Over the Net

 My mouth is dry and my lips are parched,

There is some light but it’s close to dark

Towards the end of the court, I march

I turn around when I reach my mark

The wind is out of my control

My only hope is that I will rock and roll

 

Across the court, I see a couple of large figures loom

That is where my opposition lurk

Scheming and plotting my very doom

God I wish I could wipe their smirks

Majestic a threat when the game is singles

Twice over it becomes as we play doubles

 

There is complete silence as I shout the score

So great the tension that has now built

Time to bring my focus to the fore

My hold on the racket resembles a sword hilt

No thought enters of something amiss

Getting this point my only wish

 

I toss the ball up, it begins my final act

My racket goes up, there sounds a twang

As my implement and the ball make contact

All they hear is a big loud bang

They miss the projectile, that's a point I get

A shot so fine, it was decided once the ball went over the net

Note: While I personally do not have this feeling of competitiveness when playing tennis, but it was easy to harness this feeling from my younger days

The Clown

The clown

 

This talks about a phase during which I felt that I was only an entertainer but then was being continuously mocked at

 

Taking his time to settle down

Ready to entertain one and all

We present to you the royal clown

his nose’s as big as a crystal ball

 

Peering through all that haze

Is an ocean so vast

Hidden behind those eyes so glazed

are tortuous memories that last

 

 

At a moment unexpected

 

he is openly ridiculed

 

too strong they reacted

 

to something so miniscule

 

 

With mind no more certain

he runs through the paces

His pain hid behind a curtain

by the silliest of faces

 

 

As he moves from act to act

 

He is aware of the overall commotion

 

His mind keeps wandering back to the fact

 

That he doesn’t have invisibility potion

 

 

Cracks in the façade do appear

for it has never been a strong wall

None note the momentary tear

Being very much amused by his fall

Ninja Insect

Walking on the lawn,

The sun is bright

And I’m bursting with energy

“Can things be this boring?”

I ask myself

 

Its then- I feel something on my feet

What could it be?

I decide to sneak a peek

But see nothing

That sensation is gone momentarily

 

Again, I feel it elsewhere on my leg

What could it be?

I decide to sneak another peek

My heart beats rapidly

Confusion in my mind clearly

Finally, I see something,

Crawling up my leg

An insect unknown to me

Moving so fast

It’s easy to lose it

 

I follow its movement

My eyes refuse to blink

With no shield ready for it,

My other leg puts up a big fight,

It takes a fine stroke to get it off

 

Now, I don’t feel it any more,

Will I ever see it again?

My mind is alert

And I feel a light itch

This moment firmly imprinted in my head

 

Its name’s unknown

But I feel lethargic

Energy having been drained out

in that colossal fight

For now- I christen it the “Ninja Insect”