SHE

She's a woman with spirit
She's a woman with soul
She's a woman that shows
That women are bold

She's a double barrel gun
She's unpredictable
She'll take you on
Like double dynamite

She's a woman who sees Mars
She's visited Venus
She's a woman with guts
Through the strangest of scenes

She's a double barrel gun
She's unpredictable
She'll take you on
Like double dynamite

She knows all the tricks
She uses them well
She's got all of them
Under her spell

She's a double barrel gun
She's unpredictable
She'll take you on
Like double dynamite

- Shivangi Vyasulu

It beckons me-every time

Rivets and knobs
Pickups and strings
Tease a tune
Provoking a beat
Challenging the bass
To keep up the pace
While the lead
Pitches in
At a feverish rate

Once in a while
The keys chime in
More often than not
A voice contorts
Filling the silence
Otherwise bare
This music so good
This music so rare
When in harmony they are
That's when I'm there. 

El Salvador - Really!

Of red-oxide and French windows
Of diamonds on leaves and watching the rain
Of 'chauka bara' and 'Who am I?'
Of home-made pizzas and alphabet dosas
Of moonwalks and bharatnatyam
Of Street Hawk and Knight Rider
Of balconies and backyards
Of bunk-beds and sleeping in the attic
Of falling down in your sleep and beds on fire
Of 'dorlyfying' and bounding around
Of swimming in the 'thotti' and hiding in the kennel
Of posters and paintings
Of tapestries and ganeshas
Of power-cuts and 'antakshari'
Of living under the stairs and living in the garage
Of locking the wrong side of the doors and fighting about cupboard space
Of TVs with footprints on them and dousing with water on 'holi'
Of Romeos and Julies
Of bamboos and ivy
Of bananas and bleeding heart trees
Of being plucked from a tree or exchanged at the hospital
Of three-legged cows and fringes
That's what it all is
That's what home is...

--Shivangi Vyasulu

Conditioning

Waxing and waning conversation
Much like the lunar tides
Reflect your indifference
Suddenly initiated
Promoted and sponsored
By jealousy
Envy or insecurity
Making you lose
The comforting
Confidante and friend
Because you were told to.
You were manipulated
Emotionally backed into it
In exchange for your soul
Your someone
Your something
Your somewhere
Fading as you fight
Hang onto your individuality
Your personality
You
Can't
Lose
It

What's the point?

When you see the cause,
But are unable to reason.
When you hear the call,
But are unable to listen.
When you know it's wrong,
But cannot make it right.
When you feel hope and joy,
But are unable to remember it.
When you can earn well,
But have no time to spend it.
When you have a fear,
But are unable to face it.
When you have pain,
But are unable to ease it.

What's the point?
When you have a life,
But cannot live it.
When you have a dream,
But cannot achieve it.
When you have love,
But cannot give it.
When you have the words,
But cannot express it.
When you bare your soul,
But nobody notices it.

What's the point?
Is there a point at all?

-Shivangi Vyasulu

SEEKING REVIVAL

I once walked on the wild side
Among roads so so green
I met those folks who we all pass by
But have never really seen

They've gone now
They've gone now
They've lost their dreams!

I spoke to them of Woodstock
Rainbow, R.E.M and Queen
Where did they go
They're the best it's ever been

They've gone now
They've gone now
They're lost in dreams!

I asked them for stories
Of gigs and fans and scenes
Those wise wise blokes then began
Performing their routine

But, they've gone now
They've gone now
They were only ever dreams!

They've gone now
They've gone now
Someone please revive the dream!

-Shivangi Vyasulu

I had to say it

Snippets of thoughts
Slowly form into rivulets
Meandering in my brain
Growing with the current
Gaining momentum
Crashing the obstacles of speech
Bursting through the barrage of reason
Eroding the resistance of stereotype
Rising and falling over little doubts and hesitation
Into a mighty pool of expression
Pushing forth into words.

SYMBIOTICALLY

Like old gnarled trees
In an otherwise barren land
We twist and root ourselves
We reach out wide and deep inside
For souls filled with light
Grasping thoughts
From swaying dreams
We absorb the wisdom of life
Then transform ourselves
And twine some more
That's how amity survives.

Telepathic Proximity

Transatlantic conversations
Teetering and tottering
Ticks of black and blue thoughts
Grins and sniggering
Between the lines
Peppered with happiness
A mere chat
The ocean but a table across
Bridging the gap

PATTERNS REPEAT

Hailstones rap against the glass
Clatter with a beat
The rain fills in the silence
Of a thunderstorm
Much like
Criticism raps against the soul
Feeding the pandering audience
While murmurs fill the awkward lulls
In conversation
As does
Excitement rap against the cage of your chest
Pounding your heart
Magnifying emotion
At a new idea.

--Shivangi Vyasulu