I emerge like a tree from a dirty seed;

You are meant for greatness Your trails create myths and stories Don't slow down Don't off-road When the terrain gets slippery Your shoe spikes grow with it When slithering leeches get too close You will know them by their stains When your falls push you down the valleys Remember who you are Your leaps take over the mountains Light up the trails and keep walking

Keep your wings light Don't load it with steel hulls Don't bother painting it to match the rainbow Who cares if it's polished enough to reflect the skyline Soar above Rustic, Unadorned, Unfettered Don't put in work to deserve the skies You can't And, you don't have to Let go Risk the fall Soar above Dance to the music of your heart strings There is no formula, no framework, no sprint plan No perfect set of wings to compare yourself with The wind doesn't hold pageants My perfectly flawed girl, soar above Stop running away when it rains Trust your wings And soar above the Clouds -Sajithra

I choose to be your friend, for it is in the deepest of grief that you find the secret of joy. I choose to make you my muse, for a memory of you is all it takes to touch God. I choose to hold your hands, for there is no difference between the most intense pain and pleasure. The weightessness bubbling at the edge of both. I choose you as my teacher, for it is destruction that makes things anew. Grief and I, We are old friends And, we always meet with our companion Joy. This Trinity is yours too But only if you learn to choose.

There is an invisible spark in every crowd Powerful enough to create a new life It takes the shape of an animal And, it keeps the mortals caged inside Sometimes, it is a Lion The generous spirit that respects even its kill enough to carefully cover the leftovers with twigs An offering, a gift, left behind for the hungry beasts Sometimes, it is a sheep They bleat about the generous master And, his gift - new shearing scissors Sometimes, it is a squirrel Well, all it does is squirreling No one knows what they want And, they don't care to find out where they want to go Sometimes it can be a hyena And, everyone becomes no one No one lynched him No one raped the girl No one bullied him to suicide Let's teach our children The secret of the crowd That will help them to live without masks Masters of their fate and slaves to none Children, if you are in a crowd Be the ones who add more light Speak out even when it seems to matter little Stand up and ra...

I drink from this cup of pain Because someone has to I bear my Cross Because someone has to I fold my rags in a mahogany wardrobe Right next to my garb of splendor I pour the bitter myrrh in my finest Crystal And, I will say cheers to you when you drink your Cognac Surrender to accept what doesn't change Surrender to take away its power to break you Surrender to remember who you are Surrender, because you will rise from the ashes -Sajithra

There is compassion in destruction The flyaway ashes reveal an ancient fire The mirror that shows my ugly parts Becomes my guardian angel. Not long ago, staying high on bliss was home I found darkness a trace of sunlight, just painted black Now, crystalized scales fall off my eyes I wake up and panic in the abyss Should the choices remain the same? Well, what's your poison?, the voice asks A pleasing lie Or an ugly truth I ask for neither The truth was always there And, the lie was my set of blinkers Break those horse tacks But give me a new set of eyes I could go back to sleep Color nightmares into my personal rainbow. Make demons my dream-catchers And, when a skeleton lurks in the darkness Shout in jest 'Happy Halloween to you'. I could remain wide awake Burn hot in the embers of truth Hedge my bets Sharpen the spears Wage my battles from an unstable, bleeding, dark crevice. Or I could watch the battle but know it's futile Forgive myse...

Aug'17- 2 Muslim men lynched for transporting cattle   24 Muslims lynched, 124 attacked In Hindutva we trust, proclaim their tweets Protesters murdered, Farmers shot Just another hill of discarded meat Media is dead Bought or bled They gouged their eyes out but gave them a new mouth Slipped on with no teeth and they all look the same Reasons aplenty when the weak leads Roars are pitch-corrected to friendly bleats 500 people died in flood, we cry The sin against the Cow, they say Rupee at an all time low They laugh Congress in 1947 caused the fall We close our windows Keep blood out the doors It stinks still The flies buzz around They walk with sickles in hand Pied Pipers lay claim to our land Become a zombie or pretend to be one Don't talk, don't see, don't feel And, yet Heroes rise To pay the price With Love With Life They fall with a smile They are crushed into divine light We feel We see Crimson clouds everywhere! It ...

The violent counter part of this poem is  here The Sufi's notion of Love is seeing God as the beloved. More often than not, God is the lover in Rumi's poems. The earth kissed her feet Warm, Tender, Soft She slipped Slid into the belly of a wet, paddy field Its scent on her back Coarse sand on her neck She took a breath Hu! The sun touched her brows Draping its rays as a veil It dripped down Like a runnel of desire A thousand caresses Sieving through her breasts Her tummy squeezed out a breath Hu! She stretched out her hands Her fingers found the palm of wind It tip toed around her body And touched her tongue Slowly at first and then like a storm A blaze of sweet trickle pressed her mouth Her throat felt a ball of fire That stretched her body out Like a bow A breath sneaked in Hu! She saw the stars She saw Time The Universe She saw Love itself A song without words And, it covered her With a glimpse of an ancient memory She...

Life Soaked in fire slides into calm waters It sizzles Ripples out And, fills the void with a thick, grey fog Fire and Water Laughter and Tears Yin and Yang Light and Darkness Life Caught between both Singed and ravaged I ts heart thrashed open And, then built back again Never to yield to flames Not there to quench its thirst Life Keep flowing Keep pacing Keep learning Keep destroying When the Fire flows quiet And the Water becomes Fire You will know You will be home -Sajithra

Nets  aimed  at  shooting  stars, Heart  lusting  its  glitter  and  spark, Naive  for  Greatness,  Glory,  and  Fame, Minions  march  to  make  a  name; Barbaric  hunters  with  a  pile  of  skulls, Artists  flaunting  mastered  skills, Emperors,  Cardinals  from  different  times Modern  entrepreneurs  hoarding  gains; The  world  looks  up  in  need  of  a  purpose, Craving  a  promise  of  dreams  in  surplus; Like  the  moon  drunk  on  the  light it  borrows, Aspires  to  be  the  sun  every  night  and  morrows; The  play  of  chance,  the  hand  of  times Distract  our  eyes  from...

Nets aimed at shooting stars Heart lusting its glitter and spark Naïve for Greatness, Glory and Fame Minions march to make a name Barbaric hunters with a pile of skulls Artists flaunting mastered skills Emperors, Cardinals from different times Modern entrepreneurs hoarding gains The world looks up in need of a purpose Craving a promise of dreams in surplus Like the moon drunk on light it borrows Aspires to be the sun every night and morrows To read more https://www.amazon.com.au/Trees-dirty-seeds-SAJITHRA-K-ebook/dp/B01BF6VL4G

I was 16 when I read the story of Waris Dirie in Readers Digest. < You can read the story of Waris here > I almost threw up after reading about Female Genital Mutilation. It affected me so much that I started talking about it. This catapulted the aversion that I always had for any sort of inequality. I started talking about the atrocities against women caused by the patriarchal mind set. Not exactly an appropriate topic in a conservative society where life revolved around a church in the village. The prejudices that I saw around me looked trivial in comparison. But I couldn't accept the soft patriarchy of the protestant church as a compromise where women are considered equals in the society, encouraged to work, even ordained as priests in the church but would have to submit to the headship of a man at home. I was never a rude child but I could not fit myself into a role dictated by culture. I was weary of multiple masks. I wanted to be the same person whether I was at chur...

The marshy fields stretch in front me Inviting me with that sweet smell of earth The evening breeze brings a lone feather Twisting and turning in the wind Making shapes that ought to be the new language beyond sound My first step surprises me The moist clay encasing me knee deep Freedom beckons but commitments hold me back I take in everything and close my eyes Letting it sink in and fill me with its promises I shut the door and return Immersing myself in the everyday humdrum No regrets, No remorse The door is within me, keeping safe my ‘freedom’ behind its bars The paradox of life is Freedom within bounds and captivity out of bounds

Struggle Something pushes me down; the warm earth spits venom on me A noose tightens around my neck,  evil flashes its eyes A deep gnash starts from my feet My body cracks all over, I fall apart Like a song, each fissure forming a musical note; I drink from the muddy puddle of the unspoken And learn to let the pain pass through, Death bells ring all over, announcing the forbidden union The conquered becomes the bride; Black Blood tangles my hair into million knots Crowning me for the awaiting eons, The hatred is palpable Evoking a murderous rage A long forgotten belief breaks the crown And I shout I CAN CHOOSE; My sound waves dig the sun, burrowing the mountains It rises and draws close The lie is strong but truth is stronger, The golden  blaze burns the noose; Something pulls me up and I let go A cool breeze brushes past and untangles my hair, Fragrant oil heals my wounds; The dirt and darknes...

My kite flies far Tossed and turned by wind The walls scrape my kite I let go Go! I am ready to lose you I drift Cut across the acrid blotches of wind I let  go some more Go! I am not in control And that strangely feels right It rains The drenched Kite gets heavier I let it go Go! I run behind And scoop the soft twine left behind Life is like a kite Dancing in the sky Make sure you get to play Before the thunder Before it rains

The tentacles of stillness wrap me tight It grows around me like a cocoon My heart beats faster with painful efforts to look out Promises to be kept, deadlines to scale and agendas galore calling out to me. I slid my hand around those walls And learned to enjoy the sweet taste of stillness Oh why do I even think that I make things happen? When I can’t even take my next breath if chance had a different plan Everything blurs out to oblivion And I try to mend myself in the warmth of stillness. Like a caterpillar we scurry around With thoughts on walls scaled and obstacles crossed But it is this moment of waiting and knowing That brings out the colors It is this moment of stillness and humility That brings out the wings.

A  whisper  rises From the land of the Old I  drown  it  in  the  sound  of  TV, The  traffic  And  the  everyday  humdrum; A  moment  of  solitude  caught the  whisper Words from  my forgotten version I  had become a  collection  of  memories, A  stale reminder  of  my  past The  infant,  the  child,  the  teen,  and  the  woman  I  am  today. But before  I  was  born,  I  was limitless  A design,  purpose,  pure  unsurpassed  love I  hold  its  elapsed  reminders Locked  in  a  box,  tucked  away  into  obscurity; But  it  whispers,  it  hums  and  tries  to  remind  me Of  who I  am  and  who  I...

(Dedicated to the Heroes who sacrificed their lives to save others) The moment tied you all together Fulfilling a purpose of eternity As a garland woven with majestic flowers You will forever be remembered in history I am annoyed when I hear sympathies Sad they say, a young life gone waste Sad they say, Families left behind You are to be celebrated, cherished And envied! Many drift through life, living chapters off somebody's tale Imposters - devoured by the choices of everyone else Like dust - consumed, tossed and turned by the wind Formless, aimless, bonded and carried to their graves But you made a choice, you made your story You are not lost or forgotten May your mighty souls rest in peace You came to the earth for this very purpose A mission accomplished, go rest in the bosom of God As a garland of majestic flowers You have reached where you always belonged

(what happens when memories cease?are memories the only connection.will I recognize you on the other side.Does that really matter when we all are one.) Everyday I wake up from my sleep And walk on the lane called Life There I recognize footprints A manual of who Iam And the past that's not yet lost Knowing t hese memories are the connection With this world,with my loved ones, With all that I have ever known I start walking I walk leaving footprints To Spot the oasis to get back and the valleys to avoid Iam walking closer to that day I may wake up to find everything erased Then will I walk without leaving footprints And never fall asleep again .

Boundaries can hold till you are smaller Outgrow the boundaries Break free, Space is endless Don’t let my words confine you Don't let your words judge me Listen to the spaces between my words In silence let us truly talk