Father’s Day poem

June 15, 2025June 15, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 10 Comments

Dear Dad
A very happy father’s day to you
A lot of things
I’ve learned in life
I owe them to you

My childhood was filled with laughter and merriment
And I have several fond memories to go with it
Like the time we had a leaking pipe
When you declared that you were the type
Of man to handle such problems
I saw you carry your toolbox
Determinedly
Like a thief out to pick locks
And you set off to work your magic

You took a wrench
And made a turn
Next came pliers
Oh what a fun
But nothing seemed to work
That’s when you took the hammer out
And landed a critical blow
Perhaps the most critical blow in the history
Of this family

Our house turned into a glorious fountain
Water water everywhere
I remember it like yesterday
Because I was hopping in puddles
But not everyone saw the funny side of it
Especially Mom who spoke some choice words
I had never heard before

Oh well let us not dwell
Too much on the past
Time has passed
But you still make us laugh and
That’s why I needed to thank you

A lot of things I’ve learned in life
I owe them to you
If I ever have a leaking pipe
I have my plumber on speed-dial
Who’d come and take care of matters
In a jiffy
But I won’t make a very good dad
By robbing my kids a chance of being glad
But that’s a story for another day
Because today is your day
And once again I wish you
A very happy Father’s Day

Regret #7210

June 14, 2025June 14, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 12 Comments

I have never been hasty
Always been patient and calm
Beats me why I got a
Tattoo of your name on my arm

Dolores #3 or How Tall is Grief’s Shadow?

June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 3 Comments

I rise from my sleep and
Check the clock by the bedside
It’s twenty minutes past
Midnight

I wipe the sweat off my
Forehead and try to
Control my heavy
Breathing

I approach the mirror
Illuminated miserly by
The penetrating, silver
Moonlight

I do not see my reflection
Instead it is a pitch-dark
Silhouette staring back at me
Unnervingly

I watch it grow steadily
Continually; till the mirror
Could no longer hold it
Prisoner

The silhouette curves its back
To avoid hitting the ceiling
It beckons me to come
Closer

I stand there stunned, amazed
Confused; like a child in the
Vicinity of a massive, black
Tree

It beckons me again and again
Hesitatingly I move towards it
Its dark tail wagging with
Fervour

It wraps its arms around me
In a comforting embrace and
Then lifts me up to its lightless
Face

Its mouth opens and I can see
The universe dancing inside
With a swift movement I am
Swallowed

I land on a soft bed and
Check the clock floating overhead
It’s fifteen minutes past
Midnight

Dolores #2 or How Not To Deal With Grief

June 7, 2025June 7, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 9 Comments

I tried humour first
Tried laughing it off
Only to hear my echo
Return with a penetrating force

I tried talking about it
Only to realise I didn’t have enough words to say
I checked online
Others were caught in the same conundrum
Everybody wanted to share
But nobody had the vocabulary

I tried sad songs and movies
I sat with her and flipped
Through tunes and scenes
To get a sense of what others are going through
Mistake number one
She understood that it was the norm
To overstay your welcome
And live rent-free in your host’s overflowing heart

I tried isolation next
Locked her in a dark room
Left her to starve
I was sure she’d stop annoying me
I was wrong
She didn’t cease her misbehaviour
It only made her worse
It made her stronger
Mistake number two

I tried ignoring her
Tried giving her no attention
Only to realise I
Needed her as much
As she needed me
Or perhaps more
Strike three

I’ve given up
I’ve no hope in me
I must embrace it
Let my life revolve around it
Place my bricks around it
And build myself a refuge
If I can

Do Not Stand On My Grave, You Creep

June 4, 2025June 4, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 4 Comments

Do not believe what others have said
When I die, I’d really be dead
Not in the dark plumes of a crow
You won’t find me in a circus show
Not in a Mumbai local train
I won’t be found in a bacterial strain
When you’re applying makeup and blush
I am not your oily hairbrush
Full of scurf and lice that bite
I am not your defunct tubelight
You may seek me; yes you may try
Or don’t; I have said my goodbye

Sonia’s Getting Fired

June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 11 Comments

Sonia is a really nice girl
If you meet her outside work
But in office she’s a sloth
And a pig-headed jerk
Now Management has had enough
They have grown too tired
Poor Sonia will be leaving us
For she is getting fired

An office’s not an easy place
So many rules apply
Sonia says they’re not for her
She’s the queen of Versailles
But Management disagrees
Their patience has expired
Sonia will not like the news
That she is getting fired

Everyone has their heads
Buried in a heap of files
While Sonia is always away
From her desk by miles
Sonia has sadly never had
A virtue they admired
Management are really firm
That she must soon be fired

If you ever needed gossip
She was the perfect source
That’s how everyone came to know
Boss is getting divorced
Now Sonia is the one
That everyone’s talking about
Management has had too much
She is getting kicked out

The only work she ever did
Was personal and her own
Like planning her next vacation
To Paris and Cologne
When Management came to know
What actually had transpired
The only choice they really had
Was quickly getting her fired

It’s not like she was never warned
One, two, three and four
Sonia laughed them all off
And many many more
Sonia took home sticky notes
And everything she desired
She won’t be laughing anymore
To learn that she’ll be fired

I’ll miss Sonia I’ll be honest
She was useless but entertaining
To hear her speak on her phone
The yarns that she’d be spinning
Sadly now she has to go
A new recruit has just been hired
I hope she decides to stay at home
Where she won’t be fired

I Hope

May 31, 2025May 31, 2025 ~ Frank Solanki ~ 10 Comments

I hope you realize
What a big mistake
You made letting
A caring intelligent
And loving person like me
Go so easily when
I could have been
Yours forever and
Ever and ever and ever

So that I can finally feel a little bit of validation and maybe be able to go to sleep without crying or without thinking about you or ways to avenge you