Lucknow

Another dawn at Awadh–
Take it in, as much as you can
Enjoy this beautiful evening
Because all the nymphs and angles
Dance around and turn the sky pink
There is cupid himself sitting at the banks of gomti
Lucknow was made for lovers
"Lover's city" I'd like to call it.
Maybe cupid was born here
Somewhere deep in the lover's lane
Oh the young love!
Don't underestimate the kisses of 
those beautiful and oh so handsome-
Eros and Phileo in school uniforms.


There you see is a trifle
needing ten seconds
To sort out his rattling brain
Trying to seek comfort 
In the arms of these ebullient
Yet tired out Hazratganj streets – up, down and about.
Yet no ends met today, made some talks to himself about the evening spent
 yet again, felt like faded paints
Of the old buildings
But holding rich remnants of past.


The bazaars. Oh the bazaars.
I don't even know where to start
The most appropriate synonym of life.
The bazaars of Lucknow will teach you- Life.
Bazaars of Lucknow–
where everyone want to find the one place for themselves
wants to find out The Way 
Till they run out of their last breath.
Bazaars –
where an epoch of crowd strolls past,
Streets –
with no space to anyone's name,
You have to claim your space 
While you should know;
You shouldn't make it a race.
Hustle and bustle with no cause or aim.


My beautiful city is a preacher
Wanting to tell you numerous stories.
The moment you step into Lucknow
It will welcome you -
"Smile! you're in Lucknow"
Smile because here you'll unfolded 
What was a celebration of learning and the arts,
a mingling culture and an unabashed love
for all things beautiful.-
The jasmine-scented courtyards
The slender arches of the imambaras
The sheer poetry of the spoken language
The lilting fragrance of saffron and kewra 
The delicacy of pulao,
The Nawab, adaab and kabaab.
  - Shreshtha

Chemical reaction

You and me
and our chemistry.
Our chemistry so tangible.
Our love oh so chemical.
Some might say its scary
because if you mix us together-
they make something fantastic
or something destructive.
To warn you; might blow up at you face.
And then, when you'll try to come out of it,
It will leave you with burned marks
and scars, only to remind you-
of what a wonderful mess it was.
That scar won't make you promises
but may want to stain you forever.
As the temperature drops down
the molecules, they'll get closer.
Closer, till they form a solid shape
but a good chemistry with a bad timing 
would shatter your heart
and will strip you off all those
protective layers of yours.
But you won't want to stop it;
The excuse- 'The laws of nature, you know?' 

-Shreshtha.

Sunflower

Here you are- Another Star.
Beautiful, splendid stars like You
come along to do me wrong.
What my last memory knows
is that I was a Rose.
A Rose o' so painful to grow-
so fickle, so slow.
It grows at night.
O' so evil, elegant Rose.
Mysterious, murderous Rose.
A symbol of love, shielding itself with thorns.
Yet here I stand;
the crimson petals turning all yellow.
Yellow, 'A happy color', they say.
The thorns melting off my body-
A Sunflower you may call me.
Now, You have all of me.
You- unsatisfied sucker Sun.
my heart is drying
trying to quench your thirst
but also, it isn't cold for Once now.
Just for a little while.
Turning my back on you,
I cannot do.
For, i'll find myself ;
suffocating , dying, left in the dust.
So, the fear of the night grows deeper in me.
Now, I know what people mean
when they say-
'The sunflower causes her own pain
as the sun begins to set
The sunflower realizes what she's done
she faces the darkness with much regret
realizing she cannot live without Sun.'

- Shreshtha.

Self Love

I hope you find yourself at ease 
'cause you weren't born in a soft spring breeze.
A hailstorm it was-
The winter's rage.
And your mother thought
she'll loose her first child in vain.
You, my dear are born out of 
a broken, unsettling universe 
where everyone pointed out the flaws in you.
But, oh your body! is a home of sunflowers 
that grow despite the winters.
You are a thunderstorm
 carrying water for the thirsty
'cause you, yourself have seen the drought,
one that empties the ocean.
Now, every inch of your body and soul
has reached out to you.
'We are here to help you reconstruct they say',
and YOU, you don't need saving.
So, stop attracting conditional lovers.
Today, plant a flower of self love 
and see its possibilities 
of growing into a stardust tree.
and dare you pluck it
or
let someone take its space ever again.

-SHRESHTHA.