Revenant

I want my sunshine
packed and kept aside.
I want leeway,
to move in time.
When we walk across the woods
twigs gently cracking under our stride.
And wayward birds
take the crimson sky.
A woodlark sings in distance,
while the sun melts in its own light
and paints the horizon
like hues on riot.
And into arrays of birch
a kind breeze takes us,
away from civilization, away from time.
And don't you worry if it gets dark,
I've saved for you, my bindle of light.

Wisdom

I've to confess
I still dream
Of your descent
From atop the ice-clad peak
That floats in an ocean of cloud
Obscured from the reality
In which I dwell
And all you see
Is the sun braving the mist
With all its hues
Scattered across the sky
You walk downhill
In your ornate silver gown
O wisdom,
your blessings are unrequited
Is that why you forsake me?
In the burrows of earth
Unguarded and unattended.
I pave my way
Through the withered remains
Of your gifts I never valued
But ask me how I now despise
Shooting blindly in the dark
For rewards I never needed.
I'm cold in the rags
Bless me again,
Heal my scars.
Wisdom you have the hand
To break the shackles
And liberate in true sense.
For one touched by wisdom
has none to please
But oneself.

Repose

Its when I can't tell
a memory from a dream
The final waking hour,
Lying still in my bed.
I'm faced with the raven
Unfurling its wings
Mocking my resolve
As I stand tall as a pillar
Unafraid of a cold end
So intense is the joy
Of final freedom
Matched with an equal pain
Of not knowing
To where I might sail.
Leaving behind my wisdom
In putrid remains
As I slip off the cliff
Into the black
where I might find
The light of my beloved
Who breathe no more

This temple that is my life
Implodes and
scatters sparks in the minds
Of those
With whom my paths entwined
For short or for a while.
Because we've shared
A few smiles
But they can't stop a deluge
Of tears in which I must bathe
For I've broken promises
And caused dismay
While I had to choose
The lesser of two evils.
No one cares!

And as the last pillar
Of my aspiration yields,
The dome collapses
Into true death.
But it won't matter
If I'm liberated
As long as I transcend
Into an idea
That will live on.

Rise From The Ash

Exhausted by the fight
To put away my pride
My soul is weakened
And is tainted
By the demons
Dancing on the shallow grave
Of the vermin
From which I must save,
If resurrected,
My inside
And make no mistakes
For they lurk deeper in tide
Where no light can find
The creatures that do hide
And multiply like parasites
Feeding on my god, my creation
and my love, distant and nigh.

Upon wooden bridge
Infested with termite
I swiftly ride.
My mighty steed
Treads with impatient strides.
And the zephyr sings to me
Of a distant peaceful land
Where I had once been
Perhaps it was a dream.
Alas my hands made callous
By the leash I held too tight
For I was certain
I would return to the haven
I bleakly remember.

I have come this far
Not to yield
But when a plank falls
Down to the bottomless pit
It does stir
My newfound courage
And my devil swells
With triumph.
But little does he know
Even if it takes me to burn
I shall reduce to a heap.
And when the moment is right
I shall rise
From the ash.
And wear my scar
Like medal earned in a war.

He Who Fell

On the porch

Of my palace,

Overlooking the gorge

The jovial flame dances

Blissful in my lamp.

On arrival of her love,

The singing breeze,

that descends anxiously

through forest of cedar.

The light flickers

On a cold stone wall

Upon which is cast

My pale shadow

Gloomy as the eclipsed heart

Of the sullen beast

That roams alone

In the canyon ridden in dark.

He cries senseless

begging pardon from a deaf god.

While the contented flame sways

In her beloved’s embrace

Blind to the pain

Mete out to he who crawls

Weary in the groves

Shrieking and howling

All by himself

On the never-ending quest

For the long lost companion

He once lit in his lamp.

Why?

She perched

On a leafless twig

And settled her feathers

That the wind left ruffled.

She sang,

But not a happy tune

For her heart

Was in a dark pit shovelled.

Neither the lively lake

Nor the crimson sky

Could steal the sorrow

With which her soul was laden.

Her gaze fixed

On the setting sun

But alas her vision

Sank in dark waters.

Her dream was lucid

Of places untravelled,

Of peaks more majestic

Than she ever flew over.

But what is this yearning

For things unreal?

She seeks abode

Holier than heaven.

Why does she feel

Lost in places familiar?

She seeks purpose

In parting of her beloved.

The melancholy song fades

As the night darkens

For now she marvels

Over specks of light

Oh shining wonders!

She may never attain

What her heart desires

Thus drowns her hopes

In sea unfathomable.

And in her tranquil eyes

Are fragments of a broken dream.

But in her heart she knows

Everything happens for a reason.

For You To Know

Life as I understand is a privilege and a challenge. It is a myriad of everything fascinating. It is the framework in which the pendulum of our feelings oscillates. As a sentient being I comprehend certain aspects of life that are so chaotically beautiful.

The inception of life itself is a story. Then there is the long road ahead, life being the journey. We are born into a civilized world with law and order, our species being the ruler of this world. We are all kings and queens, but do we always feel this way? Do we ever feel this way? No!

The wise one will figure out the reason behind this. We don’t feel like a monarch because we disregard our kingdom and wish to conquer what is not ours. People take their existence for granted. A lot of people wake up in the morning cursing god, who is merely a creation of man, toil through the day to win what they don’t need and go to bed tired and wrathful.

Your life is your story, people witness a great story and crave for it, oblivious to the fact that we are different and the beauty of life exists in its diversity. These are the people who taint their life with colors from someone else’s life. Sure everyone has a right to a fulfilling life, but what is a fulfilling life? Is it a spacious home, a luxury car in your garage or an expensive suit? A fulfilling life is one in which you find happiness, and true happiness does not have its source in material possession, its a state caused by being at peace with what you are.

It is stupid to wish for a life of total control, beauty lies in the unexpected. And it is but felony to be intolerant to someone else’s philosophy and attempting to strangle it with your own. Our life is who we are, what we think, because we live more in our head than the real world. Life is thinking about the view of a setting sun while you are stuck in a traffic jam in broad daylight. But why downgrade the mundane moment of a traffic jam? Isn't that life too? Yes it is, life isn't only about the bright stars, it is also the black night. After all it is only the pitch black sky against which the stars shine.

Remember your childhood? Remember basking in the sun on a winter noon and the pleasant breeze on a summer night? What did you achieve there? Yet if one asks you to close your eyes and think about the happiest days of your life those vivid images are sure to flash in your mind. And why shouldn't they, they are engraved in your memory as something beautiful. And one who does not admire the aesthetics of life has wasted his gift.

 The longing to get back in time and relive those moments are so strong, but is it our purpose in life to dwell in the past, however beautiful it is? So are the yearnings to go back and rectify our mistakes. But there is a reason why time moves only forward, so should be our movement, forward. It is noble to move forward, because to get stuck in a place is the characteristic of the dead.

Many a time life won’t be all sunshine, circumstances will beat you down to a pulp. Darkness will cloud your judgement. Now you have two choices here, be a victim, stay down and perish, or to step up to the challenge, prove your mettle and thrive. Life is not fair, the universe does not understand fair, it does not understand justice, because these are human concepts. Life is facts and how you adapt to them is how you fare.  There is a trade-off involved, to accept life as it comes your way or work to steer it in the direction you choose. Now that is a choice every person has to make for himself.  

One’s life is a combination of one’s existence and those around, and one’s environment. The equation is simple, but there is no formula to optimize it. It is intangible. It is who you are, you are your life.