O YOUNG GOA

O YOUNG GOA

O, what have you
Become, 
Precious "Pearl of the Orient?"
Such sadness to my eyes 
When I behold
Your no longer 
Breathtaking site...

Who has undone you
In this way,
Who dared to destroy the 
God perfect image?

Is it  the young
And lost
Those who aimlessly roam 
Your streets, your roads?

The childs of the past 
Brought you gloryHow heartbreaking to see

And know 
Today's young 
Take delight in 
Gifting you misery...

I weep, I shout,
I speak kindly, I plead
Young Goa, will you 
Not listen to me?

Your nature now Must be turned around 

But you alone 
Do not realise the harm
Of your ways 
So look around you, 
I pray...

Young Goa, where does your 
Future lie...

Is it among the ruins
Of your vile acts
Or amidst the memories of 
A past you care to not 
Know of?

Wake up young people!

What does it look like
Today's Goa's destiny?
Is it glorious 
To your sights
Or like me
Do you see
Devastating misery??

O young Goa,
Answer me! 
                              FREDERIKA MENEZES

FOR MADAYA, SYRIA

For Madaya, Syria

A feeble life
Crosses my sight 
And my heart wrenches...
I cannot look
Yet I must see
The unspeakable misery...

It is but an image
Of reality!

A land torn
By war,
Hunger is the weapon 
To destroy...

Why should the innocent 
Suffer the intolerance 
Of the intolerable? 
Are the innocent 
Not human,
That they be made to eat 
Like cattle, 
Stripped off their 
Dignity?

The picture 
It haunts my mind...
How much more the reality
And the innocents' struggle 
To survive?

Oh you leaders
You who rage war
When will enough be enough 
Have you no 
Hearts at all...?

                           FREDERIKA MENEZES 

HOPE

HOPE

How fragile is
The feeling ‘Hope’…
Like a veil over
One’s soul
It flutters with
Every heartbeat…

It is as though
Wings of a butterfly
One moment in flight
The next poised
As we consider a situation,
Some thought.

Fine fairy dust
‘Hope’ is
Being carried away
In the breath
Of a breeze…
Helpless, it blows about
Almost always
Subject to doubt!

‘Hope’ is a treasure
Lost
In the writings of
Jilted loves…
It is a weapon
Not used enough
In war torn places
Where lives are waifs
Misplaced…

Come, find us
‘Hope’,
We are orphans,
Wanderers with no
Place to go…
In hopelessness
We roam…

A drop of water
To a
Thirsting tongue
‘Hope’ is…
The lyric in a
Song
That gladdens a
Grieving heart…

It is a kite
Cut free to soar
Swiftly carried by winds
‘Hope’ is what
Keeps us every day
On our toes…!

                                                                FREDERIKA MENEZES

FADING TO NAUGHT

FADING TO NAUGHT

Happy feelings
Are like grains of sand
Slipping away
Through every hour hand…

No matter how tight
One may grasp
Or how emotionally
Molded
They be
Them feelings once a little dry
Break and fall away
Easily…

Happy feelings
Like paper boats
They are
On a fast moving stream
But slowly getting soaked
And drowning!

A happy feel
Like a house of cards,
It is.
Like a tailor’s unskilled stitch
Easily coming apart
At the seam…

As though a hot air balloon
A  happy feeling will soar,
But when caught in a wayward wind
Lose it will
Its directed vigor…

Happy feelings are
Like sketches
From the paint brush
Of an artist
Who at the end
Abandons color schemes!

Yes, happy feelings are
All these things
But they are more…

They are the waves
At low tide
On a seashore…
A fleeting memory

Of how one often
Dreams one’s life is to be…

Happy feelings
Are frowns that
Once were upside
Down…

Happy feelings
They are drifters
And when they go
One is left with none…

Happy feelings
Like autumn leaves
They are beautiful but
Quietly and quickly
Fading to naught…!

                                                                    FREDERIKA MENEZES

miss Rhyme's Wish

MISS RHYME’S WISH

Young Miss Rhyme
Scribbled a line
About the sand and the sea
Wished she
A poem to write…

But every time
She put pen to paper
She paused,
The chore, she found very hard!

Perhaps it was because
To the seashore
She had not been
For many a long years of
Her living…

Of course, she saw beaches and waves
But from a great distance
In movie scenes
Far removed…

“How I would love
To go to the a seashore,
Hear and see the waves
And feel the sand between my toes…”

Miss Rhyme mumbled this say
To some stranger friends one day!

And she continued to try to
Scrawl
But no verse came from her pen
The page remained blank…

Young Rhyme
Ignored her heavy heart
As it longed for the shores
That would ignite
That inspirational spark…

She went on with her
Other writings!

Her spoken say
Went not unheeded
And her stranger friends
A surprise, planned for her…

One bright afternoon
They bid her come
To a place where
The seashore awaited
To inspire!

Off she went
And once there
The now no longer strangers but friends
Took young Rhyme
By the water’s edge
And there she sat with
Feet in the sand
Awaiting the waves…

The sea sent out ripples to greet her
Her toes they kissed
As she giggled and they receded…

After a time
Disappointment settled
In the poetic heart of Rhyme
“Come waves and hug me
Here I am
Waiting…”

She spoke quietly to the sea!

A roll and a splash
Young Rhyme laughed as she got wetOnce, twice, thrice

The waves struck
And while her friends watched
Young Rhyme knew
Nothing but love and joy
Of an inspired spark
Thanks to the sand, the sea
And her new good friends
Who surrounded her
On the beach!

                                                             FREDERIKA MENEZES;

On Chariots Of Fire

ON CHARIOTS OF THUNDER

Quietly, she bids
Farewell
With each sultry dawn
That rises and sets…

With little
Sorrow
As her heart wishes to show
She is slowly readying
To go...

Soon, she will ride
On chariots of thunder
With tears falling fast
From her blue sky eyes.
Her smiles will turn grim
Her laughter will
Turn to bellowing screams
Upon the wind…

Now, quietly she walks
Her footfalls already
An echo!

The laughs and dreams
She has seen come true
They are locked safe
In her heart…
She collects these
They are her own deeds’ shadows…

Her bags packed
She paces in small steps
Toward the open door
And soon, she’ll be gone!

Leaving though she is
In tears flowing
And soul wailing
Letting gloom take
His stance
In her stead.
Not for long
Will she be gone…

Just a year
Of dull heavens
And little irritating insects
Of the earth sprouting
Wild greens
And of old housetops
Leaking raindrops
While roads and driveways
Resemble rivers
Of slippery treachery!

Please stay
I ask of her
Summer, you are my
Favorite time of the year
Yes, you are my dear…

But she steps slowly
Away from me
Toward the open door
Of the season change…

Quietly she bids
Farewell
Soon, very soon
She’ll be riding
On chariots of thunder
Along streets of lightning…!

                                                                  FREDERIKA MENEZES

A Circle

A CIRCLE

I drew a circle
A perfect one it was.
Inside it
I wrote words
That make me smile
Give me hope…

I drew a circle
Unbreakable a bond
Tied it around people
That to me mean
A lot….

A circle was drawn
And within it
I was placed
Carefree, in a tight loving embrace!

But after a while
The circle widened.
And the bigger it got
More words therein
Were caught…

As it grew
The circle, it began
To feel loose…
Therein I was
Imagine yourself in
My shoes…

From one to another
Word to word
I went
Seeking the smile and hope
As in a circle within a circle
My feet I dragged…

Like being lost
In a forest I felt
Drawing circles with my feet
And my breath…

Round I went
Over and again
Binding myself
In circular says…

Until finally
I forced myself to halt
Erasing the first circle
Along with the words
Unbinding them who
Meant to me, a lot…

I now stand
Pencil in hand
Ready to draw a circle again
Binding just few
Writing just two words
‘Us two’.               

                                                                       FREDERIKA MENEZES