I can't write a poem.

I can’t write a poem tonight,

I went outside and took some pictures,

And my right shoulder is aching.

I can’t write a poem tonight,

My brain is too full: I’d rather

Write something really really (really) long,

So that people know what I’m thinking about—

Not that that’s interesting; who I’m thinking about

Would be more enticing to read

And to know, quite frankly.

I can’t write a poem tonight

Because pouring myself out would be so much easier

Than freezing myself into short lines

(They read like stubble, not a long, flowing beard.)

You should know that you’re the one

Who made me want to capture in prose again

You’re almost like a plucked marigold flower—

It hurts a lot, but you still love helping people;

And sometimes it hurts me that you’re hurting.

I can’t write a poem tonight,

I’m thinking about you:

Not that I mind.

~Vruta Gupte.

Blackdust.

BLACKDUST.

Darkness,

Black.

Unyielding.

Look around,

What do you see?

No floodlights

To save you this time

As you put your hand

Out over the edge of

The cliff; no candles

To burn the letters from me

You wish to hide.

No mist to

Lose yourself in,

Vanish, with a

Flourish of your cape, from

Time.

There is nothing

You can lean on,

Nothing to

Set you free;

No clouds to scream at,

No storms but 

The one within yourself, are you

Sure you will not listen

To me?  I will tell you tales

Of a land not far away from

Here, that you will go to one day—so

Keep walking, even if there are

No floodlights

To save you this time

No candles 

To burn my letters

No mist

To hide away in;

A land where you can wish

For the orange sunrise and you will see it,

You can wish for yellow cornfields and 

Run past them 

You can build your own

House in the sunlight,

You can rub your eyes in the morning, and say,

“I have arrived,”

Go on, my friend, there are

Many doors you have not yet opened,

Many people you have not met,

Many things you have not seen;

There is far more to life, far more to

Believing

Than this moment in Time when you

Want to run away

From this smoke in the air that you

Would rather not breathe,

You must lead—for only

Then I will follow you

Out of the dust and 

Into space; finally

We will be free.

~Vruta Gupte (2016).

Flowers III

I took this yesterday.  The pinkish-sepia tinge I got when I put them in yellow light makes them look even more beautiful.

Flowers on my dresser

P.S. I've added Disqus comments on here.  Please click on the time-stamp near the end of the post to comment.  (If you don't have a Disqus account, you can still comment as a guest with a custom name.) Thank you!

More Flowers!

So in my post 'My Experiments With Gardening', I said I'd explain the system we use to water the plants in our garden.

Here goes...

The system basically uses capillary action to ensure that plants get enough water to last them for a day or two.  You get special Water Smart Pots divided into two parts--one-fifth of the pot is a chamber for storing water and the rest is for soil.  The two parts are connected by a porous membrane so that plants' roots can take up water from the soil.

You pour water into the tank through a pipe attached to the pot...

...And as soon as the tank is full, excess water comes out through a small hole near the base of the pot.

Then you get these beautiful flowers....

(This one isn't from our garden--but I just had to put it in here.)

Ta-da!  

See y'all on the next post!

P.S. I've added Disqus comments on here.  Please click on the time-stamp near the end of the post to comment.  (If you don't have a Disqus account, you can still comment as a guest with a custom name.) Thank you!

My Experiments With Gardening

So I was watering the plants in our garden on Sunday and thought I would click some photos.  It'd been a long time before I'd actually gone outside to get some fresh air.

Here they are!  The beauties...(I mean the plants, not the photos.  Big smirk.)

What is this called?  Weed?

Basil Flowers

Poor dried flowers

I don't know what this is either...

Roses are red...

We have a very unique watering system installed in our terrace, but more on that in another post!  Cheers and thank you for reading!

P.S. I've added Disqus comments on here.  Please click on the time-stamp near the end of the post to comment.  (If you don't have a Disqus account, you can still comment as a guest with a custom name.) Thank you!