Junkie

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turning you on,

Gotta get a fix before dawn,

Or your ISP finds the bill overdue,

And cuts off your supply once again,

Sleep is for babies, there's so much to do,

Status updates and Instagram beckon to you,

Lost in a digital maze, with the world before you,

You press "Like" on a Grumpy Cat meme,

Your sister's birthday was your 144th Check In,

Your brother's convocation a WhatsApp conversation,

While your mother got remarried over Skype,

And Google+ dropped by with flowers when your father died,

While all this happened, your youth passed on,

And Life waved goodbye as you played another round of Candy Crush

The Bilge Master

Imaginary

Remember what they told you about Imaginary Friends? 

Arnab, Tanya and Hiren were inseperable. Tanya and Arnab were an item. They had been dating since freshman year. Hiren was well Hiren. He was a bit Goth. Dark tees, with a hood so you really didnt see his face. And the same pair of baggy jeans. Arnab was the sarcastic one, always with a witty retort. Sometimes he was unbearable. As for Tanya, she was the doormouse. She was meek, and kept quiet most of the time. When she did talk, she had a brilliant point though. Arnab was quite wary of her retorts and she could keep him under control mostly.

Hiren on the other hand was almost everyhing these too were not. He was reserved. He talked a lot, but just to them. He always had his mp3 player with him and was headbanging to Avenged Sevenfold or Iron Maiden. If it wasn't that he was on Whatsapp, chatting with this "mysterious" girl he had met; and whom no one had seen.

The three of them stayed together for the most part of college. After that, the placement interviewers came in hordes. Tanya and Arnab got jobs in the same city but for different companies. Hiren didn't say where he had landed up as was his usual response to almost anything. He preferred keeping his personal life to himself. Tanya and Arnab had gone to his house once. They didn't see anything apart from an old, dilapidated cot and some magazines in a corner. There were no photos on the wall or any personal trophies anywhere. They found this odd, but then again, they knew he was a kind of lone wolf.

Time passed. Tanya and Arnab continued to see each other and eventually ended up getting engaged. Their familes knew each other very well and approved the match. Unfortunately, they had never met Hiren; who seemed to be the infamous one in the group, Funnily, even Arnab and Tanya hadn't been seeing Hiren much these days. They knew he was working in Bangalore. That was all. He did show up for the wedding though. He had swapped the tee for a shirt and a pair of formal trousers, but he still had the hoodie. You still had to strain to see his face. 

And one day, Hiren was gone. He just vanished. He did it gradually. Stopped calling. Stopped texting. Tanya and Arnab started to forget what he looked like and what classes they had taken together. One fine day, they woke up and realized he was just gone. 

Meanwhile, Arnab had been promoted to General Manager at his company. This meant he was out late a lot and usually came home in the wee hours of the morning. Tanya was tired out from managing their young daughter, who was still in the toilet training stage; although she was 7. Naturally, the homestead was less than domestic bliss. Fights broke out on a regular basis. Words were said. Tears spilt. Tanya started sleeping in the guest room. Arnab took to drinking a lot.

A few weeks later, Arnab was away at work when he got a text from Tanya. It just said "Hiren is back. Babli saw him". Arnab dropped everything and came home. He found Tanya smiling at him. He was surprised. Tanya told him that Babli (their daughter), had come running to her in the afternoon. She had been playing in the garden and had seen a man. A man dressed in a black tee, with a hoodie and the same jeans that Hiren wore Arnab didn't know how to react to this information. He walked to the sidebar to pour a drink, but found one already poured out for him. He looked up and came face to face with Hiren.

Arnab was shocked at first, and then realized what was going on. Tanya and Arnab were so much in love that that feeling had personified itself into a physical form. Hiren. That's why he was everywhere that they were. That's why he was gone when they started scrapping. He was empathically linked to them. To their love. 

Arnab smiled as he took Tanya into his arms. Hiren was back. Everything would be OK now

The Bilge Master

  

Late Nights of a Different Kind

We've had a crazy month,

With late nights of a different kind,

Because everyone could do with some Messi magic,

Now and then,

Some matches have been shocks,

Others wonders,

Some teams have broken our hearts,

Some referees should leave Brazil in a body bag,

That's how it's gone, and 

Now, for one last time,

Join me, to witness the end,

To the greatest carnival on Earth

And get the fourth star for Deutschland

The Bilge Master

Magic

There are a lot of ways,

Used to express,

What we humans can feel, taste or touch and see,

Some express through the pen,

Others write poems, ballads or speeches,

Still others speak out through a song,

While for some, the paintbrush calls,

Yet, I've seen another expression,

Out there on the Center Court,

A man with two quick feet, weaving,

A story on grass,

He paints his legacy with a tennis racquet

As mesmerized, the world watches,

Tuned into their TV sets, they see

Magic in 1080p HD

The Bilge Master

The Lord of the Night Trilogy

I had written a poem two years back called "Lord of the Night". Back then the in thing was vampires so I had made it dark and reflective of what in my opinion, a vampire should actually be; as opposed to the version in "Twilight".

Funnily enough, I found myself liking the poem a lot and I decided to expand it with a sequel called "Stains". The protagonist of "Stains" was the same person I had created in "Lord of the Night". Note that I say person and not vampire. You see, by the time "Stains" was completed, I realized making this guy a serial killer was a more frightening proposition than making him a vampire.

After "Stains" was complete, my friend Udayan recommended bringing in a new dimension to the poems or the series as he then termed it. This casual remark of his led to the third and final poem in the series, titled "Carpe Diem". "Carpe Diem" is a new look at the protagonist, who for purposes of mystery and laziness remains un-named.

Allow me to present my first ever complete trilogy of poems. Click on the links to start reading!

The Bilge Master

Lord of the Night

One prick, and the pain starts to ebb away

Something's changed, I hear myself say

I feel the wound, still raw,

And know the poison's in my veins,

Giving me a new high

Man, I am not, I am something more

I'm going somewhere I ain't ever been before

I'm a creature of the shadows,

A slave to the night

And I don't see a guiding light

Why do you fear me?

I was just like you once

Only now I am so much more

Days find me hiding,

Hiding from the sun,

But I own the night,

And come alive without light

Oh and lest you meet me,

Be ready to run

Part 2- Stains

The Bilge Master

Stains

Night has fallen on the world,

Cloaking it in darkness, in shadow

I awaken and sit up,

Wipe the blood from my chin,

It is sticky and salty, still warm

The time has come, the night awaits me

I walk out on the veranda, survey all that is mine

You see from my perch, I can see, yet be unseen

The grounds of my estate, and the city beyond

Pulling me in, slowing down time,

I am waiting to strike

A second ago, you were alive,

Taking that shortcut

Going home maybe?

I cannot wait to meet you

Under the silver moon

I can feel your blood start to race,

Smell your fear,

You should not have come here, you are thinking

Well, you are right,

I close in, grab you

It’s just a little prick....a vain struggle,

Over before it even started,

And all that remains of our fleeting encounter

Is that fresh stain on my coat

Part 3- Carpe Diem

The Bilge Master

Carpe Diem

Rain’s falling,

The earth beneath my feet feels cold,

Sort of like the body I’m holding,

Slung over my back,

The light is just retreating, meaning

It’ll be night soon,

And I’ll have another body on my hands before noon,

They say I’m a psychopath,

They prescribe drugs too;

Take the edge off

Therapy, in form of

“If you need to talk”,

Talk isn’t gonna save Mary, mother of two,

From the drunkard on the East End, that poor excuse,

Neither is it gonna stop the murder of that innocent in the park,

Because I know what happens when it starts getting dark

This city’s afraid of me, and of the things I do,

And one day it’ll thank me, or

Put a bullet in my head 

Read the entire series here

The Bilge Master

The Lovesong of an Ordinary Day

Nothing appeals more to me,
Than waking up to the smell of fresh coffee in the morning,
As my mother draws open the curtains,
And my bedroom is flooded with light,
I smile and look out the window,
And notice that the Sun is up,
The sky is blue,
Which is beauiful,
And so are You,
Because my dear, no one writes a lovesong,
Quite like You do

The Bilge Master