Kishore Asthana Poems

My ego, the progeny
Of my wandering mind
Is like Isaac
To Abraham
...

Crabs in my brain
Walking sideways
Left-right, left-right
They walk, step by step
...

The forehand I try, with a fearsome cry
Alas, the net is too high
My backhand with a smile, is an unguided missile
Followed through by a sigh
...

What was a yard is now a meter
Though we add more for good measure
But a yard was so much sweeter
And gave us much more pleasure
...

Brass,
That compound of copper and zinc
Has made many float and many sink
Trials of the ego, heralded by brass
...

A ballad for a macho man
Who met an untimely end
Who sang the song of the swan
When himself he could least defend
...

The ‘I’ who reads my poems
Is not who gave them birth
They peeped out by themselves
When I wasn’t there at all
...

I melt in your arms
And my ego
Bereft of its throne
Falls to the floor
...

In Shav-asan
After a sojourn with the Self
I lie, still as a corpse
And often, in a heartbeat
...

There is still oil left in this lamp
And the wick, though older
...