EIGHT POEMS BY PINAKINI NAIK INCLUDING "SILVER STRANDS"

Pinakini Naik is a bilingual poet, fluent in English and Hindi, born and raised in Indore, India, currently residing in Southern California, USA. She holds a Bachelor of Computer Applications, a Master of Management Sciences and a Diploma in Yoga Therapy from DAVV, Indore, India. In 2001, she graduated from the University of Dayton, Ohio, the USA with a Master of Business Administration. After running the rat race for a few years in the corporate world, she left it in 2006 to devote her time to family. Her two children and their rambunctious puppy, Happy, keep her on her toes. She has a natural flair for music, art, dance, and photography. When she is not busy contemplating the metaphysical workings of the universe, she loves going on nature hikes, sitting under trees and listening to what they have to say.

Pinakini was a group administrator in Poets Artists Unplugged, an international poetry group from 2014 to 2017. Her poems have been published in various Anthologies: Resonating Strings - Lehar Lehar Ek Tara, Resonance - Spandan, Colours of Refuge and Mytho Manthan. Currently, she is working on a collection of poems for her debut book.

Union

eager winds announce my arrival

i can’t help but meet you as an onrush

ardor unrestrained, torrential

beyond the floodgates of no return

time is of no consequence to a deluge

ever teetering over the razor edge of adieu

rocks of reason surrender adamant form to

insistent onslaught of our commingling

churning, tumbling, plunging, interlaced

putty molded into an evocative embrace

and after all’s been said and done

we’d carry imprints of a fervent season

inhales crisscrossing exhales, balanced

love borne witness to a heady confluence

the signature of a life lived as free verse

a fiery poem born regardless of the audience

~pinakini ❤️

Silver Strands

A sunny afternoon resides

in my heart

of when she stood on the terrace

drying her shimmery waist length tresses

with her weathered hands

under the warmth of the sentient sun,

her graceful frame as tall as ever,

a defiant shadow of years gone,

cascades of gleaming silver

spilling over her back,

reflecting the sun’s glory

in all its sincere simplicity.

Moments from the past

play on rewind,

the pitter-patter of my childhood,

dark tresses flying

disheveled and riotous

wildflower of her garden,

she would catch hold of me,

sit me down firmly on her lap

under the benevolent sun

chiding me would say...

“Take care of yourself, sweet child!”

as her weathered hands

oiled and braided my strands into order.

A cherished ritual

I miss so much.

I carry this part of her in me,

no matter how far I may be,

tidbits of her love that she hand-fed me,

sweet like puranpolis* that only Grandmas can roll,

cherished and passed on

as I grab hold of my little girl

running wild in my backyard

I sit her down firmly on my lap,

oil and braid her hair

with my weathering hands

and chide her

“Take care of yourself, sweet child!”

Now, when I brush my hair, before braiding it,

gleams of silver peek through

leaving me wondering,

how many more tales

would have to be lived through,

to be crowned in complete silver,

For you see,

they don’t come that easy or for free.

Silver strands have always been homespun,

quietly having learned to sing their own melody,

each a life lived by itself,

a tale on its own

braided into crisscrossed patterns,

endearing memories interwoven,

treasures of wisdom amassed and held together

by the resilience of a single pin in

a beautiful bun!

~ pinakini ❤️

*puranpolis - sweet bread

No Agenda Heart

i was born agenda-less

bound within a sentient spark

to embody and be unconditional love

a gift from an endless source

from which I emerged

immersed skin deep

in this mind-born world

what is concocted by billions

desperate to leave their mark

a cacophony of strident opinions

a tasteless salad carelessly tossed

dressed up with a caustic drizzle

of incessant expectations

each voice raised over another

scratched onto delible pages of time

breath tight in my throat

i struggled to bloom

the eternal flute muted

for what seemed an eon

until I shut my eyes

shut my ears to noise

until finally my epiphany

the loud voice in my head

was never ever me

the universal heart awakened

whispering within and without

the language of omniscient winds

evoking the scent of shy petals

revealing my hidden map

highlighted by an awareness

tucked deep in my bosom

walls collapsed into nothingness

inner galaxies blended into outer

rejoicing stars fell into me with abandon

and the universe following suit

anything and everything possible

when a heart grows wide enough

to encompass the girth of a blue planet

the sacred fire of a loving heart

now ignited, lost no more

~pinakini ❤️

The Return

you’ve explored all serpentine mazes

to your rebellious heart’s content

clandestine footsteps

stumbling through rocky lands

teeter now at the edge of oblivion

with nothing else left to do but

chart a complete return

eagle-like you hover over contrast lands

of snapdragons and touch-me-nots

reduced to grief-ridden contours

meager offerings of woeful thistles and thorns

uninteresting to a warrior's palate

having tasted all valleys and peaks

of human experience

but by now you have learned to savor

the tug of restraints placed upon you

tattooing your desirous flesh

as you try to walk every inch

of the tightrope, a bittersweet mean

to the ra-ta-ta rhythm of your heart’s compass

emblazoned as fiery kisses across your chest

constant reminders of every single time

you reached unerringly for me beyond all constraints

disarmed and defenseless

you turn your steed around

to forge on pointedly towards home

without a backward glance

emerging from clouds of memory dust storms

brandishing the revival of insurgent spring

timelines collapsing behind you

to arrive at the threshold of inception

surprised to see me at the entrance

where I have always waited for you

wearing nothing else but my bare breath

tears of longing as pearls strung around my neck

before you enter the subtle sanctorum

you pause meditatively to strip off

the dark cloak, life props, masks, and playthings

only bringing with you the silver vial

carrying the mystical essence

of our love’s remembrance

doused in whose fragrance

we proceed to walk in fearlessly

embark upon our final adventure

entwined as branches of trees

plunge into no-time as our lips meet

eternally bonding over cosmic skinny dipping

~pinakini ❤️

The Initiate

i delved and roamed

the catacombs of mind

carved figure eights

in infinite loops of time

explored my way

out of dark forest intrigue

to stumble upon

a zen clearing within

virginal snow-clad lands

welcome worth of my weight

as i kneel, reverent, intently focused

awaiting the onset of spring

forbearance silently steeped

into my restless bones

a natural consequence

of a season, long-drawn

disquietude dispelled

from a centered, still frame

i sit alert, aware, alive

heartbeats resounding

in a warm bosom

the gentle breath of hope

swirling around, grazes my neck

arouses ardor of the reckless

the sweet inkling

of a sunny overture

glints crystalline peek-a-boos,

from a pristine heartland

snowflake-like, i melt

capitulate to its charm

surrender my form

to its quiet insistence

homebound miracles are born

as stark contrasts, show stoppers

red roses blooming against

the ravages of bitter winter

the potency of their passion

smeared boldly across blank palette

in the belly of the unknown

immaculate, blood upon snow

~pinakini ❤️

Alcyone

Ever on cliff’s edge,

fearless Love’s

deep dive

aflame, alive

solitary flight

piercing my eager night

limbs like vines

reach out

entwine

distances collapse

starry furlongs

swirling galaxy

where you rightfully belong

Illuminated souls

heave bitten shoulders

drunken thievery

of warm breaths

a passion-flower lives

blooms, then dies

happy death

muffled sounds of tortured sighs

Swan spines sway

flaming tangos

etched on heart’s canvas

forever

snugly astride

no nook for pride

your lap, a throne

our love, my crown

Lips breathe vulnerable

against ears that can’t hear

foreheads bump softly

lashes touch temples

interlaced fingers

co-creating wantonly

rebellion thighs

brimming eyes

tunnel vision

brilliant explosion

Grand Central Sun

~pinakini ❤️

The Mystery

the cuckoo has flown the clock

time left utterly bereft of meaning

the cornucopia of life imprints itself

upon the receptivity of my soul

the call of the unknowable

overrides what senses can feel

the inner eye has awakened

nothing is as it seems

but of this, i am quite certain

i belong to the unseen

~pinakini ❤️

Moonflower

if your inner being is attuned to listen

to the slight pause before our lips meet

you will hear me speak a secret language

of ardent flowers, clandestine bloomers

surrendered to the copulative suggestion

of a softly insistent, fertile moonlight

sentient guardians of seductive fragrance

the throbbing pulse of our midnight hour

~pinakini ❤️