System of Belief

If you're a little odd
And you don't need no God
And when you hear my little song
You find your head does nod
If you need relief
And you don't need no beef
Don't worry babe and have some faith
I'll be your system of belief

I can see that you are down
Yeah your face does that frown
Pretty babe I'll make you smile
I'll always stick around
You just need relief
And I wanna see your teeth
Don't worry babe, I'll keep you safe
I'll be your system of belief

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Red

My muse of sorrow has left me
I hope she never returns
Muse of fire, I found thee
For you my heart does burn

You and I, our love historical
So said the knowing Oracle
Somehow you already know
That I will never let go

Hold now my open hand
Can you feel my heart expand?
Come on now, let us walk
Our eyes shine in the dark

From my murky deep
Once again, I feel
You see and don't turn away
With me you do sway

It was you I heard all along
While I played the same old songs
Say those words once again
I gladly swallow your pain

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Concur

Hey hon, won't you take my hand?
I wanna let you inside
I hope that you understand
It is a rare sight
You can stay as long as you want
Even if forever
Your space I will not haunt
If our ties sever

But you don't need to worry
We'll be just fine
In a parallel universe, honey
You and I do rhyme
No matter what the stars say
I know I am right
You seem so far away
In time I'll see your light

There is one thing you should know though
Even if you already do
This chapter I have not closed
I doubt, neither have you
For if you did take my hand
If you took it in faith
On firm ground we could stand
We could change our fates

I swear that you can rest assured
Don't be obliged
When we talk there's no need to feel weird
Just come along for the ride
Now if you do agree with my crazy theory
Just say "I concur"
I will then know and believe
I've found her

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Wretched Emotions

These wretched emotions that I could do away with
I am not one to deny them though, I can barely sit

She looks to me as I look to her
We try to slow down the blur

Will she do away with her emotions?
Will she deny this strong compulsion?

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Exhaled Fogs

You hold my hand but you don't know
What it means to me I don't show
What it means to breathe and not grow
Why the world does move so very slow

I know you look but you don't see
I react quite constantly
I prefer to live in my make believe
Here there are no fallen trees

Would you come with me to the other side
A place where you and I can hide
A space were we don't have to decide
A time when we have never lied

Of course now that is wishful thinking
What's real is this feeling sinking
I am alone and slowly blinking
Far from me you are shrinking

You are welcome to enter my illusion
Your being here is no intrusion
Your being near there's less confusion
The air is clear and there's no pollution

Sick of moving with the mob
Bored of smiling at the job
I refuse to sit down and sob
Got my eye on the door knob

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Conflict of Interest

Pulled from these sides by me and them
The tides go high and low and then
Sometimes I just want to be free
Not think about your society
If I can't breathe I'd rather not try
Fall in with your suicide

Though there you are with all your rules
Your ideas of what I should do
Though when I care I only pretend
For you may never see my bends
Ask yourself what makes you right
It shouldn't take you all night

Justify your little flaws
Go break your own laws
I swear I try real hard to follow
Not bring you any more sorrow
What's inside has turned to frost
For as long as I have been lost

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Moored

       Shatter me, you don't have to try
  The pieces of me on their own fly
       Pulled along by horses on loose reins
           Each running its own way
           Still here I stand silly
   A kind of oddity

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Reborn

If you're living in the present
Then you'll find me in the past
If you're looking to the future
You know it ain't gonna last
For we always come back just to be reborn
Give into the night and fade to the dawn

It's just another test yet again
And the sword never wins over the mighty pen
You're holding back from running wild
Your freedom was lost to you when you were a child

You take a little bite of my soul
Slowly making me lose control
In your hands you hold the leash
Will you let loose this crazy beast?
For we always come back just to be reborn
Give into the night and fade into the dawn

Would you take back what you said?
Do you still sing inside my head?
I'm just a man with a little hope
Please don't push me down the steep slope
I could hold you to my heart
For an exit don't you make no start
Sit beside me for a little while
Just for a laugh and a little smile

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Low Times

Hey you
I can see you've got the blues
You could use a little sunlight
In your life

Do you long to feel the rain
Fallin' on your face
On a day when you've got nothin' to worry about?
But instead you find yourself in a storm
Drenched to the bone
Never feeling at home

You fear that nobody sees you
That you are here nobody believes you
Not even yourself

Falling down the slippery slope
You are wondering when you will hit bottom
When you can wash off all this muck in a friendlier rain
Until then, here you are again

Appetizer

Out of mind and out of place
No more inclined to occupy the same space
Feeling out of touch but not out of luck
Shall we move on before the universe sucks?

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

It is that time again

It is that time again
The time when my soul feels alone
Wretched to the bone
The time when everything feels wrong
Like a dis-chord in a song

I find it impossible to explain
Most things seem to be going right
Though I still feel like I am losing the fight
Most things seem to be in place
Except for me of course in this rat race

So what now?
Waiting for the crunch of Murphy's law
Trying to see where lies the flaw
Waiting for time to come to an end
A time when I won't have to pretend

You see, it is that time again
When I feel the cold fingers down my spine
Positive energy in decline
When I try to smile and prevent the panic
While I slowly turn depressingly manic

She's not the one
And she's not the one
And She's Not The One!
Shoot my Soul, if you've got the gun
I've had enough and I've had no fun

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Quick Rant

I want to be on the road
I want to be out on the open road, I want to compose and play music
I want to record and perform that music
I want to travel with my music like a troubador!
I want to be able to let go and detach
I want to not worry about hurting peoples' feelings by doing so

My heart screams and stretches at the seams
My muse hurts to be set free
My head is not where it should be
My mind will not shut up and let me be
My soul resides not inside my body; and
My disconnect may never leave me

Peace is just two fingers that barely mean anything
These emotions burst through me like photons in lightning
Seize the night on a chance, don't worry about timing
Release the beast, it needs to be freed from all that is binding
Please take the time to find in this life a meaning
Need not wait to see what the tide will eventually bring

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

No change

This side of me isolated
Bliss rides overrated
Quick slap on wrist
Hold back curled fists

Not one foot outside the wall
Neither bricks nor hearts did fall

All things considered
The best stays undelivered
Run, run, Run away
Not here to stay

The moments are not regretted
Though this heart remains isolated

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

I like them oranges

Look out for those door hinges!

There is no word that can't be rhymed

The trick is just a question of "How?" and time!

This be my acceptance for this award

Jane be my nomination for her words that hit so hard.

Thank you Promising Poets Parking Lot and Promising Poets' Poetry Cafe!

Porcelain Skin

Porcelain skin
The moon shines within
Denies sin

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Linked on Haiku Heights Prompt #46

P.S This Haiku Prompt promptly reminded me of a beautiful song called Porcelain by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Please listen to it as I believe it inspired me just as much as this prompt did.

Ride Story

From the night office in the bad mood
I rode my bike home, hopes of food
Then it came down, slow and then hard
Raining cool water on this traveling bard

I can't do this, not in this rain
In stopping and waiting, I would find more to gain
So I parked there on that wet road
Stepped into Barista for a cappucino

From the porch I watched it pour
Strangely enough the water looked like snow
There I saw it, a pretty guitar
Making me smile, warming my heart

I asked Barista man if I could play
Thinking it would help me pass time away
Right then, little did I know
I had a new song to compose

With the rain falling in the background
I relished the chords making that sound
It so happened that they fit my one poem
I wasted no time in recording it on my phone

Like this and like that the rain stopped
On the back of my bike I once again hopped
Rode home in minimal traffic
Smiling to myself like a git

Almost home I found some Paradise City
Followed close by Baba O'Reilly
I was happier that I can explain
Reached home, nearly insane

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

No Uncertain Terms

Looking to the day our paths meet
When the same ground is under our feet
How is it that I miss you already?
We have not met, you and me

Yet all I want to do is hold your hand
Travel on to our secret land
Slipping into our mutual trance
Let us lose all pretense

I wish I could say that I can wait to meet you
It would be an obvious avoidance of the truth
I will not lie to you about one thing
My mind flips when I hear my phone ring

Here I am now sending out my positive energy
Smiles all around, my laughter carries
The most I will ask for is some good conversation
The least I want is a lack of hesitation

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Grandmother

I wonder what happened
Between now and way back then, when
Once upon a time we believed in love
It meant more than wearing a gold glove

Do I find my grand mother so cool
Just because I myself am old school?
She never questioned us when we loved someone
In protecting our secrets, our hearts she won

Her mind and heart are so chill
She brings to me a sense of tranquill
I love her so with all my heart
From her lessons I shall never part

When I showed her my first ink
She just shared with me her marked skin
When my first love fell away
She offered to hold my secrets safe

So if she is down with our today
Where did things go astray?
It is comforting to know she's by my side
Alone I won't have to face high tide

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Wet Kiss

Wet kiss
Sweet bliss
Slide in
Deep swim

Wrap around
Body surround
Our sweat
So wet

So wrong
This song
So right
Love tight

Hearts one
Fire gun
Move fast
Long last

Haunt my
Dark sky
Future dreams
Stretched seams

Feeling bold
Feelings told
This dance
Dis-tance

Please help
Break shell
Your words
Soaring birds

Pry open
Un-spoken
Falling bricks
Mind tricks

Mask slips
Joint hips
No lies
True eyes

Be silly
Laugh hearty
Mind aloud
Thoughts crowd


© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

The Ranting Overlord

I humbly accept this award from Rachel

As Overlord I have a few rules to tell:

Firstly experiment with a new form if you accept this

Secondly never talk about Fight Club

Lastly convince a loved one that the answer is 42

I must now pass this on to three other wordsmiths

Pay attention to these fellow poets

I choose Dheepikaa for her crazy word lust

Neeraja for her pretty dark side

Vaishnavi for her strange stories

Much love and thanks to darling Rachel

Many stories she has to tell

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Happy

Happy is what I want to make everyone
All the people
Perfect son
Possible it seems not
You can only try a lot

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Control

Control not

  .  .  .  .  . I deny this hand

Let go now

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011


I have linked this piece on Haiku Heights: Prompt #44

The Rescue

Another one from my notepad.

Souls shot to hell
By the hands that were meant to care
She runs away, an empty shell
Away from that ones that care,
Straight into the pain of everyday

She wants what she wants
From the world and all its beauty
Yet she fears, she hesitates
Held back by ropes that should not exist


She needs fixing, let us fix her
Maybe we can put her back together
Pull out the knives
Bring her soul back to life

But, should we fail in saving this soul
We must refrain from losing control
We must protect and save our own souls

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Walls

This was written a few months back in my notepad. It should have been posted before Holding Back, you might see why.

Imprisoned behind these walls
That I built around me
It takes a special kind of force to bring it down
Not one, but the hearts of two alone

Wishful thinker, are you blind?
The search is not over
So you cannot begin to sigh
Breathe in however,
For you may even miss the free air

No answers for the piling questions,
Save for one: You have not arrived, you never did

Back to my wall, where I still wait
Nothing will touch me here,
As long as it is just me
Nothing can tear down these walls
Certainly not me

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Holding Back

Sometimes I feel like I am holding my own leash
Restraining myself from the much needed release
It's really just a battle for control
Between me and myself, who will first let go?

I am however tired of holding on
Would be so much easier to let go of these bonds
There is good reason though, to stand behind the line
For the sake of my heart, I must wait for the right time


{My mind screams: No!
 What if it is time that we let go?
 I remind it: We walk before we run
 Let us not jump the gun}


While I hide behind my walls
I can't help but notice the bricks that fall
Perhaps its too early to say
Though I feel someone hacking away

Hey you,
Won't you stay?

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Dear Companion

I don't want you to be just a pretty face
I get bored easy you see
I swear I will love you for your brains;
Provided that you've got them

It may be true that I often live inside my mind
Just be not afraid for I will invite you inside
Be prepared though to wait a while

Please have some kind of art inside you
It is how I like to communicate
This is important so don't be fake
Don't fret too much though
Your type of art is up to you
For that I promise, I will love you

As for me I can promise a few things
I promise to wash the dishes if you do them with me
We can take turns cooking too
I do enjoy cooking food
I swear I'll help clean our home
I just hope you don't mind reminding me

I can promise that I'll be one scared father
I'll try hard though, probably go bald faster
I will be happy too

I am not sure if I am asking for too much
I don't even know if I am offering enough
At least now it is somewhat out there
There is more to me and I'd like to share

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Inspired by Mixture!

Oh Father So Brave

Oh Father so brave
No need to look so grave
It's ok, it's ok
I hear my voice to him say

There was a time when I was younger
Advice came from father
It's funny how things can change
Last night when I spoke with dad
I said "the stress you hold is so bad"
Coming from me it must've sounded strange

Am I still a child who never learns?
Or is it to lead now my turn?
Trying to think like a family man
While my future is yet barely planned

Speaking to dad I wondered what best to say
If the man is old, doesn't he know the ways?
Today is a really different world
Where the signs are not written in bold

I love this man who taught me all that I know
Who did his best and bravely let me go
Into this world with all of its dangers
I can always find him when I need a saviour

All he asks for is my love and respect
To be strong and take care of my health
I must try my best to fill my role
A better son for his eyes to behold


Hey Dad, this one's for you
Though our minds may always be two
You are a good man, so rest assured
There are many more songs left to be heard

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Two Words, Deca Verse

Political correctness
Awkward anxiousness
Fleeting hopes
Slippery ropes

Dark thoughts
Best forgot
Your heart
Abstract art

Fall free
Make believe
So true
No clue

Feel fresh
Flesh carress
Mind numb
Loaded gun

Pretty star
Miles apart
No gain
Vain vein

You stay
Far away
Knowing eyes
No surprise

Fool's gold
Neurotically bold
What God
Condescending nod

Quick freeze
Soul squeeze
Move now
Raised brow

Swing through
Screamin' blues
Lucky twice
No dice

Passing thoughts
Exhaled fogs
Mind unquiet
Tiny riot

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

From where talent

Unknown surely real

Feel surreal

On top is the poem that got me this award. Below the award is my acceptance Haiku. I nominate Rachel for the next Perfect Poet award. Thank you Promising Poets Parking Lot.

Obama Is Dead?

My friend said the other day
While reading the news on the 4th of May
"So....Obama's dead"
I only had to look before his face turned red
"I meant...Osama" he mumbled
All I could think was...hmmm...interesting fumble

You see he wasn't the first or last one
To mispronounce the guy who found the wrong end of the gun
I heard others do verbal double takes
"Oh crap! My mistake"

This added to the mass speculation
Whether his death was just an illusion
Just another deflection is it?
From the supposed truth lost in the myth

I don't really know where I am going with this
Though it's funny when the facts get missed
Its Osama not Obama who they say is dead
Good to remember without having to go red

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

In A Parallel Universe

I can almost feel...her

She's not in my air though I can nearly breathe...her

Perhaps she's part of my disconnect

Her space I cannot dissect

In a parallel universe

All that's mine is really just hers

Striving hard to keep control

On reality I must have hold

Slave to this romantic idea

She's not something I'd find in Ikea

I know that she does exist

And so my mind decides to persist

I've only been waiting for so long

Whole while playing the same damn song

Trying to put my own pieces together

Though the glue won't hold forever

It probably sounds just plain crazy

That I can almost hear her voice through the air that's hazy

I flee away to my personal islet

And I miss the presence of one Ms Violet

As I lay on my bed this night

I know I won't just give up her light

Even if I could just wish her away

I'd rather leave my heart on the silver tray

Even now I can almost feel her

Nearly breathe her air in the stratosphere

She may one day read this very verse

When she joins me from that parallel universe

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Musings of Introspection

Soaring high in the sky
My point of view is often bird's eye
Feeling giddy from my disconnect
Maybe that's why my mind is unset

I can see mostly from both sides
Yet I find it hard to decide
Between what's right and what's wrong
Where is the clarity in my song?

Could there be an end to my daily dread
Breathe peace while earning my daily bread?
These words give me something to look forward to
Some alone time with my un-quiet muse

If alone is indeed a state of mind
Then my muse and I have no reason to hide
We shall rhyme here in pretty verse
It's certain now that we are not the first


© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

I want to thank Promising Poets Parking Lot  and  Poets United for introducing me to so many talented poets out there. I must also give a shout to Jingle for helping me out similarly. I am missing some people of worthy mention here but they are all equally important. Lots of Love!

Whiskey Philosophy

Questions of a God
For answers I am at a loss
No reason here for the mental stress
I do not own, I Impossess*

I do believe in a Higher power
Though not one that controls from High tower
Is it the word or the ugly sword
When one must love a powerful Lord?

Most of us just try to get ahead
But that won't matter when we are all dead
Someday we all run out of time
We must take pleasure in rhythm and rhyme

Free your mind while you still can
Be the best kind of woman or man
Wait not for a message from above
The truth is found in our ability to love

You need not listen for I do not preach
Do pay attention for Life does teach
Don't pray for no blessing, fear not any curse
And if you find yourself asking, just come back and read this verse


© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

*Impossess - Its a word I made up a few years back. Its the opposite of Possess. i.e it means to not own. Comes from the idea that you enter the world with nothing and you leave the same way so you really never own anything. Hope that makes sense...it is open to discussion!

Move

All I wanna do is dance
Slip into my personal trance
Don't need no music, don't need no beats
Just let the mood move my feet

You don't need a ticket to take you away
Just be happy and you can sway this way

Now don't get me wrong
Your life's just a song
Hear the notes that make you float
At the end the words are the ones you wrote

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

A small rhyme

Been some time since I last rhymed
The words just never came to mind
Here I am though, once again
Hello, long time, my wordly-friend

It seems that while my search continues
I am not even sure if I really have the blues
If there is any sense to be made of the results
It still does not spark up my light bulb

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Lighter Moments

Pardon me while I step out of my mind
While I still can, while its not yet a crime
As the world turns on holy wars
Waves crash strongly on all our shores
Images in my mind I wish were not stored

The tide comes in, the tide goes out
Time surely we know nothing about
Yet the man-made seconds tick on by
Yet the times remain precious in our eyes
Yes we look back from time to time

In our mind of hopes and dreams
Is a reason to live on it would seem
If you are reading this on some day cold
Be glad that you are not a flattened toad
For the good times never grow old...so I'm told

So be brave and have faith
Your soul is better off with no hate
Though these words may seem lame
At least you know that you're not to blame
They'll rhyme just right when it rains

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Darker Moments

Another one from long ago...

I wish him pain
Deadly and endless, coursing through his veins
He is the child molester, the sex offender
And we all hate him

There he was door locked behind him
Drunk off of evil
Hell bent on sin
She didn’t have a chance
Too young to understand
Yet the fear beat in her heart
As he fed off her innocence

She tried to speak but no one believed her
They used to be close, but now they have betrayed her
Who can you trust when you are not trusted
When you have been blamed for being helpless

I respect these women for being so strong
For being alive, for standing up so tall
They will never forget what was done to them
And forever they will pray those men burn in hell


© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Beasts

Wrote this long back...

Irritable I am
By every little thing
Like a crawling under my skin
I boil from deep within
Everything crashes to the floor
Dissolving into nothing
I wanna take everyone down with me
Almost enjoying the sin

Beasts inside my head
Clawing at each other…..peace now a memory
Beasts inside my head
Eating from within….peace now far away

Everything’s happening together
One thing after another
Change is coming fast
Fast at lightning speed
The beasts they are hungry
Hungry for more blood
I wanna hunt all that is around me
I am enjoying the sin

Breathing slow
Deeply waiting
Everything is clear now
It will soon come to an end
The beast is on a leash, holding ever tighter
I will control the madness….before it consumes me.

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Brownian Motion

I wrote this a few months back in my notebook, though when this blog began I was unsure if online I should put. It is here now at the request of Ms Violet, she said she really likes it. Here goes...

Dynamic systems reaching equilibrium
We heard the notes when we were younger
Paths that cross but never meet
The same space under our feet
Collide before time runs out.

Shine the light on
I don't think I've ever heard this song
We may have never met before
Except before this time long ago.

A puzzle we'll never piece together
Perhaps the answer's in the beer
Becoming vivid where it is unclear.

As we wait for another night
When we meet under those dim lights
Relativity holds back the time.

On a bus or a train
Where we might have met on the same plane
Though sadly we looked the other way
Until that day...

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

The Mental Circus 4

Easier to move when I don't remember
Simpler to be when I am not under
Somewhat at peace with my disconnect
Moving on with all due respect

Embrace the man who is not really there
Except when you hold him he is suddenly aware
Of the words that are mostly unsaid
That nearly every door is marked red

Hard to understand why I reconnected
It simply was never intended
Letting go while holding on
It's not same as moving on

Now the man just looks around
Only to find that he has not been found
To not be there now he knows is for the best
Now his mind turns off the light and exits... stage left

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Impression Haiku

Impress upon me
The impact might leave a hole
Impression of your soul

This is my first Haiku and I have linked it on Haiku Heights

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

The Mental Circus 3

Taking note of all that floats
Losing time and losing hope
However now I'm really stoked

Alone could be a state of mind
The tones invoked deep inside
'Least there's no need to dry my eyes

Mindscaping to my personal islet
While my body moves on auto-pilot
Must appreciate Ms. Violet

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

The Mental Circus 2

Nothing to regret and nothing to forget
Feel silly for my wishes and my silly self
She said no and she asked why
Still our home did not lay down and die
I guess we're gonna be just fine

That's not all though, its not the end
Not while my my mind does circles and bends
For I write not for her and I write not about her
I write for every time that I've made this heart burn
It happens whenever I get too close to the fire
Though I must before I can trust and admire

I can rest for now perhaps
Give rest to this wretched thinking cap
Though I know not how long my peace will last
Until my mind again starts running laps

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

 

The Mental Circus 1

The strange moments that make my heart skip a beat
I chase them not, for I cannot look for them
It is a strange thing, to feel these things
Simultaneously desiring and escaping
I do not wish for these moments
I do not wish for the opposite either
I do seek an end that ends the need for this fever
If she said no it would blow down this home of sticks n stones
If she said yes it would mean no more than it should, though it could mean everything
It is these questions followed by moments of silence that won't stay quiet
It is these thoughts that plague my mind whenever she runs by it
Sometimes I wish I could forget the way she gets into my head
Though I would hate to never remember the way she felt when we met
Now when I put my head down to rest
I know she will put my mind to the test
Though she may be unaware until the moment that my heart is bare
For as long as she is unaware, I am not really there

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Go Figure

Your stars have changed they say
"So what?" I ask, if I may...
Can we really put our faith in a photograph of a million-year-old yesterday
Can it really predict what's happening this Friday
Even if it did, I would make sure that changed, so really, no way

No pain, no gain
So true when you do gain pain

Not much more to say or type
Can't force my hand to write what's not right
They say I've got to keep goin'
If I want to wake up dreamin'
It is hard though to force these thoughts
I guess this is some place I've got to start

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011

Eyes to the Skies

It seems to me that if you are not here and you are not there,
then all you do is stare at the people that are around you like you are the animal in the zoo

Work, Home. Work, Home.
A stone drone, a lone soul in this crowded dome.

Fleeting thoughts, most forgot in the exhaled fogs.
Mind not stale while the soul flails, aspiring to spirit away on any given day.

Not producing, just reproducing, though unpleasantly.
Fingers itching, deprived from the wood and steel string, notes in a sling.

The questions pile with no answers nigh
Breaths turn into sighs and eyes turn to the skies.

© Rahul Chidambaran 2011