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
❤️
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