The House by the River

'Twas the seventh day of September;
autumn had arrived fast,
browning the greenery around me.
For full three months it would last.


A river meandered through the land;
a bird flew above it,
and the river looked to the bird like,
a majestic blue serpent.


Cedar trees adorned the hills,
and spruce and pine and fir.
At sunrise the land livened up
and at dusk stopped the stir.


There stood a house by the river,
meshing into the green.
Made of wood, and nothing else,
oh, it was a splendid scene!


The Singhs occupied the structure,
a family of five and no more.
A mother petite and a father strong,
and the three children they bore.


Two sons and a little girl they were,
who played all day long.
The mother would sometimes play along,
but the father was never home.


There was never a dull moment
in the lives of these strangers,
until the seventh day of September came,
and brought with it looming danger.


The dam up the river broke,
water furiously gushing down.
It seemed as if Neptune was angry at them,
for the house by the river was long gone.


Some sort of semblance came
on the thirteenth day of September.
It was quite ironical you know,
on the thirteenth the flood went to slumber.


Nothing of the house remained,
not a nail or a piece of wood.
The Singhs it seemed had vanished,
for not a single one ever again stood.


They came, lived there and went away;
for Nature took their lives in haste.
And the house by the river was reduced
to nothing but a mound of waste…

"Murder!", I Cried

The clock struck eleven
and out came the cuckoo-bird,
whistling thrice and going back in,
and a gunshot I heard.


I ran out onto the street,
into the cold, still dark.
I had heard, but seen nothing,
except for a faint little spark.


He ran as a ghost glides,
his cape following, like a shadow.
His face was as vivid as the night sky.
“Murder!” I cried, in a voice shallow.


She fell, the bullet passing through.
White had turned brown and crimson.
She raised her hand, as if in a dream,
and then it fell, like the setting sun.


I chased the man, eager.
Bullets he kept aiming at me.
I dodged each one of them,
until one of them hit my knee.


I could not do a thing about it.
He had vanished into the night.
I limped my way back to
what was a sorry sight.


Calling an ambulance, I sat beside her.
There was something wrong.
As I stared at the face and wondered,
“Did I know the one who was gone?”


It hit me with a sudden jolt,
like thunder and lightning had struck.
I had seen her earlier today;
her car was right behind my truck.


The ambulance came in haste,
people walking here and there.
I looked down at my hands
and all I could do was stare.


After giving the police all I had,
I went inside the quiet of my home.
I couldn’t sleep till four in the morn’
the thoughts just refused to go…

A Walk Under The Stars

She rose up from her seat,
Declaring,” I’ve had a lot today
Lets go someplace else now.”
And all I could say was,” Okay.”


The bill was paid in crisp green notes,
We tipped the waiter well.
We walked out at ten at night,
And started a walk swell.


The warmth of her hand I could feel,
Our shadows following us behind.
We walked at a leisurely pace,
With no single thing on my mind.


I said after sometime into the stroll,
“I really want to go to bed.”
In reply she stood mum,
And didn’t even shake her head.


The winds rustled the leaves,
Hardly was there a soul in sight,
There was hardly any talk between us,
Try as hard as we might.


A sudden chilly breeze blew,
I offered her my jacket at once,
She smiled at me and I felt proud,
Nature had given me this chance !


We kept on walking, not wanting to stop.
The time had, by now, crossed eleven.
The stars shone far above us.
Sparkling from their nest in Heaven.


“It’s late I think”, I remarked.
She did not stop looking at me
She shook her head furiously.
My heart was then brimful with glee!


She halted in her path, all of a sudden,
Turned around and stared,
Stared with an aura about her.
I knew then that she cared.


She closed her eyes slowly,
And moved closer to me.
I followed her, our lips inches apart.
I think it was a deed of Destiny.


We reached her home late,
She fumbled for the keys.
All this time I was
Trying to find my knees


A walk under the stars it was,
The walk had come to a finish .
I said goodbye, and kissed her cheek.
The smile on her lips did not diminish…