Take off those old worn
Tear-flecked pair of glasses,
You can’t seem to live without,
And take a look at the world
If you dare!
It’s a strange experience,
To desire a handicap and
Welcome a failure.
A strange sight with no clear lines.
Man blends into woman,
With barely distinguished curves of a dress
Or set of the shoulders.
The playful antics of light and shadow,
Make him appear with silky black tresses
And her appear with rugged, macho stubble.
You see colours meld-
Black into brown into white.
All faces blending into the blue and green
You see all around.
It’s interesting to see the world,
In that one moment of embracing
Your disability.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
2:57 am
I turn a groggy eye to the clock by my bed,
Look at that cold display and groan,
“It’s 2:57 am and I’m still awake.”
Well it is a small surprise to me
Given the state of my head.
Days weeks, months and years
Pass by in a flurry.
Events recorded, people met, things done,
Successes, failures, lost opportunities –
The bombardment continues,
My mind a beleaguered hovel
In the midst of a raging battle.
But a small flame burns in this hut,
A source of life, a foundation for stability,
A focus for calm
A smile lights my agonised face,
My eyes begin to droop.
I explore the flame, I appreciate its simplicity
My eyes close.
The flame still burns.
Look at that cold display and groan,
“It’s 2:57 am and I’m still awake.”
Well it is a small surprise to me
Given the state of my head.
Days weeks, months and years
Pass by in a flurry.
Events recorded, people met, things done,
Successes, failures, lost opportunities –
The bombardment continues,
My mind a beleaguered hovel
In the midst of a raging battle.
But a small flame burns in this hut,
A source of life, a foundation for stability,
A focus for calm
A smile lights my agonised face,
My eyes begin to droop.
I explore the flame, I appreciate its simplicity
My eyes close.
The flame still burns.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Daily Deluge
Buses stink.
Whether to save the environment
Or to save money (noble causes both)
You are to blame—Buses stink.
People chew that disgusting stuff,
Staining their lips and teeth red,
Remnants of a cannibalistic feast.
They finally leave their mark of damnation
On hapless roads, stones, trees and
People’s heads.
Stinky buses push themselves through traffic
Forcefully penetrating the chaotic order
With their behemoth mass.
Along the way you see those supreme heads of houses
Mark their territory. Much like those
Wonderful four-legged friends they’re so quick to call
Dogs and demand their death or sterilisation
For being public nuisances.
Whether to save the environment
Or to save money (noble causes both)
You are to blame—Buses stink.
People chew that disgusting stuff,
Staining their lips and teeth red,
Remnants of a cannibalistic feast.
They finally leave their mark of damnation
On hapless roads, stones, trees and
People’s heads.
Stinky buses push themselves through traffic
Forcefully penetrating the chaotic order
With their behemoth mass.
Along the way you see those supreme heads of houses
Mark their territory. Much like those
Wonderful four-legged friends they’re so quick to call
Dogs and demand their death or sterilisation
For being public nuisances.
A Scarlet Flower in a Calm Night Sky
The road lay before me
Dark, cloaked in shadows
Punctuated by a few eerie streetlights
What dangers might befall me here?
Robbery? Kidnap? Murder even?
Those shadows thrust into my mind,
My soul consumed by fear.
Every odd form an unknown assailant
Every step my possible last
The world wheeled around me in dizzying paranoia
And stopped.
A single tear-drop of light surges into the heavens
A scarlet streak rocketing upwards
Purposeful in its self-destruction
Glorying in its ephemeral beauty.
And there before me it bloomed
That single scarlet flower of all-consuming flame
Its existence quenched in one fiery instant
An instant that lasted an eternity
A cascade of sparks descended
And all was as it was.
But something had subtly changed.
Was it the world? No
It was me, my sight
And through my sight, the entire world.
A raw emotion swept my spirit,
It did not deny the existence of my fears
But defeated them,
And in their defeat, nullified them.
I exalted in this glorious pleasure,
Soaring amidst the clouds
Revelling in a field of scarlet flowers
Viewing the pitiful earth below
And the blazing midnight sun above.
This rapture is truly like none other.
It is not the joy that sparks, blazes and
Dies, a fleeting intense joy.
Nor is it that happiness which begins as a whisper
In your head, and a tickle in your heart,
That builds, and climaxes with ebullience.
It is that bliss that has no beginning and no end,
It lies always, waiting within to be released.
It pervades your mind and soul and rests
In the centre of your being, a warm grip
Nourishing and elevating.
The world could end, the skies be rent
Every man could die, every woman could weep,
And the earth could dissolve in an ocean of salt-tears.
All knowledge could be unlearnt and all belief shattered.
And my body might die and my bones crumble to dust
But for this joy,
This skeleton of pure, unbridled illogical bliss.
This spring of life, its waters, my new blood.
And so I continue my walk,
The world destroyed, dying,
But never having been more alive.
Dark, cloaked in shadows
Punctuated by a few eerie streetlights
What dangers might befall me here?
Robbery? Kidnap? Murder even?
Those shadows thrust into my mind,
My soul consumed by fear.
Every odd form an unknown assailant
Every step my possible last
The world wheeled around me in dizzying paranoia
And stopped.
A single tear-drop of light surges into the heavens
A scarlet streak rocketing upwards
Purposeful in its self-destruction
Glorying in its ephemeral beauty.
And there before me it bloomed
That single scarlet flower of all-consuming flame
Its existence quenched in one fiery instant
An instant that lasted an eternity
A cascade of sparks descended
And all was as it was.
But something had subtly changed.
Was it the world? No
It was me, my sight
And through my sight, the entire world.
A raw emotion swept my spirit,
It did not deny the existence of my fears
But defeated them,
And in their defeat, nullified them.
I exalted in this glorious pleasure,
Soaring amidst the clouds
Revelling in a field of scarlet flowers
Viewing the pitiful earth below
And the blazing midnight sun above.
This rapture is truly like none other.
It is not the joy that sparks, blazes and
Dies, a fleeting intense joy.
Nor is it that happiness which begins as a whisper
In your head, and a tickle in your heart,
That builds, and climaxes with ebullience.
It is that bliss that has no beginning and no end,
It lies always, waiting within to be released.
It pervades your mind and soul and rests
In the centre of your being, a warm grip
Nourishing and elevating.
The world could end, the skies be rent
Every man could die, every woman could weep,
And the earth could dissolve in an ocean of salt-tears.
All knowledge could be unlearnt and all belief shattered.
And my body might die and my bones crumble to dust
But for this joy,
This skeleton of pure, unbridled illogical bliss.
This spring of life, its waters, my new blood.
And so I continue my walk,
The world destroyed, dying,
But never having been more alive.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Gaia
She gazes at the world,
Through the frosted glass of her window,
At the far horizon.
Its seductive whispers call her;
Fuel her futile hope.
The world’s breath tickles her lips,
Caresses her skin.
She stretches her hand out,
Trying to touch the intangible.
Little flecks of nail, skin,
Muscle and bone form wispy trails
Leading from what was her palm.
Little bits of her floating away,
Into the vast open sky.
Life is a turbulent ride.
It tosses you around.
It leaves you bruised and hurt.
Your body aches in silent agony.
Your mind screams in mute anguish.
Your tired soul searches for a base to rest on.
How quick you are to leave it, to disdain that solid comfort.
You take it for granted, but it waits for you.
It allows you to venture out where its gravity does not reach.
Yet it always waits for you to return to it, to stand on it.
It opens itself to you and takes you into it,
Just as soon as you open yourself to it.
It leaves you unshakeable.
It’s a constant war I’m in,
Though I never did figure out who’s fighting who.
A peace came, a frigid one, and the front seemed to clear
But they never left.
They were like those paltry sparks amidst the ash.
They got their fuel, and now I’m trapped in a roaring inferno.
There’s nothing logical about the flame.
It burns without ever losing its intensity.
It burns me, scorches me, but I also quell it.
The cold within and the frost from outside fight it.
Till the ice shatters.
The battle raged long enough, and foes are now friends.
The flame enters me; it fills me with its warmth!
A blaze of emotion courses within!
My life is mine again!
The water from the shower runs down her body.
She’s had a difficult day- work, family, chores.
Her aged body can no longer keep up with the demands.
But now is a moment of solitude, a moment of quiet.
Time for her to rejuvenate.
The water flows around her feet in dizzy little circles.
The steam rises up, condenses on the black and white tiles,
And then trickles down again.
Her body imbibes it, like a shrivelled seed.
It’s her elixir of life, a discovery made years ago,
The day she and that water became one entity.
How else could she do so many things?
The water imbues her, empowers her.
One moment rock-hard ice,
The next, sinuous, fluid liquid,
The next, ethereal, invisible gas.
She’s always shifting, adapting,
Improving, evolving.
Through the frosted glass of her window,
At the far horizon.
Its seductive whispers call her;
Fuel her futile hope.
The world’s breath tickles her lips,
Caresses her skin.
She stretches her hand out,
Trying to touch the intangible.
Little flecks of nail, skin,
Muscle and bone form wispy trails
Leading from what was her palm.
Little bits of her floating away,
Into the vast open sky.
Life is a turbulent ride.
It tosses you around.
It leaves you bruised and hurt.
Your body aches in silent agony.
Your mind screams in mute anguish.
Your tired soul searches for a base to rest on.
How quick you are to leave it, to disdain that solid comfort.
You take it for granted, but it waits for you.
It allows you to venture out where its gravity does not reach.
Yet it always waits for you to return to it, to stand on it.
It opens itself to you and takes you into it,
Just as soon as you open yourself to it.
It leaves you unshakeable.
It’s a constant war I’m in,
Though I never did figure out who’s fighting who.
A peace came, a frigid one, and the front seemed to clear
But they never left.
They were like those paltry sparks amidst the ash.
They got their fuel, and now I’m trapped in a roaring inferno.
There’s nothing logical about the flame.
It burns without ever losing its intensity.
It burns me, scorches me, but I also quell it.
The cold within and the frost from outside fight it.
Till the ice shatters.
The battle raged long enough, and foes are now friends.
The flame enters me; it fills me with its warmth!
A blaze of emotion courses within!
My life is mine again!
The water from the shower runs down her body.
She’s had a difficult day- work, family, chores.
Her aged body can no longer keep up with the demands.
But now is a moment of solitude, a moment of quiet.
Time for her to rejuvenate.
The water flows around her feet in dizzy little circles.
The steam rises up, condenses on the black and white tiles,
And then trickles down again.
Her body imbibes it, like a shrivelled seed.
It’s her elixir of life, a discovery made years ago,
The day she and that water became one entity.
How else could she do so many things?
The water imbues her, empowers her.
One moment rock-hard ice,
The next, sinuous, fluid liquid,
The next, ethereal, invisible gas.
She’s always shifting, adapting,
Improving, evolving.
Eye of the Tiger
Its gaze never falters,
Unfailing, whatever the angle.
It doesn’t matter how much I pace my room,
Not once does it look away!
Are its eyes only on me or do they take in everything?
Enough is enough! I am its master!
“Speak! Damn your cursed silence!
Why do you stare at me so?”
Silence.
Defiance wells within me, I stand feet firmly planted
And return stare for stare.
There I am, veteran of a hundred battles,
Confident in my supremacy, arrogant invulnerability.
There I am, prostrate on the ground, weeping,
Pounding my fists on the floor, pitiful fool.
There I am, a desperate little child,
Desperate for love, clinging to shams of affection.
There I am, a heartbroken lover,
Never been loved, all love exhausted.
All the while standing, stare for stare.
What manner of beast are you?
It looks at me still, eyes boring into my head,
Ravaging my soul, this picture,
This tiger above my bed.
Unfailing, whatever the angle.
It doesn’t matter how much I pace my room,
Not once does it look away!
Are its eyes only on me or do they take in everything?
Enough is enough! I am its master!
“Speak! Damn your cursed silence!
Why do you stare at me so?”
Silence.
Defiance wells within me, I stand feet firmly planted
And return stare for stare.
There I am, veteran of a hundred battles,
Confident in my supremacy, arrogant invulnerability.
There I am, prostrate on the ground, weeping,
Pounding my fists on the floor, pitiful fool.
There I am, a desperate little child,
Desperate for love, clinging to shams of affection.
There I am, a heartbroken lover,
Never been loved, all love exhausted.
All the while standing, stare for stare.
What manner of beast are you?
It looks at me still, eyes boring into my head,
Ravaging my soul, this picture,
This tiger above my bed.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Catalysis
A lonely star in a murky sky
Of wisps of never-meant-to-be’s.
A radiant flower in a blasted heath
Where life has all but ceased.
A single dream in an ocean of thoughts
Is hidden beneath the slime.
But a single spark in the awful dark
Has shattered the doom of these.
The star shines brighter than ever before
In a spectacular luminous chorus.
And the flower gives seed to the Tree of Life
Purging the land of death
The dream, a mere drop, engulfs the ocean
And turns it to molten gold.
But what would ever happen to these
If that spark happened to grow cold?
Of wisps of never-meant-to-be’s.
A radiant flower in a blasted heath
Where life has all but ceased.
A single dream in an ocean of thoughts
Is hidden beneath the slime.
But a single spark in the awful dark
Has shattered the doom of these.
The star shines brighter than ever before
In a spectacular luminous chorus.
And the flower gives seed to the Tree of Life
Purging the land of death
The dream, a mere drop, engulfs the ocean
And turns it to molten gold.
But what would ever happen to these
If that spark happened to grow cold?
Diminshed Dusks
It’s just another evening.
The birds fly home,
To their little twig and straw nests.
The sun sets in a colourful display,
All crimson, purple and orange.
It bathes the land with an amber glow.
But it’s definitely not a postcard scene you see.
No lush verdant paddy stretching into the horizon.
Nor is it something out a classic western,
With open lands and the lone ranger
Riding away in triumph.
What we have are those dull metal cars,
Bikes and buses. And all the people.
You don’t hear the soft drone of crickets or
The twitter of birds, but the brazen honks
Of a thousand impatient people.
Each unwilling to give way to the other.
Each expecting way for all the others.
They form a metal worm, seemingly endless,
Constantly fed.
It inches along on its course, leaving its
Slimy trail on land and in air.
This is the sunset I see.
The birds fly home,
To their little twig and straw nests.
The sun sets in a colourful display,
All crimson, purple and orange.
It bathes the land with an amber glow.
But it’s definitely not a postcard scene you see.
No lush verdant paddy stretching into the horizon.
Nor is it something out a classic western,
With open lands and the lone ranger
Riding away in triumph.
What we have are those dull metal cars,
Bikes and buses. And all the people.
You don’t hear the soft drone of crickets or
The twitter of birds, but the brazen honks
Of a thousand impatient people.
Each unwilling to give way to the other.
Each expecting way for all the others.
They form a metal worm, seemingly endless,
Constantly fed.
It inches along on its course, leaving its
Slimy trail on land and in air.
This is the sunset I see.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Happy Birthday
It was your birthday.
The day everyone who knows you
Remembered you.
The one day every phone call
Would ring with love for you.
That special day when I wasn’t there.
It seems tragic but it really isn’t
Because I see myself next to you.
Whether you’re at a café, a club
Or simply at home.
I reach across the vast insurmountable
Distance and brush that careless speck
Off your shoulders.
I clap hard and look on with shining eyes
As you smile so full of joy at being
The Star.
I hear your voice echo with absolute, divine
Bliss regardless of the words you speak.
And I see you smile back at me,
As I hug you ever so fiercely.
Considering the number of people I know celebrating their birthdays this time of year, I thought this poem was especially apt. =)
The day everyone who knows you
Remembered you.
The one day every phone call
Would ring with love for you.
That special day when I wasn’t there.
It seems tragic but it really isn’t
Because I see myself next to you.
Whether you’re at a café, a club
Or simply at home.
I reach across the vast insurmountable
Distance and brush that careless speck
Off your shoulders.
I clap hard and look on with shining eyes
As you smile so full of joy at being
The Star.
I hear your voice echo with absolute, divine
Bliss regardless of the words you speak.
And I see you smile back at me,
As I hug you ever so fiercely.
Considering the number of people I know celebrating their birthdays this time of year, I thought this poem was especially apt. =)
A Simple Dance
I took her hand and matched her smile
And led her to the floor.
The music started, my mind went blank
And reality seemed to slow.
She clutched my hand in giddy pain
As the crescendo grew,
While I danced my self made part
On clouds of joy to a never ending tune.
Once and twice we circled the room
Bathed in a golden hue,
My rapturous breath caught in my throat,
As I grew familiar with the tune.
A flourish here, a canter there,
And she keeps in pace.
I lead the dance she follows suit
And all is as it should.
The day rushes past, the night drags on
And time is lost to us.
But in dark or light I fail to see
The room has gone to dust.
Still we dance on a gossamer thread
Above the shards of fate,
With not a misstep for that would be doom
We dance with demonic grace.
The night is done, our time is past
The music draws to a close.
I bid adieu, look in her eyes
And see my fate is lost.
And led her to the floor.
The music started, my mind went blank
And reality seemed to slow.
She clutched my hand in giddy pain
As the crescendo grew,
While I danced my self made part
On clouds of joy to a never ending tune.
Once and twice we circled the room
Bathed in a golden hue,
My rapturous breath caught in my throat,
As I grew familiar with the tune.
A flourish here, a canter there,
And she keeps in pace.
I lead the dance she follows suit
And all is as it should.
The day rushes past, the night drags on
And time is lost to us.
But in dark or light I fail to see
The room has gone to dust.
Still we dance on a gossamer thread
Above the shards of fate,
With not a misstep for that would be doom
We dance with demonic grace.
The night is done, our time is past
The music draws to a close.
I bid adieu, look in her eyes
And see my fate is lost.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Midnight Musings
When I look upon the blackest night
Darker than despair
I see a silver star agleam
Burning without care.
Dancing, laughing, singing, shrieking.
Revelling in life’s pleasures
Celestial magnificence, glorious worth,
Beauty past all measures.
I, the silent Earth, adrift in the empty void,
Am bleak, desolate and plagued
With ne’er ending toil
All I can do is pray in hope
That that star alights on me
And takes me to new worlds unknown,
My fantasies revealed.
A brand new earth will be born that day,
Green, pristine and pure.
And all the sky will chant in praise
And all the oceans will swirl their waves
And all the birds and all the beasts
Will shout in unison triumph.
But still I will search the endless sky
For that magical star
But will it be found, and found by me,
My sight stretches not that far.
Darker than despair
I see a silver star agleam
Burning without care.
Dancing, laughing, singing, shrieking.
Revelling in life’s pleasures
Celestial magnificence, glorious worth,
Beauty past all measures.
I, the silent Earth, adrift in the empty void,
Am bleak, desolate and plagued
With ne’er ending toil
All I can do is pray in hope
That that star alights on me
And takes me to new worlds unknown,
My fantasies revealed.
A brand new earth will be born that day,
Green, pristine and pure.
And all the sky will chant in praise
And all the oceans will swirl their waves
And all the birds and all the beasts
Will shout in unison triumph.
But still I will search the endless sky
For that magical star
But will it be found, and found by me,
My sight stretches not that far.
Mirror View
The touch was cold,
Cold as the deepest winter
Where you stand bare,
The cold piercing the depth of your soul
Leaving you vulnerable, brittle,
Endangered by this icy flame
But I could not resist, could not pull away.
Some strange unknown force fixed me,
Hand to hand – right-on-left and left-on-right
What unknown power does this mirror hold, to enthral the soul,
To dull the world in a world of its own?
I stare, the reflection of my confusion,
What barrier is this, thin as a falsetto strain
Yet far far deeper than a moonlit silence?
Mere glass or more than glass? A window
Into your very own eyes,
Where all you see is a stranger you’ve never seen before
But you’ve known your entire life
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Hello and bonjour
For all of you who don't know it yet, you're going to discover my pretensions to poetry. I enjoy writing, always have and hopefully always will. I also love having other people read the stuff i write and comment on it - good or bad, happy or sad. ( yes, I know I sound very cliché.) Unfortunately for the world at large, people have said that my poetry is readable so on account of them, this is up ( blame them if you wish to lynch me at the end of all this). That's basically all that this blog is for. So for all those who come upon this blog, by accident or my design, read on and definitely do comment. Happy reading....
P.S. Your opinion is especially valued if its more than the average statements of it being nice or weird or random or out-there. I find it quite wonderful when people see what i write in a different light and THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!
P.S. Your opinion is especially valued if its more than the average statements of it being nice or weird or random or out-there. I find it quite wonderful when people see what i write in a different light and THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!
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