A Christmas Past in Pictures 2020

Together we made it a beautiful Christmas!

I don't Know / The route to chaos (new podcast)

 

I Don't Know / The Route To Chaos

OCTOBER 30, 2020

 

SHOBANA GOMES

 

Description

Hi, this is Shobana, and this new podcast is on two poems I wrote at the start of the pandemic. I hope to inspire as well as make it as relatable as possible to the events that happen in our lives, as well as the world outside of us that often surprises us by its volatility. Here’s the first poem titled,

I DON’T KNOW IF PEOPLE WHO HAVE IT ALL ARE THE HAPPIEST

The second poem is titled:

THE ROUTE TO CHAOS

I hope to raise awareness to the way things have taken a turn to the detriment of society these days. I hope that you like it and till my next podcast, Au Revoir. A Bientot!

Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/shobanagomes)

Why??

One day, when the Sun hid behind the pure white cumulus clouds,

Its rays far-reaching and blazing,

The leaves on the trees strewn by its tracing light,

The mountains on the far ends, overlooking sunlit grounds,

I asked him, “Why,”

And he replied just a little nonchalantly,

“There maybe many answers to “Why” but most will be answered by a simple, “Why Not?”

~~

Have a great week everyone. Don’t forget to vote for my story “Falling In Love With A North Indian.”

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/romance/591184

Falling In Love With A North Indian (a story by Shobana Gomes)

He was the perfect distraction, and she the attraction.



A free story  with a touch of humor.

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/romance/591184



Don't forget to press the heart shaped button to like the story and vote.



-shobana-

All rights reserved.

Falling In Love With A North Indian

 

https://www.inkitt.com/stories/romance/591184

QUOTE from the story - Maybe, Mr. Peterson, who knows! I responded a little cheekily, knowing in my heart that it would take a very special Indian to make me want to marry him.

I could never imagine myself married to an Indian. I have always known them to have a different outlook to life, a different expectation from women or wives, and quite honestly, I wasn’t sure if I would make them a good wife. I am not only independent, I am first and foremost a career minded person above everything else. And, I wasn’t sure if I could handle two incredibly important roles at the same time!

(As humorous as it is touching, this story will be worth your read)

Don't forget to like the story.

Thank you.

-shobana-

Lots of things happened to me this week;

I sprained my ankle,

No, I didn't strike the lottery,

I wrote a brand new story, from the comfort of my bed.

Of course there were rejections, (my writing I mean)

Then,

I realized,

Hey, I still have life in me...

Keep trying,

Someday, YOU just might succeed in your attempts!!

-shobana-

The Long Road - A reading of Shobana Gomes poem / Interview with Mathew Toffolo (Poetry Festival)

A reading of Shobana Gomes' poem "The Long Road," published by Poetry Festival, Toronto, Canada.
An awesome account of a journey, the end - a revelation.



Read Shobana's entries and follow her on simplyshobana.net



All rights reserved.

The Essence of Our Lasting Love.

I asked him again,

that time when the enchantment of the woods,

captured our senses.

"Would you ever leave me one day,

Perhaps when you have tired of me,

or of the drudgery that follows us

wherever we go,

Like walking against the Sun,

shadowed by the past,

uncertain of the future,

Would you leave me then?"

With neither amusement nor hesitation etched across his alluring face,

he replied with a catch in his voice,

"It would take a lifetime for me to find a reason to leave you,

For my love is as pure as the rising Sun,

As embracing as its setting,

I will be with you throughout time,

In essence, till its end,

My soulmate you are!"

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Far too late I realized that another day and another time was yesterday!

Once when there was life in me,
I took it for granted,
I waited far too long, thinking I had time
Maybe to say "I Love You" or just to be around
To light up someone's life and maybe even mine

I put off the day and then realized far too soon it was night
Time had passed through my procrastination
Precious time that I couldn't ever have again
Or grasp and hold, and maybe even sing and dance

Once, said like it was in the past
Only, it was yesterday that I had missed out on
Never to hold or grasp in my hand
Never to sing or dance again

Time flew past like it always did
It never checked with the clock before it ticked another minute

Far too soon, it was time to die
And far too late, I realized that I needed more time
To live, maybe to do the things I never did for lack of time
Or just to sing and dance, to say "I Love You",
For another chance to see the other side of the world
That was not within my reach
The one I wasted time, ignored and left out of my plans
Thinking
I could do it another day, another time,

Far too late, I realized that another day and another time was yesterday!

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2018

The Long Road

At first glance, it seemed easy,

I, the traveler on a weary road to perhaps fame,

I tamed my mind to think in ways one would want to impress,

But like a toddler taking baby steps,

I fall, struggling to get back on my feet.

The route I took seemed all too ready to steady that feet,

Through stumbling tears, I made my smiles just as effortless,

I cried first, then I laughed,

Isn’t laughter sometimes created from tears?

The road was long, the road was windy,

The road took me to eternity,

I wondered at some point if I would reach eternity, yes, eternity,

But stop I did not, I traveled through time, I traveled through eternity.

There were days when I thought “not a second to waste,”

Until one day I realized that it took time to reach eternity,

It was the long road I had chosen,

Through much travail, none of which man can know or hear of.

I trudged with time on the long road to eternity once,

Right now, I face, I stare ahead,

I have not seen the end,

No, there is no end,

I have only been on the trail to the “beginning.”

The End.

This poem was published on the Poetry Festival website on 25/02/2020

https://festivalforpoetry.com/2020/02/24/read-poem-the-long-road-by-shobana-gomes

Soft as a feather, a balm to a windless summer

Even amongst the tall reeds of grass,

I see your image,

Of silence entwined.

He did ask me once,

Where comes forth the strength of the reeds?

I believe it springs forth from the ground,

A forte built from inside the rugged soil,

Of roots,

they grow into slender shoots.

Why slender, he asked?

To be as light-hearted as the breeze,

Soft as a feather,

A balm to a windless summer.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

My trip to New York - World Trade Center - Spellbinding

World Trade Center, New York

This place was entrapping,
It rose from a dying ground,
Ground Zero,

Simply awe-
inspiring,
It was born of patriotism,
of love,
of gentle kindness,
Of thought-provoking,
artistry,
It was born of men,
Of women, who once trailed our
passage of time.

 

World Trade Center, New York

God bless their souls!

Simply spellbound by the artistry and mesmerizing wonder of the World Trade Center.
It made my trip to New York all the more meaningful.

-shobana-

So rare to the eyes of the weary.

So rare, this leaf of the fallen,
So fresh, it lay amongst the drab of the ground,
A beauty, vibrant in color,
It awaits the time of compost.

O what of the ground,
That rose to its majestic touch,
As it embraced and cradled its fall.
While the woods stood attention,
Its beauty - a marking,
For weary travellers of time.

In a land where beauty is seen by the weary,
The fallen maple overshadows the glint of the Sun,
It crowns the woods,
As nature's intimate haven,
It crowns the woods,
With the rarity of its beauty.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

When You Leave A Mark In This World.....

Did you know that footsteps transcend time?

For a billion years ago,

when the world was at its birth,

Its offsprings spread forth,

their word.

They multiplied in numbers,

Journeyed East, West, North and South,

And

Thus

Began

An evolution of mankind.

They created,

masterminded,

Different races, cultures, tradition, 

And

Religion.

For I tell you my kindred,

If there were no evolution,

we would be

One Creed,

One Race,

And,

One Religion.

Hence, the world became separate entities.

Separation, its undoing,

As today,

We stand

Divided,

As Nations,

As Race,

As Religion.

Then, mankind began a new revolution,

One where they thirsted for a united front,

One where they seeked understanding,

One where they soon became endangered,

For their false misrepresentation,

Of Race,

Of Religion,

Of Creed.

Mankind now sees that footsteps taken alone,

Has Divided, 

Has Misrepresented ,

Has Destroyed,

Their Peace,

Their Salvation,

Their Pride,

As Human Beings.

The dawn of a new age thus chaptered,

Now awaits 

Awareness,

Acceptance,

And

Deliverance.

When You Leave A Mark In This World,

Be as spirited as the winds of storm,

Be as peaceful as the doves that fly,

Be as genuine as a newborn's cry.

When you Leave A Mark In This World,

May it be for the good of all mankind.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

The Lonesome Figure On His Horse

I wish I could be sixteen again,
Watching you ride into the sunset,
somedays I even think of it as sunrise,
For you stay imprinted in my mind,
A lonesome figure on his horse.

There were the days when the Sun met the horizons of sand,
There were the days of the windblown dust,
They emptied the part of my soul,
that unmistakably felt,
like it collided with Earth's rare stones.

I watch now, with an eagerness like never before,
for the lonesome figure on his horse.
He rode away one day towards East,
And I have waited for him since.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Like an angel, I felt a descent.

Like an angel, I felt a descent,

Upon my soul,

Upon my being.

I fell upon cobble stones,
Put there by those,
Of want,
Of seek,
Of mighty thrones.

Were you the one?
To carry me home,
Bruised and burnt,
Left all alone.

Were you the one?
Like an angel's descent,
Kept me safe,
From wicked harm.

I felt a touch,
I felt an embrace,
That saved this life,
From cliffs of deep.

I shall arise,
I shall dethrone,
The ones who seeked,
My wearisome soul.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Where do you go from here?

Where do you go from here, I asked him once,

in the quietness of my sadness,

he embraced my thoughts.

He knew I longed for freedom,

there was a restlessness within me,

It was a freedom never heard of,

One that grips a heart with need.

Where do you go?

When the world needs you more,

Where do you go?

To break free of that hold.

It was unlike the ones I knew,

This freedom,

that slipped from my grasp,

One day without my knowing.

It came upon me at an hour,

Not of my asking.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyrights@shobana2020

I 

Caught by the Wisdom of the Lucky Charm

From my book "Imagination Unchained"

Caught by the wisdom of the lucky charm


Do you believe in good luck charms?



Gong Xi Fa Cai!

It was set on a day, daylight turned crimson

She stood looking up at the sky one day,
On a day, daylight turned crimson.
She watched as the shadow of a plane moved clouds,
Sleek and powerful.

Embattled within,
It left a streak as it passed her overhead,
The engines were a murmur,
Her silent wish bigger than the monumental sky.

Someday, I will fly higher than the highest sky,
And,
Someday, as you descend,
You will come to know,
Long before that, I have flown the skies with you.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Her Guarded Self

It wasn't the dark of the night that she was afraid of,
It was the clouds, that takes her high above,
Away from the rooted ground,
Away from her guarded self.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Dancing through a moment in Time

It was through silky reflections that I gazed at Sunsets,
Some days it touched the seas where I sat,
I would walk closer,
Watch its reflection waltz with each tide,
They shimmer and entrance,
While dancing through a moment in Time.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

The Rock Beneath the Capricious

It wasn't always like that,

There were days when the waters covered those pebbles,

There were days when the pebbles lay translucent underwater.

It never rocked the boat,

those gorgeous glistening pebbles.

Instead,

they provided the anchor for its unsteadiness,

They became the rock beneath the capricious

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Argentina

Argentina, I have heard about you...
You were of days gone old,
Sultry looks, pouty lips, a sculptured face,
Your sensuousness redeemed a nation's creed.

Argentina, the crops once grew wild,
Where the wars ravaged the gardens that thrived.
I often thought about the way,
the Americas shook with rage,
At the wickedness that besieged the devout.

Everywhere there were the tireless boredom of cold,
Did you see that,
Men were christened with blood swords,
Women, endowed with beauty bore crowns.

You remain steeped in thought,
Thinking, mastering plans anew,
I know Argentina, you, the simplest yet astounding,
You, the gentlest, yet - you will what is to come.

Argentina, I have heard of you,
Your steps are scattered like seed.

 -shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

On Wings Of Flight

Once, I was a child,
On wings of flight,
Where I dreamed of rising with the clouds,
On a journey where the skies resembled my craving.

I braised myself to face a world
Unknown.
What greeted me,
I could not tell,
For I was lost,
For a time amongst my fears, my dreams, and my intent.

My intent, lost amongst my longing.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Only You

Only you will make it seem so easy,

translucent as crystals,

akin to the shimmers of diamonds in a sea

of creation.

Only you can take away this part of my dream,

So real in me,

Like ripples on water

I envision it,

only to have it disappear,

when it comes into contact

with

defeatism.

In retaliation,

I take this part of my dream,

make it so that it becomes real,

I shine it till its translucence scintillates,

and

create a tidal wave,

dissolving the ripple till it ceases visibility.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Of Essence, and Intrigue.

I stood against the silence of an object,
An Objet d'art for some,
An inspiration for others,
An intrigue for me,

It was then I was reminded at how loud the silence of the object rose, to awaken me to its outlandish persona.






This wasn't about me,
It was about the half eaten pizza,
On a day that I was soulfully entertained,
To the Jazz and Rock sounds,
of a nearby Cafe.

It was the day I had a friend,
I dined with a friend,
And now she has gone away...

Pretty, just perfected!

Some of it didn't make sense at that age,

Words written out in bold,

caught her attention..

Pictures were perfect,

Pretty, just perfect,

In some ways the words,

disrupted its beauty.

With a pencil, she struck out the story of her life!

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Another decade in 2020!

With a volatile start to the New Year for many around the world,
let's hope that peace in all forms reign..

Ever since time, it was either war with oneself or war with the world,
It has done nothing but create confusion and unrest,
It has taken one to the depths of despair...

So what of the this world that speaks with a sword, he once asked me,
To which I replied,

It must be proven that the pen is mightier than the sword,
Until such time,
The war of the swords shall stay supreme...

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020


Follow my "Just Poetry" blog https://shobanagomes.blogspot.com.
It's free to read.

Read my articles, short-stories and other thoughts on Medium.
Free to read - https://medium.com/@shobanagomes

Not by the colors of the world

When dusk turned into night,
She saw the light of  the dark.

And so, it became apparent,
that night becomes a vision,
incomparable,
not by the colors of the world,
but by the sensuous delight,
of moonbeams and stars,
of falling comets,
the illusive dazzle,
of shiny stardust,
a cloudless sight,
that shimmers and feasts eyes.

-shobana-
All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

Or, what of poetry?

Or, what of poetry?

he once asked,

Well, I said twirling around

on the Sun kissed sands,

It takes me to that faraway place,

One where,

there is peaceful bliss,

an enchantment of beauty,

where the weight of the world,

Never,

bears me down.

Where,

I ride with freedom in the winds.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

What of his deepest craving?

What do you think is the most beautiful sight in the world?

The hour of dusk, caught her thoughts,

as she sat,

pondering,

she asked him,

questioning,

wanting to know,

his deepest craving...

Was it a beauty endowed,

stark innocence,

portrayed in her eyes?

Or did he maybe,

think of the colored skies,

on a brilliant day,

or on a lighted night.

Perhaps it was her laughter,

that touched her eyes,

and beamed throughout,

her dazzling smile.

O, I think that beauty is beholden,

he replied,

It is in those raindrops,

that rises in rainbows,

It is the green of the meadows,

Overshadowed by valleys.

Or maybe even the mountaintops,

One that is peaked with snow.

But most of all,

he beamed with pride,

It is of this hand that I hold,

On a starry night.

Her silence vowed his just reply,

For against the world,

his love has spoken thus.

She, his beholden one.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

The Centrefold of beauty

There are days when I gaze,

at these gentle flowers,

So consuming in their colors and fragility.

It becomes the centrefold of beauty.

------

She once stood on a rock,

Uplifted by its strength,

Even through her blistered feet,

It made her feel,

so tall.

She watched the seagulls fly,

Its graceful wings applaud

the windless skies,

that atoned

their flight,

It took them,

far from sight.

The bliss of love,

is as passionate as the soft, rising tides,

that wash ashore,

on days the seas are quiet.

The tides of love are such,

It cradles hearts on fire,

None can rouse its passion,

To kindle,

Flames of desire.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@2020 

Caught up in a Storm

It is like thunderbolts,

the rained, and that which weighs me down,

disguising my fears,

abusing my senses,

the crushing pain,

I'm all caught up in a storm.

The unwilling eyes,

The ones that refuse to see,

The ears that deny

my crying voice,

in retribution, the rain lashes out,

Did you not see or hear me,

while I was caught up in a storm.

I now walk alone,

Waves of storm arising in me,

Fear almost dissolving me,

To seek a place to hide.

Through crowded streets,

The strangers who walk past are stranger than me,

I walk, my head bowed,

I heed not their faces,

They belong to the storms of my life.

I'm caught in a storm,

There is no place,

to run and hide,

I wait for the thunderous skies above,

To seek out my shelter.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

The Unwritten Note

It stares at me, this blank page,

So empty it seems,

But then,

it holds the longings of my heart.

There may be days of strife,

Some glad tidings too,

Amongst,

Listfulness,

A tireless craving,

that bears my heart down.

This heart that bears the fruits of love,

writes to absolve,

an obsession.

Dear Self,

He is not what he seems to be,

He bears alliance to another,

He weighs his lifestyle on a throne he has built,

That's borne of this world.

One of rich indulgence,

One of arrogance,

One that keeps company,

with many of his desirous cravings.

He seeks beauty,

He seeks fame,

He has a lover,

and yet,

He seeks another.

Would guilt tame him,

No, not at this time,

nor for the future,

And I,

I write to 

Erase,

Eradicate,

Thoughts that encompasses him.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020

With You, Sunset, the Sea and the Breeze

I think I will let the Sea speak for itself,

For there was a someone,

A long time ago,

Who questioned 

Why I loved the seaside so...

I replied,

Why do you question the Sea,

Don't you think it is the Salt,

Of hunger,

beauty,

nourishment,

and

Don't you see it 

as a

lover's treasure.

Where footsteps tread,

Leaving imprints,

Where the wind blows summer

through your tresses,

Where you swim against waves,

Where laughter mingled with breeze,

makes music to ears.

It is the Sunrise for some,

And Sunset for me,

but most of all,

It breathes freedom,

Windblown freedom in ME.

This someone,

had just one thing to say,

"Well, the Sea is a mystery to me."

I walk away smiling,

Sure that it is,

None can reinvent the Sea,

Unlike.

most of nature,

None can move its residence,

Or stake a claim,

to its inheritance.

For I had once walked hand in hand,

With You,

Sunset,

The Sea,

and the Breeze.

-shobana-

All rights reserved. Copyright@shobana2020