Category Archive: Poetry

Jan 03

"Recipe for Happiness" or just "One Fine Day"

Back in 2002 when I used to spend most of my weekends in San Francisco, one of my pastimes was going for coffee and brunch. Once I read a short poem by SF’s own Lawrence Ferlinghetti on a postcard in one of my favorite brunch places on Union St, Rose’s Cafe. I had lost it …

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Jan 07

Naked Angel

By Igor Amelkovich, http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2227709

Going through Leonard Cohen‘s old recordings from his early days, I came across this painful and dark song of his. The full lyrics are below and you can hear it here though I don’t think the quality of the recording is that great. This is dedicated to my “naked angel”…”with her legs apart”.

Oct 30

A Dark Night

From “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini I was reading “The Kite Runner”… Towards the end I came across this passage that is not even written as a poem, but what a beautiful heart-felt poem it is! I’ve rearranged it as a poem below. Perhaps “a dark night” would be an appropriate name for it. …

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Oct 09

A Note on Hafez

Khaajeh Hafez Shirazi of 14th century is one of the most celebrated Iranian poets. Though he was an Islamic mystic (a sufi) and could reportedly recite the entire Quran by heart, his love poems are musical, lyrical and timeless. His collection of poems which are primarily of the form “ghazals” (“Divaan’e Hafez”) is a significant …

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Sep 28

Chavela Vargas’ Paloma Negra

Chavela Vargas Chavela Vargas is a legendary Mexican singer with a dramatic and haunting voice that sings with passion and deep emotions. She was featured in the movie Frida. Her song “Paloma Negra” is one of my favorites. Below are the translated lyrics from the Frida soundtrack CD cover. It is also a beautiful poem …

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Sep 24

On the great Leonard Cohen

Image via Wikipedia The Canadian singer, song writer and poet, Leonard Cohen, is one of my favorite singers of all times. His songs like “Everybody knows”, “Dance me to the end of love”, “There ain’t no cure for love”, “A thousand kisses deep”, and “I am your man” are eternal. His deep, melancholic voice and …

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