Lost and found

And then lost again

I am only hoping

Centuries have passed

And for once

The world has changed

I am hoping

The stations look different

More of red less of yellow

And when asking for wrong directions

You meet the right fellow

I am hoping

The cabbies smile more often

And there be no urchins at the signal

But when you find a poor soul

There is time enough to mingle

I am hoping

Coke and Pepsi and all their soda factories

Get sued out of production

With ample supply of tea and coffee

But no addiction

I am hoping

The Tsotsi and boys have the same future

As Brian and boys from Manhattan

And when they look at the ocean blue skies

They don’t look for the weekly ration

I am hoping

It rains on hot summer’s day

And it snow every winter

And when Santa shows up

He is minus the candy, plus the beer

I am hoping

The fashion shows

Go out of fashion forever

With not one glass that reflects

Or an inch of a mirror

I am hoping

Every failure is rejoiced

And passing becomes uncool

And there is no pressure to work

Right after the end of school

Away from the dusts of time

Away from the words too

More than anything else in the world

I am hoping that you find me that one place

Where even life has not a clue

A story well read

Easier done than said

You open the book you’ve already read

And then expect the mystery to shake you up

From the outside

From the inside

But you really know the plot

The heroine lives, the hero dies

And no suspense can save them

Or erase the sense of déjà vu

Unless the pages deliver more than I write

And less than you read

Each time

Each and every time

The maid doesn't apologise for ringing the bell when she has the keys.
The paper boy doesn't apologise for arriving after I am gone.
The rick guy doesn't apologise for not doing his job (driving).
The railway doesn't apologise for apologising without regret.
The commuters don't apologise for fighting over same thing every day.
The man on the window seat doesn't apologise for spitting out of the window.
The bhajan mandali doesn't apologise for creating nuisance in the name of God.
The taxi guy doesn't apologise for not doing his job (driving).
The BMC doesn't apologise for the roads between potholes.
The toll naka doesn't apologise for giving candy instead of one buck.
The bus driver doesn't apologise for rashly applying brakes at the last moment.
The RTO officer doesn't apologise for causing traffic as they speak over the cellphone.
The world doesn't apologise for sucking my time.
But I am expected to apologise for being late.
How unfair!

Your smile

Your smile is not the same anymore

It is burdened with our past

With what you are thinking of me

With things you can’t forget

Things I keep remembering

Things I shouldn’t have done

And all the things I did

It tells a story

But it tells a different story

Not the one for the world

One for me

Only me