कहो काव्यांशो में खोजूं तुमको या रसो के स्थाई भावों में,
नदियों में इन घाटों में या उन पर शोभित नावों में,

हर अलंकार, हर समास, हर सुर-लय और तालों में,
यहीं मजारे, यहीं मैयकदे, यहीं सुरा के प्यालो में,

विचार नश्वर, शब्द शाश्वत थे, स्याही भी शुष्क की ओर थी,
चीर हृदय जो लहू से सींचा, हर कतरे को होड थी,

रक्त के अश्रु में रो बैठा तुम कहती हो कविताएं हैं,
पूजने को यूं तो लाख कब्रे हजार प्रतिमाएं हैं।

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मैं मदिरा में क्यों मलंग रहूं,
क्यों सुबहो तक मैं सब के संग रहूं,
जब साकी, तू मेरी प्रीत है,
मर-मिटकर,‌ही मेरी जीत है,

तो अश्रु,स्वेद,रक्त से सीऺचो,
तुम ही प्याला, तुम पान प्रिये,
तुम ही सुरा,तुम ही शीतल जल,
तुम्हें मधुशाला जो मान पिऐऺ,
तुम्हें मधुशाला हम मान पिऐऺ।

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हंसकर सभी से मिलती हो,
बड़ी चंचल लड़की हो,

पढ़ ना पाई आंखें अब तक,
किताबे तुम दिन भर पढ़ती हो,

कहती हो खुराफात कूट-कूट कर भरी है,
मुझसे फिर भोली बनती हो,

मुझे जला के दिए के भांति,
तुम हवा सी क्यों चलती हो,

क्या रिश्ता रातों से है,
तारो की तुम क्या लगती हो,

मुझसे बेहतर कौन समझा है तुमको,
इन लोगों से क्यों डरती हो,

अच्छाइयां बुराइयां सब परखी मैंने,
पर इन पन्नो में अब तुम घर करती हो,

अरे मैं तो जीता हूं तुम ही में,
मनही मन मुझपर क्यों मरती हो।

- वरदान अनिल श्रीवास्तव

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ALL I EVER KNEW

The leaves withered over years,
Hurt me more
not falling altogether,
But they relieve me as they fall,
One by one, Slowly departing away from me,
Few sadly still remain,
Bittersweetly I Still remember your face,
But as this spring too approaches to its end,
There's now more space,
For new flowers to bloom,
Of happiness I'd say, not of gloom,
And I smile,
I keep smiling, that's best I can do,
As I always have done,
It's all I ever knew..

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I'm done being sober, you're done acting sane,
This night is all we have to drive each other insane;
Your lips feel like roses,juices taste as wine,
Let the airs be confused,which body's yours and mine;

And as I devour you, scream to me my name,
Suck my soul out of my body, and my heart you could then gain,
Will finish you to the last drop, then for more shall I crave,
My marks on your skin, you carry them to your grave,

Be athirst,be unhinged, be vulnerable as you're to thy self,
Let your wilderness break havoc on me, let me be your own escape,
I'll love you till this sun rises, Morning I will love you again,
Has the world ever been kind to us, let's travel alone to all its ends,

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Yet again I held this pen,
What compelled me once again to write,
Why my soul tends, to screech your name,
Knowing my heart, which has no right,

And why do I tend to see you,
in every face I see,
In every heart I barely touch,
every feeling that I feel,

You could've had me,
achieving everything we'd seen,
And as I write these words,
I'm living up to those dreams;

Yet these days feel cold, And nights feel empty,
And you, you aren't anywhere by my side,
Am I supposed to laugh,or I'm supposed to cry,
Is this all really worth, When you aren't beside,

Why was it so easy for you,
As easy as it always had been,
Empty classrooms, unanswered letters,
In blink of an eye,Forgetting all we had seen,

And how am I supposed
To fall again with such passion,
How not months but years passed,
What I felt didn't lessen..

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इन अधमरो के समीप रहकर भी,
स्वयं को जीवित मनुष्य पाता हूं,
प्रेम दरिया की धार है या पूर्ण सागर है,
तुमपे मर कर मैं क्यों जी जाता हूं,

अनेकों बार कट कट कर तुमसे,
और तुम ही मैं घुल जाता हूं,
रोता,बिखरता, टूटता तो
अपने यारों के बीच हूं बस,
तुमसे मिलकर तो मैं खिल जाता हूं।

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मै अकसर कलम थामता हूँ

मै अकसर कलम थामता हूँ
मन हृदय के मृदुल विचारो को इन
निर्जीव पन्नों पर पिरो बैठता हूं
कभी-कभार रो बैठता हूँ।

हजार शब्द है कहने को
अनगिनत भावनायें व्यक्त करने को
तुम्हारी लटो में सुबह की ओस की तरह
इन्हें काव्यांशो में खो बैठता हूँ
कभी-कभार रो बैठता हूं
फिर हंस कर जयो-तयों बैठता हूं।

-वरदान अनिल श्रीवास्तव

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My Dear melancholy,
What lies within me and thine,
and why these worthless poetics always,
Only Separate your lips from mine,

When I Hate your guts, you love me,
And when I think we're nothing no more,sigh
Your feet.. they cross my paths intently..
suddenly We embrace like old times..

What lies beneath these vacuous eyes,
You never try to see.. you despise
Sometimes I go back.. other times you return,
Are we two old soulmates bound by time,
My Dear Melancholy
My Dear Melancholy
What lies within me and thine..

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On a foggy winter morning,
I saw again that face of yours,
It was still unchanged and still unequalled,
You smiled the same smile that had made me fall;

After all these years, it was all the same,
The same classroom, same benches we had shared,
And of All such people, in reality who wouldn't be there,
'You' was the only one for all I cared,
If I knew I was 'Dreaming' I wouldn't be at such peace,
But Why did it feel so real, so real than realities;

Beloved,
Our ambitions and those dreams
we shared when we were kids
I achieved it all alone
and yet I'm burning,
Never at peace with my own self,
And for the same love I am yearning,

I cut off all contacts, looked for no closure or insights,
When I close my eyes, every once in a while now
Why do you still have to come and visit my nights,
Please Let me be at peace atlast, do not any longer drive me insane,
Let me again fall in love when it's now at my doorstep,
I've written enough poems, I've endured enough Pains..

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