Poems

Here are some poems I wrote in college. :)

Bubbles

Children are like bubbles, floating free in the air
They are weightless, careless, beautiful.
Children understand God clearly;
The waters of understanding become murky for adults,
But children see God crystal clear.

Like a virgin mountain lake, untouched by the pollution of cities.
Jesus said, "Unless you come to me as a child
you have no place in the kingdom of heaven."

We need to become innocent, trusting, loving again.

With age our innocence gets chipped away
Like paint off an old, rusty car.
Our beauty fades as we get scared by the world.

Life becomes a boxing ring and we just take hit after hit.
As Hamlet said “who can bear the whips and scorns of time”

We loose our wonder and awe
We become cold and heartless

Do you still have your whole heart?
Are you still capable of real selfless, trusting love?

Where does our heart go? Where does our passion for life go?

Sometimes our innocence is dormant, like a flower under the snow in winter.
But the wonderful warm rays of summer help it blossom.
The snow melts away and we stretch our leaves to heaven,
Embrace our heavenly father who loves us beyond understanding.
We learn to trust again and love again.
We learn that the world isn’t so cruel, people can be trusted.
We remember what it was like to be a child, innocent and tender.

And we float away like a bubble on the wind,

weightless and careless

again.


Alaska

I saw God in Alaska.

In the snow top mountains and dense forests.

In the massive blue whales and ice bergs.

Alaska is charged with the grandeur of God.

His glory radiates from his untouched creation there.

His power can be seen in the majesty.

Words do not suffice for the breath taking beauty of Alaska.


Hawaii

Snorkling with rainbow colored fish.
Chasing a sea turtle around for miles.
Riding down the highway with the windows down, cruising.
Having fun with my cousins, flying kits and swimming.
Taking pictures of every sunset, every day. 
Enjoying living in a tropical paradise,
even if it was only for a few months. :)



Sublimity


At the darkest hour of night

Look to the horizon and you might

See that the sky and sea blend into one

Darkness of the sky matches where the sun

Has gone to lighten the other side of earth

Such a sublime sight may give birth

And inspire a feeling of solemnity

While the sea thus depicts God's divinity

As it seems to stretch on and on for eternity


Strain your eyes as strenuously as you can

You will not see the end or the span

Of how vast the sea is at night

The dark body of water that rolls out of sight.




Calcutta



Smell of garbage cans overflowing

Rancid sweat and incense glowing.

No rest from the sweltering heat

Stumbling along with heavy feet.

I could squeeze the air;

Ring out the water there.

Puddles in the muddy streets

Rickety carts come in fleets.

Cows meander across the roads.

Pedestrians burdened by heavy loads.

Natives clad in Punjabis dance

To the rain god as if in a trance

As the rain comes pouring down.




4th of July



Warm, windy night

Lighter flame wavered

With hands cupped tight
Baby flame savored


Firework fountains
elevated on a ladder high
Sparks fall in mountains

whizzing like a zipping dragonfly


Chinese Flowers spin and zoom
like miniature Tasmanian Devils
Their buzz and squeal loom
In the air; an epitaph of their revels.



The Grand Canyon


The Grand Canyon holds

A waterfall of incredible splendor.

Its waters cascade, forcing molds

In the rocky cliff.

While its tender spray caresses the swimmers below.


It gives birth to an oasis

A lush topical paradise.


Beyond the main pond where the waters collide

There is a smaller pond

With millions of tiny bubbles.

The next pond is bereft of disturbance, of troubles;

Remaining serene and tranquil.

A tropical paradise at the bottom

of the Grand Canyon.



Winter on a Pond


The air is still;

All is quiet.

No birds chirp,

Nor do squirrels scamper;

No cricket or locust siren to fill the noiseless sky.


A girl skates on a lake of ice;

The water frozen in ripples,

Its surface frozen in place.


The air is still.

The virgin hills

Glitter in a snowy cloak all around her.


Everything slows down in winter;

Becomes silent.

The girl can be alone with her thoughts here.

She finally finds peace. 



Building a Fort


Mountains of snow
Glitter glistening on trees.
Gathering branches, and arranging them tight
Making a fire on our knees.

Watching a fox scamper through the forest.
Whose bushy white tail waves
As he dashes through the trees.



A Couch and Chairs (based on a picture)


Drawn uniformly in a row

Their appearance is mechanical;

Straight cushions, creaseless coverings.

Chairs that are not inviting

Which no one has ever sat in.

Pencil shaded couch.

Blank white chairs.

The look of being empty and alone.

All is fragmented, disconnected, cold.




"Blessed are Those that Leave

Mother and Brother for my Sake"


She whimpers goodbye to her mother,

Both drowning in irrepressible tears.

"Don't forget to call," sobs the mother.

They clutch each other in a parting embrace.



The leaders speak of the destination

And talk of things like culture shock and foreign food.

"They'll think you're like the women

in the movies," the leader warns them.

The girls fidget nervously as they wait

For their flight to take off.



Finally they arrived in India

After stops in Korea and Thailand

As they exit the airport people stare,

With looks that say, "You don't belong here."

"Why are they looking at us that way,"

thinks the girl.



The team rides in the reckless car

Past the shabby and moldy buildings

To their stone slab that they

Will call their bed for the next week.


Alone


Dark sky, dead land, alone.

Cold, windy, barren, forsaken.

Colorless, lifeless, less than

She wanted.

No one is here.

The wind howls all around her

Lonely body forsaken

On an empty plain.


Youth


When we were young

The world was at our command

It snowed for us, it rained

For us, the lightning bugs

Lit up the forest for us.



Maturity came when we realized

It was not all for us.


Haiku Poems



The twinkling lightning bugs illumine the dark forest.



The seagulls' bellies reflect the pink sunset.



The child spied the baby lions at play.



A leaf falling from the sky twirls and swirls.



Snow fell silently and gracefully.