Sangeetha Kamath

Your eyes speak volumes and their songs are a divine serenade  The silences between us are a sweet echo of things unspoken and unsaid Upon the sun-warmed beach we had built sandcastles, courtyards, turrets and towers Snapshots are in frames as we picked seashells or in the sand, carved our names with flowers  Swathed in silks my hair had shimmered like diaphanous pixie wings under the autumn moon Your eyes radiant like a chatoyant jewels had glittered with hues of the ocean and water lilies in bloom Summer turned to fall and frigid winter There arrived one fine day, your much awaited letter: Saying, let me be your wishing star and a safe harbor Herein I will moor my ship dropping my anchor If my world was a palette of paint, you are the blue of my sky  The red of my hopes, the gold of my sunshine and green of my joy The stars dazzled and danced beside the moon You were coming to make me your bride very soon The sky had blushed with streaks of coral and peach color Rouge...

  The yacht, brand new, bobbed in the pale gray waters where it was moored. Freshly painted in chrome, the Contessa was going on her maiden journey today with a family of three. Alan Barlow had purchased this beauty for a few million and before holding a party aboard, wanted to take his wife Ana and seven year old daughter to the middle of the sea to show them dolphins and seals. Family getaway. Or was it his guilt for not giving them quality time in the race for raking in the moolah and to stay on top of the Forbes list? The press was all over the place and that was all that mattered to Alan. Publicity! Glamour, glitz, ambition, millions…billions! The Barlow family posed on the pier for photographs with the gleaming yacht in the background. Ana’s white, flowing summer dress billowed in the soft breeze and her chestnut hair shone with streaks of gold like a halo against the sun making a slow, shy appearance.  Rosamund had an excited look on her face and was restless to embark....

  In this dark storeroom, the staccato gives me anxiety. I realize it's the thudding of my heart! In this room where there are shapes in monochrome, the daylight could once bring brilliant fuchsia or deepest scarlet, but for now it could be a still from an old movie. The door doesn't budge. With darkness all around the silhouettes are menacing, closing in!  Four walls…ceiling…floor. How long have I been screaming? My throat... hurts...Water… I noticed how time is so much like water; that it can pass in slow motion, freeze, or zoom in the blink of an eye. The past few minutes had passed like a million frames per second. In this slow time-bubble my heart explodes in my chest, my skin is clammy as I lean against a wall.  Outside this room is rubble from the massive earthquake which hit us out of the blue. There is nothing here to even mark time. Would someone come and find me in fifteen minutes or two hours… or ten days? Or never? Will I get out alive?  The panic is m...

I can't believe it's already July. It's been a long wait…" The clock was ticking to the appointed hour. Midnight was such a fascinating time. With her hood pulled up and arms crossed, Vinca leaned against the broad trunk of a tree. The 'Buck Moon' shone more than brightly this night. So fascinating and powerful. It was twenty past the agreed time. With an impatient glance at her watch, she kicked at a loose pebble in frustration. She was about to walk away when she heard a crunch of leaves beneath brisk footsteps. "Vinca…I'm here…Sorry, I'm late." Vinca appeared from behind the tree and took lazy strides towards him.  "Oh there you are!" He walked towards her excitedly. He would make this night memorable for her! Midway through his thought, he felt a sharp jab and a warm stickiness on his neck. Slumping on the ground, his life ebbing away, he looked up to see Vinca's bloodied mouth, fangs bared! "At this very spot, I put an ...

In a garden full of flitting butterflies and flickering fireflies  Lying down on picnic mats and dreaming of the summers gone by, Gazing at airplanes flying in the sky so high! My songs are all about the sun, stars and the moon shining bright Rainy days saw me splashing in puddles Winter, in warm quilts and snug fleece bundles A home lit by fireplaces and cozy light of candles Running through sweet, wet grass on a summer day Ice cubes tinkled in tall jugs of fruit punch and lemonade Daisies and dandelions were my wreath and crown Tucking every wildflower in my hair and playing until sundown Every grove, meadow and stream Lent me tender memories and many sweet dreams  Take me home to yesterday, a childhood studded with rhinestones and daintily woven macrame  When I was happy sailing paper boats in my wonderland, spangled with dewdrops and rime. I have stumbled into this world, my eyes sparkling with a stardust sheen As my palms clutched at a pearly moonbeam, I patiently lo...

My daydreams pirouette like a ballerina on tiptoes Always holding the audience enthralled, in ecstasy with my pliés and all my moves I transform into an ice skater on the rink Swooping in rhythm on the glassine floor in a blink My eyes meet yours across the prom, stealthily Wishing that you would sweep me off my feet instantly Withered flowers of your name I preserve among the pages of my diary A decade old rose too, once scarlet, now crisp and a shade of muddy The tributes and letters unsent to you were poetic and lengthy I keep my secrets beneath my eyelids, coyly I tell my stories to the moon and the shooting stars To the butterflies and the breeze and all the flowers You and my unrealized chimera are like a candle flame making my heart sigh Incessant sparkle a pie in the sky! Some secrets are to be held close, not to flaunt It's stashed away in a hidden cache of a coded vault. ©️ Sangeetha Kamath

In an icy hamlet with a wintry fairy tale, lived a snow-bird who sang sweeter than a Nightingale.  She warbled at daybreak to a girl who always had a song on her lips and wore rainbow tiaras for hair clips.  "Weren't you the one, once so happy and bright? Did the dark side of the moon steal your sunlight?" "I'm May, Neptune's beloved child Who naively glided through a wonderland mild With a flawed cast-iron heart shield, merrily wild." Snow-bird cooed, "What did transpire, dear? Are you in some icky quagmire?" "My life's a cryptic screenplay I'm a dilapidated puzzle, jigsaw pieces all in disarray. 'Twas supposed to be my wedding day. He never did show up on time, When the bells at 8.30 did chime." To the snow-bird, it was easy to discern, That a chirpy girl had become forlorn. Someone had ruthlessly impaled May's chambray heart, with an arrow of iron. "With stardust in my eyes, clutching at moonbeams, 'twas my...

After the last guest had left the birthday party, Timothy, all of ten, dashed inside the house to unwrap all his gifts and presents. He squealed in delight as each package unraveled the objects of his heart’s desire. Just as he thought he was done with it, a slim rectangular box dropped onto the floor as a pile of scrap was being cleared.  It was shoddily wrapped in brown paper.  Gingerly, he picked it, turning it over but there was no name or gift tag. Upon unwrapping, the contents revealed a wristwatch with a tacky, plastic strap but the timepiece shone with a polished glow. A single sprig of an aromatic herb was tucked into the cloth it was swaddled in.  A handwritten note said, “From your well-wisher. Wear it.” Timothy's parents were quite wary of gifts from anonymous sources but Timothy was quite adamant about discarding it. As soon as he wore it, a random number flashed on the display and…started counting down! Aghast at this witchcraft, Timothy's parents swiftly ya...

A hush descended under pale blue iris skies  As I, a cobblestoned footpath threaded through rosemary and myrtle aisles Silhouettes of pewter clouds sailed over While I wended through glen, glade and lea of clover Down the moors sinking into the caverns and coves I wandered like a lost lambkin weaving my way into a sheltered grove I'm home and hearth to caravans and trailers The weary homeless, nomads and the downtrodden tent dwellers I drank the last limpid pools of honeyed sunbeam Whilst skirting the moon-bathed lakes and rocks laced with lichen Traveling with the pilgrims over crests of hills The ocean echoes are a melancholia spraying me with salty mists I stretch through the dim lamplit streets of hamlets and towns The bright city lights which upon me severely frowns A frigid and clammed up breeze rustles a cypress lined boulevard  Humming the glories of warm golden days abandoned miles behind The sky hanging low cleanses me with her downpour Under a starry night I sparkle...

The street was flanked on both sides by rows of houses and the lawns were decorated with scarecrows, jack-o'-lanterns and stacks of gourds.  Giggling children scurried past me in ghoulish costumes and scary masks.  I took confident strides towards a house on my left. In my Dracula getup, I was unrecognizable.  The family inside was holding a party and from the squeals, it seemed like some games were well underway.  The rooms were dimly lit. Tables were set for apple bobbing in the next room.  'She' was in a Halloween costume too but it was easy to spot her—a 'witch' playing host.   I tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to lead me to the washroom. Taking me to be one of her guests, we passed the apple bobbing table.  Her screams were muffled with other playful shrieks and gory noises amidst the Halloween effects as I dunked her head in the tub of water and held her there until her wild thrashing stopped.  Wasn't this exactly how she had b...

On the edge of a thicket were wild roses of the rarest blue Shining like a sapphire when drenched in crystal clear dew No beauty is without its flaws Blue rose had sprouted vicious, prickly thorns Birds and butterflies shunned it with all their might The village folk wanted it out of their sight! Cursed they said and left it alone It's beauty was evil and petals surely venom Turning skywards, Blue Rose whimpered Why did you create me so, to be isolated? The heavens smiled and showered it with rain You don't know your power yet, you're an elixir, not a bane Blue rose didn't know but it held a sacred secret It was no sorcerer but held the ambrosial nectar sweetest Turning indigo by night this was a magical bloom Exuding a prized aroma and holding a mythical perfume Only the brave and true of heart deserves you, Blue Rose You're my dear child and I hold you close Sometimes we are the Blue Rose, we must embrace our flaws We are divinely protected, our thorns maybe our b...

  In a quaint countryside fringed with trees willows and alder Stood a wishing well study prim and proper Filled halfway with crystal clear water At the bottom lay sparkling coins of silver and copper Peering over the rim she spotted her reflection Bright blue eyes and a dazzling smile put together The belle threw in a penny with a lot of hope and a tiny prayer  Rippling as it hit the bottom one too many all a-glitter Bouncing away on the path her heart did whisper Why didn't you ask riches for yourself, may I muster? Diamonds and rubies I've no use for neither sapphire  The world needs peace, joy and compassion and that is my desire The wishing well heard her song pure and merry If it could, it would have granted her fame and glory The well stood solemnly, stunned and amazed And hoped that one fine day God would grant us all this grace. ©️ Sangeetha Kamath  Pic Courtesy: Image mage by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay