The Mistletoe

 

Where there's none watching

A place where Santa misses

Above an arc with Juliet blooms

hidden in a silent corner

A lone mistletoe drooped

The red berries were pretty, though sad 

The plant could spread its vines far

 The fruits scattered

between the leaves and wooden stems

They wait to be noticed

So what of the Juliet blooms?

Lest they be overshadowed!

The mistletoe bent its head low

Hiding as it had been before

Knew that the Juliet blooms could never be overshadowed.

They were far too pretty!

The Juliet blooms were christened as beauties

long before, and wore a crown of roses on its sturdy branches.

Then on a Christmas night

when the carols rose high

A boy and a girl in love

looked up at the arc

Spotting the mistletoe

Kissed to seal the night

with mistletoe magic.

The mistletoe never drooped again

Hadn't it been the reason for two lovers to be happy

on a Special Night?

The mistletoe brightened in spirit

from then on

OH, how wonderful that

It had finally made a mark

on two lovers

on a sparkling Christmas night.

-shobana-

On Shobana's Musings today: A Global Phenomenon

https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-global-phenomenon.html

Gift a child a book today. On Barnes & Noble:

Crash went Tiny Star deep into the Earth's Crust! Nightingale and Owl saw the whole thing. There was a big hole in the ground. Find out how Tiny Star gets out.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventures-of-tiny-star-shobana-gomes/1148138880#

Rain

 

#video @Youtube #Rain #Poetry #Poet&Writers #PoetryCommunity #KindlePromo

Rain 

The poet was wrong in his song

It wasn't only the sun which blinded

or capsized a heart

There was the rain

on a sombre day

that heavied hearts

Sprinkling sadness 

in the tears that flowed 

like rain

One morning, as I drove on a lonely stretch

The rain did encumber

blinding the vision ahead

O that sadness be not part of my voyage

that day

Or never be I blinded

to the rain

that wished to 

water my pain.

-shobana-

Published on Shobana's Musings:

Read in 50 states and distributed to more than 180 countries

https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/11/read-in-50-states-and-distributed-to.html

A Christmas Deal Just for You & Your Loved Ones

The Traditional Fruit Cake - Cassandra's Big Surprise

(EBook)

From Nov.22-27 is sold at $0.99

 76% reduced price promotion!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPXNG979

Be the Rock

The humble man in a quiet room

heard a voice call out to him:

'Son, Son, what ails you that with clasped hands before me

you stand

disillusionment in your eyes

distraught bores your heart

Your pain weighs heavily on your shoulders

There's much anguish and grief
I see them all

Tell me what ails you?"

The humble man, his eyes wet with tears

His words were barely a whisper, he replied:

"I hear the hypocritical men,

the same ones that poisoned the earth

the minds of children

and laid taint upon the soils of the land.

I cry for the loss of goodness

for their hearts are ridden with greed

and they stumble in a drunken worship

of evil

I fear for the loss of sanity

For madness has taken root in this world." 

Then, in the silence of the room 

A Storm brewed:

Waves

lashed against the rocks

that never moved an inch

Fortified by centuries of strength

standing upright 

against the might of a turbulent tide

Until calm subdued the waters

And the sea danced to the winds once more.

In the midst of the turmoil

He heard the voice say

"Son, Son, do not be afraid

Be like the Rock

Fortified to stand upright

Against the rising tides

of life's storms

is time

Calm will reign once more

and the men of disrepute

will be no more

In an uprising

They will sink in their own mire

of sin

Never to rise up again

For greed has blinded their eyes

and they walked

into the quicksand

Down, and down they went, 

And they were swallowed up 

By the very soil they were traitors to. 

Be The Rock

-shobana-

Get the first edition of Shobana's new children's book, The Adventures of Tiny Star, published in various retail stores: 

https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-lesson-in-life.html

The stealing light

#Blogger #Light #Poetry #Poems #PoetryCommunity #Festivaloflights #shobanagomes

The lights come on when the world falls asleep

It was a way of stealing light 

to outdo the dark

Though there's no warmth like that found in the rays of the Sun.

"It does help," I heard one say,

"to be able to see what goes on

around you."

"Indeed, it does," someone else replies

And I agree.

Though in my heart I wondered at the darkness 

that sometimes grips one that light

cannot soothe or dispel.

As I watched the fireworks light up the night

A stunning display

almost at my doorstep

to show me how light

raised up a night

to keep one awake

to abide by the wonders before us.

I was glad for its colourful luminnence.

-shobana-

Happy Deepavali to everyone celebrating. I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Haven of Silence

It was in the sighs that I heard the whispers

Fragmented words that, when knitted together

Finally came together to make sense

I realised that not all words were meant

to mean something worthwhile to me

So I picked them out

The weeds from the freshest of grass 

till 

The meanings were clear - an unveiling it became.

The cries of the heart can never be spoken

except when heard in the sighs 

when at times

They leave their haven of silence.

I wondered if the tiny sighs would make an ocean

like tiny drops of water

I realised that sighs lasted a lifetime

and ventured deeper than the oceans to outlive

lives in memories.

-shobana-

On Shobana's Musings Today:

That Haven of Silence is Broken. Here's the link for your kind reading.

https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/10/that-haven-of-silence-is-broken.html

The Adventures of Tiny Star

Trapped in Earth's Crust

by Shobana Gomes

Book 1 - First Edition

The book is published on the following #marketplaces and is available to buy. @Publishdrive. #childrensbooks #kidstory #Blogger #shobangomes

Barnes & Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventures-of-tiny-star-shobana-gomes/1148138880?ean=2940182314671

Rakuten Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/the-adventures-of-tiny-star?sId=a153f963-e895-46b8-8c41-1628ee576844&ssId=i_1ZchbbEV94oS3VwyRVv

Apple Books:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-adventures-of-tiny-star/id6751627915

Odillo (US Marketplace)

https://marketplace.odilo.us/opac/?id=08447378#recordCard 

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP2B8Z84

Voxa

https://voxa.ro/ebooks/8e746109-4bb4-409c-92ed-988cc3f2dd3a

 

A different sunset each time

Maybe it's in September

That the sun sets differently on the same sky.

It was in the way the rays filled the pockets in the clouds

Some blazed to visual perfection

Some added to serenity, while others shied away from the limelight.

The month tolled to new chimes

They tolled like they did in churches

Seeking attention

Yearning 

Alas for the tranquillity only found in the heavens.

Peace beckons as an ardent desire to walk again

with a song in your heart

with nothing to weigh you down

like the fear to survive another day

Reining in uncertainty.

For what can become of man when peace is compromised?

They forget that once a petal bloomed gently, opening to a clear sky, or

the hours the maple turned colour to fill a sidewalk's bleak facade,

an unparalleled attraction in a world that has the misfortune

of discarding nature so carelessly.

A burning streak of flame sought my eye as I stood against the window

A lonesome figure, a private vision

The sunset 

Yet, so different

Visions are for the visionaries.

Just as the newness of the month gives rise to new sentiments

The setting sun has decided to follow another dimension

To create appreciation.

A different sunset fills the sky to bring me new wisdom

Briefly 

Time has a way of changing perceptions.

I wrote this poem at the start of the month. The sunset has a way of touching my heart.

On Shobana's Musings: As September Closes - https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/09/as-september-closes.html

The Raised Flag

The future stands tall with the Raised Flag.

I once stood on a pavement

The day the world remembers

as Independence Day.

And looked up at the Raised Flag.

The stark reality of promise

where the diverse lived

free as freed 

and felt a sudden exaltation

to be a part of a beautiful nation

I call home.

Merdeka, Merdeka, the road that we took together

Has never been a straight one

like reaching a place revered

We braved the unknown and faltered many times

 through our courage and grit

We lifted ourselves

to reach the finish line

empowered and strengthened, united in spirit.

In a Raised Flag, our future lies

Our future generation carries our pride

For what is a nation if it goes unrecognised

and not have a symbol to carry "as mine."

Selamat Hari Merdeka to all Malaysians Everywhere.

Malaysia celebrates 68 years of Independence today.

May God bless and keep our Land safe from the calamities of any nature.

Amen.

-shobana-

Non-stop writing

I call this non-stop writing when there isn't an end to expect or foresee, and when the early hours of the daylight has turned into a mid-afternoon scorching, burning the clothes that dry outside and torching our bodies with heat or when it seems like the weather is cool with a sullen looking sky above, the heat blowing in the winds says otherwise, as you wish you were soaking somewhere North, where spring is just beginning with flora and fauna looking lush and aflame with blooms and think, I might just forget this yearning for things far from reach and stay afresh inside my home with the air-con running though the electricity bill at the end of the month might scare the life out of your measly body and you fall dead on the couch with no one really knowing the reason why you died.

-shobana-

The latest publication on Shobana's Musings: Nature is our Greatest Provider:

I am on Upwork: If you'd like me to write for you, please press on the link to learn more. All applicants can be assured of confidentiality and quality work that meets their requirements.

You will get excellent, award-winning stories and articles for your books and blogs Writing & Translation > Articles & Blog Posts Starter: $30.00 Standard: $40.00 Advanced: $60.00 View Project

https://www.upwork.com/services/product/writing-translation-excellent-award-winning-stories-and-articles-for-your-books-and-blogs-1957414630854648509?ref=project_share

The Children of the Sun continues to make waves with readers. Read the great reviews and Sample here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJWXDLRP

Don't forget to leave a review, since it motivates the writers to work harder in their craft.

 

Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to the channel. Thank you for supporting my channel.

If I had a Son

If I had a Son

I’d be as happy as I am with my daughters.

The girls would go crazy - for sure.

He wouldn’t do drugs

He could try a cigarette or two

And know the effects of nicotine

He’d paint the world with words

Just as I do

And add colour to the lives of others

At one I’d teach him to write

Yes, at one

I’d let him hold the pencil tight

And scribble on paper and not on walls, haha

We’d go to the park together

I’d show him the beauty of nature

But, most of all

I’d take him to the beach,

We’d swim and take long walks

Collect sea shells

And wait till the sun sets.

He’d want to know where the seagulls went off to 

Each evening

They are migrating birds, I’d say

As if he knew it all the day he was born.

If I had a Son

He’d be a rising star

A wonderful human being

When a man he’d 

Be the perfect gentleman.

-shobana-

Read the latest on Shobana's Musings

https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/08/from-hate-to-something-other-than-hate.html

In the keys of a piano is refuge

Outside, the world was in shatters

Unacceptable

Incomprehensible

Helpless, a void filled me

I found a voice

In the keys of a piano is refuge

the highs and the lows

Were the notes that spoke of my heart

The lows sounded harsh 

undebatable even

The high notes disappeared 

somewhere irreversible

the highs of triumph

 were happy thoughts

of the ones with laughter on their lips

the ones that cared not for grief

the ones that lived

I played as if obsessed

The need for clarity, high

If not for war, at least for love

If not for peace, at least for harmony.

Meandering towards the high notes

My fingers trail.

-shobana-

Published on Shobana's Musings, The Children of the Sun - Kindle Edition:  https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-children-of-sun-kindle-edition.html

Draw me a Sun

Draw me a Sun, that big ball of fire,

The rays light up the sky

and the world below.

A child says, "It's the biggest star in the universe."

Though it's yellow and bright

and pretty to look at

There's fire in its belly

It burns.

"Doesn't it make a lovely picture from here, Mom?"

The mom looks up, and it hurts her eyes.

The ocean drifts, a lullaby

The sands are warm

She is barefoot,

The child she shields

from the glaring sun

Under the umbrella

They walk hand in hand.

While the sun follows wherever they go.

-shobana-

On Shobana's Musings: The Powerful Sun is a God 

Among the yellow buds of Summer

yet again

I seek your face

In the rays of the sun

Among the yellow buds

of Summer

I look for a sign

 a way out of this tiresome life

that ails my heart and my mind

I trace

a road

To lead me away from

sadness 

I see the flowers are aglow when gay

Under the shining sun,

 a show of grace

befitting paradise

they sway

I think 

I'd walk among them

the light to share

And submerge my burdened heart

to their care.

yet again

I find

a path that trails to heaven.

Though my laughter has dimmed

Though the tears remain unshed

I shy away from the pain

Of knowing

I trail a path to heaven

-shobana-

YOU

A gentle twilight's yearning, Awakens 

A melody is sung just for you. 

A flame within burns an eternal fire 

In your arms, there's solace, I find my heart’s desire. 

Our love story begins with an inheritance 

Of passion, I redeem from me to YOU, 

And YOU to me. 

With each heartbeat, a love song repeats 

Radiant and in vibrant rays.

The colours of love 

Shine eternally bliss 

Through eternity 

Together, we create a harmonious blend 

Of euphoria

Lovers among the melodious blooms 

A soulful serenade 

Forever immortalized

-shobana-

'When Books Overflow' On Shobana's Musings: https://shobanasmusings.blogspot.com/2025/07/when-bookshelves-overflow.html

The Man Who Forgot to Live

@YouTube #video #stories #writingcommunity #Blogger

We forget that life is for living

When we are burdened

with worries and anxieties

However,

Have you learned to wish upon 40 stars

Or dream the impossible

Have you admired the constellation

the Glimmer

that lights the dark.

Have you been touched by the wisdom of a child

The whys and the hows

and what if's

that never fail to 

inspire the naivety you once lost

You remember

once more 

Have you found love?

The starry-eyed attraction

the ecstasy

of the first touch

That remains with you forever.

Have you ever walked hand-in-hand

by

 the seashore

 and wondered

at the intimacy of love amid resplendence.

Live!

Have a great month of July, everyone.

Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Thank you.

-shobana-

 

Sunset Silhouette

Here's Sunset Silhouette for your kind viewing; Please don't forget to subscribe to my channel. Have a great week ahead.

Thank you for watching.

-shobana-

There's Hope

 

Quote from my book 'Where the Rain Falls'

I found a reason to hope

that our world

will acquire understanding

The lessons are grave

the weariness 

inconsolable.

For the follies of men

though many

can be forgotten

when

by the stream

where the ducks

Find a home

a place

to wade and play

Restore our Hope

In the living, more than the dead.

-shobana-

Where the Rain Falls is now published as an Audiobook. You can access it for free via Audible Plus.

Kindle link: https://amzn.to/4l7rPn4

Imagination Unchained

I see what you don't see

Above clouds and in seams of time

The vision, a rapture

In my mind.

Above the stars, I see the light

My view is doused in an everlasting shine

Caught between enlightenment, I stand enraptured

In a constellation.

Below the ruins that break its fine

Disappearing in cracks of mud and grime

Marring the beauty of its time

The dust of the streets is undone.

The wilderness appeases my mind

The wildflowers are rife with vigour

O how I wish

The freedom of the meadows

Are mine

Upon which the carefree abide.

Then I remember

The words that I write

The dreams and stories

That takes me back in time

How precious they seem

Though

As if in consolation

The present remains

An endowment.

-shobana-

copyright@shobana2012