The linear extrapolation of a lateral phenomenon
Is what describes the concept of the Almighty
In the gospels written by humans
Through centuries, spanning near eternity

The books and the scriptures
May take you some distance
But are grossly insufficient
To render any understanding sufficient

Pilgrimages may serve a limited purpose
To advance you on this path
The only benefit perhaps
Is the exposure to travel in your search

For that which is completely experiential
Cannot be described by the mouth or the pen
For you have to train your heart
To feel it right in your den

And when you touch the periphery
You shall know for sure
For then your sense of materiality
Will cease to matter as before

A word of caution
In case you desire to venture even more
For after materiality comes the relationships
Which may begin to loosen at the core

Till all else disappears
And only your being remains
Nested in sublime glow
Cradled in nature’s benevolence

Subir Chakraborty / 4th May 2018

Missing you does not always constitute your absence
Often it is about your sweet, flowing presence
Encapsulated within the wispy contours delineating your shadow
Hovering around me in your charming essence

It is as if you are there
Yet, not quite here
It is as if I can touch, feel
Yet not really, nowhere near

I can hear your sweet nothings
Emanating out of somewhere
Can nothingness convey such depth
Or is it my mind which is elsewhere

Perhaps with you at this moment
Nested longingly with soothing anxiety
Waiting patiently for your feelings
To weave their magical tapestry

Subir Chakraborty / 27th Sept 2019

A lie may vary, change colours
From one day to another
From one season to another
From discomfort to transient comfort

But the truth. Ah! The truth
The only one that remains rock solid
Unchanged through the times
Unaltered from its original flavour

Travelling seamlessly through time
Nesting firmly in limitless space
Appearing when least expected
Sublime, unperturbed, undiluted

And yet we prefer to resort to lies
Of various shades and character
Inventing dozens, multitudes, each day
To keep up appearances, pretences

For every lie you utter
Your mind rationalises instantly
Only to later sow seeds of doubt
Egged on by your wavering heart

To cover one bitter truth
Really short and sweet
You require an ocean of lies
Long and so terribly winded

Yet, can truth exist in isolation
Without the veiled shroud of lies
For how do you define goodness
Without the existence of vice

Subir Chakraborty / 19th Aug 2019

My suffering leads to my renewal
Akin to discarding my physical presence
To enter a totally new domain
The arena of spiritual existence

But why should suffering be necessary
For the steps to lead to ascendance
For this transformation to take shape
For this mental transcendence

To burn the metaphorical self
I need suffering as the fuel
Much like Jesus on the Cross
Or Mother Teresa in self denial

The suffering that I invite
Is to burn off all my desires
And to incinerate all my egos
In a deathly ball of fire

Casting off all baggage
Creating a transmuted self
In a position to celebrate life
Without the burden of pelf

Subir Chakraborty / 5th Nov 2018

Time the best healer, goes the saying
And yet, does time really heal?
Making your pain gradually disappear
Putting you on an even keel

The grief within you only migrates
Merely changing its form factor
From a tearing anguish weighing on your heart
To minute droplets with dispersed character

Which nestle in a scattered fashion
On your lips, your eyelids, your skin
Across every organ of your body
Across all strands of your being

Waiting for that precise cue to reignite
When the tiny rivulets of misery
Can swim back to your heart once again
Unleashing tears of agony and slavery

Only to seemingly disappear again with time
Seemingly forgotten, seemingly forgiven
But only seemingly so, while playing hide and seek
To appear, disappear and appear again

If only we could let bygones be bygones
And accept the past without denial or pretence
While welcoming the future wholeheartedly
In absolute peace and with patience

If only we could treat the past
As events outside our present ambit
If only we could enjoy the present
On its own undiluted merit

Subir Chakraborty / 10th August 2019

Aloneness has a language
Exclusive, all of its own
Speaking to me softly
In wispy, hushed tones

Aeons removed
From the cacophony of daily life
From the stresses and strains
Of everyday strife

The dreams I design for myself
Are embedded in its architecture
And the ones which float in unannounced
Embellish its idyllic structure

The line which separates it
From the dark despair of loneliness
Must be guarded cautiously
To avoid depressive helplessness

The joy of creativity
Luminescent along its boundary
Encapsulates my being
Whenever in a quandary

Unhindered and unfettered
My thoughts continue to flow
Contemplating, meditating
On life’s highs and lows

A unique undefinable space
Where I occasionally love to reside
Where I can ignore all expectations
Of the world in wait outside

Subir Chakraborty / 24th June 2018

The sun poured itself into the sea
At dusk
In distress
And with relief

Offering to the vast expanse of kindness
All the suffering that it had endured
During the day’s travel
The hourly travails

For it must unburden itself before bidding adieu
To be able to rise at dawn once again
In pristine splendour
In raw freshness

And the sea
Repeatedly accepts this burden
Twisting and turning in agony
Throbbing through the ebbs and tides

For the sea knows
That for all the pain the sun inflicts
It also gives back with gratitude
In equal measure

Through the first rays of dawn
Riding the surface of the waves
Rejuvenating, exhilarating, life-giving
Injecting vigour and enthusiasm to each new day

Subir Chakraborty / 3rd Aug 2018

The lone candle flickers hesitatingly
Imbuing your face with uncertain hues
Giving it a touch of rare mystery
Sweeping me off my unsteady feet

Not for the first time
Not for the last time either
For each day brings forth
A very new, unknown you

Which makes me fall hopelessly in love
To explore the unexplored nuance
Which I did not know existed
Which I did not know, you possessed

The candle continues to flicker, longingly
Making my love drip, drop by drop
Ever so slowly, through your enchanting eyes
Into the depths of your soul

Subir Chakraborty / 21st Dec 2019

When the past comes calling
And you are totally unprepared
When the suddenness of the event
Leaves you at a loss for words

When the bitter sweet memories
Are shorn of their halo
When confronting the truth
Leaves you hollow

When illusions are divested
Of the illusory tones
When the bare facts challenge
Impressions set in stone

When you take a long moment
To pause and think
When you are precariously poised
Right on the brink

With courage and will
Make amends if you must
For later may get too late
To shake off the dust

Of past mistakes and misconceptions
Formed over a period, in perpetuity
Which have destroyed relationships
And your own sense of tranquility

Subir Chakraborty / 23rd July 2018

What I anticipate, dread
Becomes my reality
Swallows my existence
Consumes my being

My own mind conjuring tricks
Telling me stories
Creating what, if scenarios
Imparting credibility to surreality

In this plethora of phantasms
A new one builds up each minute
Augmenting my inventory
Of my make-believe world

Surrounded by a roomful of mirrors
Each one echoing my own thoughts
I find it difficult to choose
Impossible to discern

Which ones represent truth
Which ones are just figments
Which ones I can live with
Which ones I can discard

The tree bearing the flower of illusions
Lies unsteady
Being blown by the hurricane
Of my own fears and uncertainties

Subir Chakraborty / 14th Aug 2018