Two Poems
Painting: Mike Klung
By Tikuli
Solitude
I linger unperceived
in the labyrinth of solitude,
not knowing the onward path
or the path of my return
I see a flight of stairs
a portal to a past forgotten
the contours of shadows
create a landscape of dreams
something forgotten stirs,
a lost memory returns
from between somewhere and nowhere
seeking something nebulous
that is always out of reach
***
Insomnia
two a.m. on Delhi’s post-rain Sunday
I try to wash away the sleepiness
from my insomnia laden eyes
pick a fresh sheet of paper
spread clean water till it sheens
like fresh snow on a sunny day
clean and load the brushes with colours
drop and watch in wonderment
as the colours bleed and waltz
into the white stillness
the ripe colours of autumn,
a drop of sea, the harvest fields,
the washes of sunsets layer after layer
and a moon laid on lake waters
a tender breath of green
a river filled with apparitions,
here now – then gone
wet roads winding around echoing hills
the crisp autumn breeze
floating across the valley
steam rising from a coffee left at the deck
my eyes closed I feel the calm glow
of lights at the water edge
the silent shadows
the peace of the submerged river banks
I dip my brush again as the pigeons rise
followed by the squirrel
and the upstairs neighbour
pounding fresh ginger for morning chai
the trees rise, the day rises
night slowly walks towards summer morning
Bio:
Tikuli is an internationally published poet, author and blogger from Delhi whose work has appeared in print and online literary magazines including Le Zaporogue, MiCROW 8, The Smoking Book (Poets Wear Prada Press, US), Life And legends, Levure Littéraire 10, The Enchanting Verses Literary Review, Open Road Review, Cafe Dissensus, Mnemosyne Literary Journal, Dissident Voice, Women’s Web, Tuck Magazine, The Criterion, Peregrine Muse, Knot Magazine, Asian Signature Magazine, The Bombay Review, The Thumb Print – A Magazine From The East, The Peacock Journal and The Peacock Journal Anthology, TEKSTO- The People’s Magazine, Guntur National Poetry Festival Anthology, Melange – a Potpourri of thoughts, Le Zaporogue Print editions and the much acclaimed Chicken Soup For The Indian Romantic Soul(Westland). Her debut poetry book, Collection of Chaos, was published in 2014 by Leaky Boot Press. Her second book of poems Wayfaring was published in 2017 by Leaky Boot Press. Her third book of poems Duets, written in collaboration with James Goddard, was released in November 2018. She blogs here.
***
Like Cafe Dissensus on Facebook. Follow Cafe Dissensus on Twitter.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday is the blog of Cafe Dissensus magazine, based in New York City and India. All materials on the site are protected under Creative Commons License.
***
Read the latest issue of Cafe Dissensus Magazine, “Revisiting the Partition of India”, edited by Kamayani Kumar, University of Delhi, India.
Cafe Dissensus Everyday 
72 Responses to “Two Poems”
Beautifully written. You capture emotion very well.
So touching …
Very impressive! I like it❤️
Love the depth! Awesome work!!
nice poem
Lovely & Sensational poems, From World Eye Watch
💜💜💜
Amazing!!
https://thepowerofwords.art.blog
Very beautiful
Wonderful articulation. Do visit my website insightful.co.in to hear my story.
These such beautiful poems
Wow this is beautiful .. thank you so much for this experience 🙏🏻
Beautiful expression!!
Great piece .❣️You might like to visit my blog too .. : https://www.turningangles.com
Its wonderful
Beautyful writing,
I really enjoyed reading these poems. Very visual and ever so flowing.
I like your poems so much.You have a great talent and i hope reading more poems of you. Congratulations!
nice!! please visit my blog too i am not a grown up you could call me a kid or teen my bog dreamapoem.wordpress.com
These are genuinely beautiful. Of all the poems I’ve read, these (particularly the Insomnia one) definitely feature among the best. The language used transported me into a completely different world. Please continue posting these, and congrats on being able to word your thoughts in such a lovely way.