The Forgotten Song

A canary chirped inside the golden bars,

fluttering her delicate wings with terrible force

for the divine longing of swimming high in the air.

She has forgotten the song she used to sing in the forest.

She has forgotten the taste of the food she once relished.

She has forgotten her home,her family,her friends.

She no more makes sweet noise.

Her voice reflects her pain,

her voice trembles.

She wants no delicacies to be fed,

no golden cage to live in.

All she wants is to be touched by the warm sunrays,

to see the vast stretch  of blue,

to sing the forgotten song,

in the densest of woods.

She wants to race with her friends ,

to drench herself in the cold rain.

When the little creature sobs,

no good hearts are there to show pity.

People watch the restless bird from far,

and clap,

being gratified by her strange act.

True.

Human have good logic.

They are far more advanced,

to understand the agony of the little bird.

One day,

I see a lifeless yellow creature,

feathers surrounding her ,

gone to the father high above,

to get the answers 

for those numerous questions her mind ever pondered

throught her life ,

though short it was.

Gone is the canary,

and gone with her is the memory of 'The Forgotten Song '.

The longest talk I ever had

Raw and chill was the winter morning,

when he dropped by my house

to ask of my company for a stroll by the woods.

My teeth chattered as I hastened down the stairs,

my toes ignoring the pain,

my eyes gleaming brighter than ever before.

My breath was suspended until i reached him at the door.

I wish I could stand there the same ,

admiring the beauty of his smile

but then he took hold of my chilled fingers 

and led me to the empty frozen road outside,

shining brilliantly ,

though it had been lashed last night.

Little dark though it was,

the lamp that he carried threw light on the gravel road,

sodden by the recent thaw.

As the dawn was about to break ,

we decended the frozen valley,

and comforted ourselves on a fat log,

though little tired our feet were

after the long walk.

I heard a wild wind rushing amongst the trees

breaking the tranquilising silence

capable of making anyone fall in love.

We both let the wind make ghosty noise ,

declaring him the winner of the field

and we engaged ourselves 

in the strange long talk of ours.

Neither of us spoke a word .

His eyes told me enchanting stories

and I guess he was able too

to understand the language my eyes used,

however difficult it was.

We talked and talked ,

and later,

when we had parted our ways,

I realised ,

'It was the longest talk I ever had'.

Blindman's Bluff

Unaware of the darkness 

she stepped out,

determined never to look back.

She walked through the blizzard

and found blackguards,

took them as angels,

befriended.

She halted by the side of a frozen lake

to have some rest.

She played the bassoon

and her so called friends hated the sweet noise it made.

They left.

She remembered the blandishments.

She wept.

She helped herself on feet,

moved on to uncharted places.

She witnessed violent bloodsheds,

got used to it.

Now,at the sight of it

her heart did not bemoan,

it smiled.

Everyone she saw seemed a bigot.

She developed ulterior motives,

treated others as underlings.

Now she roamed about the snowy fields,

killing people,

splattering the red blood content on the black ice.

Her mind was bamboozled.

Her heart said - 'Have a bash'

and on she went, 

killing.

One night when she was walking

 through another heavy freezing blizzard,

something deep inside her

made her feel these things awry.

She recalled,

she had been blindfolded

the night she had stepped out in the dark,

when she was feeling unaccountably depressed.

She found her way back ,

went home,

lit up a candle,

got down on her knees,

with folded hands,

warm tears,

muttering lips.

She opened her moist eyes,

and she could see none

but JESUS !

               

Easy Questions for my Sister

How could you fulfill all my whims ?

How could you speak so softly,

when my perverseness went too far ?

What made you seek the presence

of such a pest like me,

now and always ?

How could you heal me so gently ,

when I was petrified by silly things ?

How could you diminish

the perplexity of my mind so easily ?

How could you be so patiently waiting,

with hands streched ,

even when my fingers were curled around something else ?

What made you be so gentle

with the person who never let you liv at peace ?

How could you guide me always

with so much ease,

despite all my hoaxes ?

Why did you always think of making me smile

when you knew

I never did anything great

that would truely gratify you ?

How could you be always ready

to avenge my troubles,

when you knew that I myself was the cause ?

How could you treat me as a part of your soul ,

when you always knew

 I never deserved ?

The broken boat stranded on a desolate coast

When my wandering heart caught a glance

of the wretched wooden creature ,

that hardly resembled the image of an old fashioned boat,

my eyes travelled in a flashback,

that seemed so full of life yet so absurd.

Even though I was firmly rooted to the spot,

I could hear the footsteps of my heart

walking on the path of sentiment

that haunted the quiet solitary coast.

I could hear the laughter of jolly children 

endless gossips and high pitched discussions of men and women,

the chirping birds,

and the naughty splash 

when the tides ran through the majestic rocks.

Vendors crying out to tempt the children

towards their enticing stalls

containing cotton candies,tarts,pastries and colourful handmade toys.

Seafood joints made of bamboo sticks,

carrying an impressive coastal look,

with customers swarming in and out

every now and then.

The wild rush of the wind

making its own unique noise.

My eyes had to run fast 

so that I didn't miss a moment.

While stabilising my bamboozled mind,

I caught the glimpse of a little girl,

bearing the widest smile of all,with the numbered fingers firmy curled

around the fleshy,protective index finger

of a smart,well built young man

that could be none other than her father.

They both walked swiftly through the cold sandgrains through their feet,

talking about the planets,the stars and the far off lands.

The father kept asking the young girl 

if her little feet were tired

and she said a proud 'no' each time

just to show how strong a daughter she was.

Neither did the father feel tired of narrating stories

of bravery,values and wisdom,

nor did the girl lack interest,

and on went their warm and wise talk ,

even when the colour of the sky changed.

As it was getting dark ,and fear clutched the cold arm of the girl,

she climbed into her father's  soldiers

and they both started leaving the coast .

It was not until now that I felt like watching so keenly.

A chill ran through my nerves and I froze.

What a magnificient bonding I had with my Dad

and even now what magnificient bonding it was meant to be .

I have no right to blame either him oor the circumstances.

It was me,who had thoughtlessly stopped talking to him.

Even though it was me who possessed it now,

I should have never ignored the noble people

by whom 'my life' was gifted to me.

As I was heading on the journey of realisation,

I stumbled.

Something cold and harsh touched my knees .

With a flick of the eyelid ,

I was out of the movie.

Twilight was deepening in the real world

and right before me was a broken boat,

the same one,

however not in the same condition

of which I had caught a short glimpse 

In the flashback that I had witnessed a few moments ago.

I felt as if the wild wind rushing towards me

shook me by my arms

trying to make me realise,

even a smart teen like me had a child's heart.

And now, a soft smile takes hold of my face

when I say Dad

"It was a broken boat stranded on the desolate coast 

that brought me back to your kind heart."

The Darkest Night of my Life

I'll never forget
those pinning words you made me hear,

never forget those butcher's eyes

transperent enough

to show me the ocean of
devilish intentions inside.

You were already gloating over
the pain you had caused me 

while my eyes were running through your face,

your eyes,

your gestures,

to make out the slightest of
what you were actually upto.

I felt a raging blizzard
inside the pit of my belly,

felt dizzy,

felt like red hot iron rods had been
pierced through my eyes,

hands shivering like anything,

head gone blank,

refusing to take notice of anything
that was going on.

and then,suddenly,as if I woke up
from a tiring long slumber,

realised that I had stopped breathing.

I started the process
without a second thought,

perhaps my heart wanted to take in
some more of the pain

that was being showered
by the one I used to call 

'my world','my life','my pain reliever'.

I was just about to leave 

when I felt the gentlemanly presence

of the other two persons,

witnessing this bitter,one sided fight,

between you and me.

I don't know what made me keep my mouth shut,

head buried deep under the ground,

feeling pain, hatred, confusion, madness,

so many emotions mixed,

as I had never been through before .

At first I was contemplating suicide ,

at the very next moment thinking of murder.

Your bold shameless act made me feel sick

But yeah ! Thanks to you

I witnessed the darker side of life,

I was taught to believe that my life is all about ME,

My own battle,

battle against everyone else.

There is no one whom I can call mine,

whom I can ask for help anytime .

There is no one and there will never be .

Thanks to you again

for you constricted all my human feelings.

You'll never ever have to fight with me
to get your decisions followed,
your opinions carried out
the very way you want,
I promise you that.
coz I broke apart
the brittle strings of bonding,
that held fast our relationship,
that very night.
I guarantee you a peaceful and happy life
from now on
coz I won't be there to disturb you ,
to hurt you,
to bring you shame,
as you think I've always had.
I am going out of your life forever and ever.
going away to never return,
I promise you that.
And thanks.
Thanks for showing me
the darkest night of my life.