My Temple

Your grand mystique splendor
Stone by masons cut in art to surrender
Columns so tall, into heavens they reached
The bastion of Gods they had breached.

Daily, on your temple steps I lay
Prostrate or in any shapes of the defining ways
Just to hear my Gods say
I have heard of what you pray
Each day forlorn and into a new dawn
I saw the temple doors open and close
But remained deficient of my spiritual dose.

I tried drugs and even smoked a pipe
Danced in rain and stood one legged in pain
The beggar in me fed beggars only to stagger
Why was I not drenched in your swagger.

In your serene courtyard hall
I saw humanity in awe and enthralled
I approached a legless soldier
Who seemed happiest of all
I asked him: Have you found God in this temple?
Can you share with me this heavenly sample?

The beaten creature smiled 
And to the stars he called
It’s in my heart the Gods call
Temple is just a place 
Where I come to dance and have a ball.

Oh you legless man
You showed me the stair case to heaven
Only my mind was still and heart was so barren
In a temple I may atone my sins
But the journey has to begin from within.

Note: The temple lies withing us. The temples that we go to may not really fulfill our ultimate dreams....The journey to the heaven can only start with knowing and accepting this fact or never....Another thought provoking poem of depth and content by MS Jaswal....Yes, the realization should come from within.......

Nicotine

Cigarette was introduced to me

At a great, noisy, late night party,

A white sophisticated roll of paper,

She was pushed between my lips,

And I felt nice and stylish

As the lighter lit up

Both the cigarette and my face.

Initially, I coughed and hiccuped

As the smoke snaked into me,

But I wouldn't dare give up,

The challenge itself was glee,

In minutes I was cool,

The nicotine toned air made me drool.

An effort to try became a fun,

The fun turned to a habitual run,

The run became sheer addiction,

Before I knew it I was smitten,

I felt like a fool of first rate

When my lips did not sport a cigarette.

When I look back today

A shiver passes down my spine

I wonder why I had kissed nicotine

When I look back today

I also wonder why it took me

A decade, a strained love, stained teeth

And a lung disease to cast her away.

Note: Addiction isn't good in any form...And those are lucky who are able to get back in time.....

Pungent Smoke

To me white shame,
Added to my dutiful fame.
To my disappointments,
Of love's appointments.
To my anger,
Unleashed beyond danger.
I lit a burning inferno,
I placed his pure soul on it,
Despite the fresh cool easternly winds,
The pungent smoke of his rotting flesh,
Refuses to part ways,
On my soul it stays.

Note: This is another poem by MS Jaswal. He presents here his version of a failed love from a woman's point of view. He feels that memories may be burnt, but the hazy smoke lingers on as unforgettable moments forever to remind one of the mutually shared bygone glory, as also the depravity and futility caused by a major failure in life.