Emotions are expressed with the scent of fading flowers, these poems by Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer can be interpreted as a story with many aspects in life, of small, piercing truths that shape the heart.
It begins with a yellow butterfly, a brief delicate moment of beauty lands silently on a couch, unnoticed by the world but captured by the eye of someone who still sees wonder. A simple act of taking a photo becomes a communion of joy; a smile blooms, light floods the room, and for that brief second, everything is enough. The butterfly, perhaps, is her, a symbol of presence, fragility, and transformation.
But beneath that soft imagery lies a deeper trace of yearning and nice conversations. In “I Have to Stop,” a voice from the past breaks time, and suddenly, feelings rise to the surface. “Why did you call me after so long?” a simple question opens a floodgate of nostalgia, longing, and the ache of love that refuses to fully leave. The speaker is caught in the pull of memory, battling the heart’s stubborn resistance to time’s forward march.
And then comes “I Am a Man,” a startling realization of self in contrast to the eternal. The speaker strips away the layers of ego and identity, laying bare his ephemerality against her timeless essence. He is illusion, she is truth. He is temporary, she is nature. This isn’t just about two people anymore, it’s a dance of the human and the divine, of fleeting desire against the backdrop of something far more enduring.
The tension between love and the weight of worldly expectations finds voice in “She Whispered.” He pleads for honesty, and she speaks her heart, torn between love and the illusions imposed by society. His voice is persistent, assuring her of a love unmoved by the chaos around them. Her resistance dissolves into a radiant gaze, a gentle approach, and finally, a surrender to the truth within herself. Her whisper undoes the lie: the world is not illusion, but perhaps love is more real than anything else in it.
With “Nevertheless,” we witness the quiet resignation of someone who loves deeply but cannot remain tethered to a love that won’t fully return. The rhythm of closeness and sudden distance wears at him. The poem ends with the nobility of unselfish love: wishing happiness for the one who unknowingly leaves sorrow behind.
These poems sketch a soulful narrative of a man, tender, philosophical, vulnerable navigating love not as a possession, but as a journey of surrender, understanding, and grace. Each poem is his inner life, and she, the butterfly, the eternal nature moving through it like the music in the waves.
YELLOW BUTTERFLY
© Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer
I laid eyes on-
a yellow butterfly
on the couch,
snapped
a picture
instantly,
a smile spread
across her face,
The entire space
was filled
with light!!
I HAVE TO STOP
© Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer
Whenever she says,
“Why did you call me
after so long?”
I feel there’s still something
between me and her
Those rosy feelings
I experienced years ago
come back to the heart again
Hey! what is this!
I have to stop
Time has moved on…!
I AM A MAN
© Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer
I am illusion
She is truth
I am deception
She is reality
I am evanescent
She is eternal
I am nothing
She is everything
I am a man
She is nature! !
SHE WHISPERED
© Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer
When I said to her-
“Look into my eyes
and say that
you don’t love me.”
She replied truly-
“You’re very right my dear
but I’m compelled
in front of this illusory world,
Forget me.”
I saw into her eyes and said-
“World may be an illusion,
But my love is an actuality…
The world is in motion,
But my love is stable…
Feel me
And come out
Of fear of the world.”
I saw-
She had
Very bright glow in her eyes
Was looking me at gaze
Came very close
And got into my arms…
She whispered-
“It was Only my confusion,
World is not an illusion.”
NEVERTHELESS
© Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer
For you
it’s difficult-
to spend time with me,
For me
it’s difficult-
to forget you!
In an attempt to make you forget,
disquietness has
increased to an extent!
Wish I could
forget you,
wish there was
a medicine for this too!
Coming close and
getting away suddenly
is very depressing for me dear,
Wish you could
understand my pangs…,
Nevertheless
you always be happy!
