, Dystopia. ***

I don't like to think about you, when I am not alone. I have reserved you for my solitude. I don't like that I like to think about you. You are the darkness in my life - I need you to see the twinkle of stars, Lustre of diamond, Orange ember of coal, Golden glow of fire, Glitter of the sea, Citylights, streetlights, Fireflies and fireworks. But I need you at night: bare feet; Not when I am wearing my heels. ***