Shashi Gupta

Train Journey.
Whizzing through the countryside,
Past fields, some now just bare,
Some shaded green expanses, stretching
As far as the eye can see.
Colourful trees in wooded patches,
Stand tall but far between,
And meadows so green, are crowded,
With horses, cows and sheep.
Little cottages peeping through trees, gone past
Before I can capture them.
But in my mind is a picture clear
Of the beautiful country side.
Winding paths through the spread of fields,
Leading to clusters of houses,
Cars I see parked in places,
For not a road have I seen.
Logs of wood in neat stacks,
Saved for winter warmth
Man like the tiny busy ant,
Preparing for the cold and damp.
Little stations that we stop at
Tell tales of the country life
Vacant seats of the benches
Show the slow paced country life.
No one is rushing, there is contentment here,
Away from the buzz of city life.
I know I will miss the peace I see
When back in the city I am.
But my life is there, and I wouldn't exchange it,
For a peaceful, lazy countryside life. 

Shashi Gupta

Like a mouse in the tower
So quietly she sat,
All around her was clamour
Of friends exchanging news.
Not a word did she utter,
Not a sound did she make,
Just sat there like a statue,
Lost in her own dream world.
Brightly shone her eyes,
A pretty smile on her lips,
For in the sound of silence within,
She laughed and played with her dream man.
She was happy to be amongst friends,
Far from her silent imprisonment.
And though she couldn't exchange a word,
She found happiness in the company she's found.
Silent is her world,
So she twitters in her mind,
A constant chatter goes on,
And she love the world she's in.

Shashi Gupta

Rainclouds.
Just yesterday, the sky was clear
Birds high above, soft cottony clouds,
So happy and gay, were the sky and I.
Where suddenly then, have you come from,
You rainclouds,
To darken and pain my world?
The sun too tries, to peep out
From behind the dark curtains you hang,
But all in vain for too thick,
Is the blanket we are wrapped in.
The tears we cry,
Wash clean the world, and me,
Of grime and dirt and angst.
The trees look clean
My heart relieved of its burden,
Then why do I complain so?
A downpour I expect,
To hide my tears,
For my weakness, i don't want to show.
But deep in my heart, I know,
You cannot wash away my pain.
Your fresh clean waters, turn to brine,
As my tears mingle with yours,
Can we not try, just you and I,
To leave the past behind?