28: Gentle Stars

Gentle lapping of waves against stone,
Steadily, unhurried, unnoticed.
The rush of vehicles on the road,
Washing every other waves to oblivion.

Darkness of sky, speckled diamonds,
Withholding stories from the dawn of time.
Blotted out by city glows,
Screened by our dominion over life.

The fantasies, the worries, the speculations, the troubles.
All that we have known and respected,
All that has ever was and is.

Every thing that ever mattered,
Doesn't matter to the soft pounding of waves.
The hard crashing of helplessness,
Soothed by timeless nature of eternity.

In the presence of time itself,
Uncertainties and doubts surface clear.
Yearning for an answer and a revelation,
Questions that doesn't have a resolution.

Questions that may never be answered,
For the universe is so much more.

27: Spectator

A half dozen strange faces,
Looking away into nothingness,
Avoiding one another,
Held in a communal silence.

Who are you, dressed in pink,
On the way to school I presume.
With a backpack upon your shoulders,
What might you be studying?

Behind the face of twenty,
How many years have you known?
How many tempers thrown,
How many hearts broken?

In all fairness, you might be thinking that of me.
A man of twenties, people watching.
What is he writing, scribbling on a notebook?
What plays within that headphones that nests against his ears?

Who are you looking at?
Who am I pondering about?
A chance meeting in a strange place,
Strangers still we will leave.

26: Rain in the Present

The heavens cry, dousing tears upon baked earth.
The rhythmic wash upon the ground, relentless.
Whispers yet formed, uttered wordless by heaven's breath.
Washing away our sins and merits.

Whence light forms, the lightning clash.
Dancing spectres through the inky skies.
A fleeting moment of existence, and an eternity of naught.
Spectacles to be seen only once and never to return.

A symphony of light and darkness,
A tussle between heaven and earth.
I am satiated to remain merely,
A witness of the present.

25: Initiation

Take no expectations,
Without any aspirations.
A distant fog
Bent on desolation.

A fickle mind,
A fickle friend.
Whence the motivation,
Elusive as time.

Dreams of yesterday,
Hopes for tomorrow.
Take a step forth,
The result of choices thus.

Failure is not an option.
Desperation driven,
Kicking screaming biting effort.
To fly and flee the shadows.

24: Scabs

Why do scabs form if not to cover and protect,
Or heal a wound too fresh to yet scar?
Why do scabs fall before their time,
Before fulfilling both function and duty?

The promise of liberation,
After shedding of one's self.
The prospect of success,
Free of disappointments and persecutions.

A cry of dreamers far too detached.
A cradle of promises void of credibility.
A plethora of old wounds too raw to face the elements once more.
A soul unbeknownst to the warmth of light lost amongst the shadows.

Bereft of dreams or aspirations,
How can one rationalise such an existence?
Bereft of form or guise,
Searching for a reason to believe,
To believe in the hope that lies within.

23: Line

Throw upon the water,
A line of life,
A saviour of braided fibers,
A dash of hope.

Cast up those sorrowful eyes,
Cast off your fears.
The day is bright,
The sun hangs high.

Light travels straight.
So does the slice of the blade,
An arc through the air.
The dance of righteousness.

Lines that were crossed,
Too many that were drawn.
And left were lines,
Deep within flesh and soul.

Beams that crosses,
And those that guide.
An uninterrupted flow,
Unwavering in its path.

Strands from yesterday,
Striking deep into tomorrow.
The lines from history,
Shall guide our future.

22: Frayed

Memorabilia haunts the present.
Excruciating agony within the soul.
To lead a life of passion,
Living a life within a prison.

Throw away all worries of the past,
Forgo all hopes of the future.
Now is the only time that matters,
Yet fear gripes my very being.

Caught in a whirlpool of stares,

Angry pot shots from all about.

Floundering through swamps of deceit,

Scaling mountains of contempt.

The dread of pursuing a passion, 

Made so by scalding remarks.

The trepidation of condemnation.

The threads of sanity frays.

Intricate webs of metal thoughts unspun.

Whirling, twisting, swirling, unwinding.

The birth of one in the shadows.

I am broken,
Broken by a community bent on destruction.
A language of universality,
Despite the evident despicability.

Unmake my sanity,
Dress me in robes of wonder,
The illusions of insanity,
That might finally be my reality. 

21: Misguided

Streaming through the bayou,
Listing amidst the rain.
Rocking against the laws,
A thousand miles from home.

If I could change the world,
If I could change my fears.
Maybe I could change my fate.
Maybe I thought I could.

How misguided was I.
How naive am I.
To wrong once and again,
And never learnt.

The fog of yesteryear
Obscures and denies
A present path
The mysteries of life.

Where I stood,
Where I died.
A boy of five and twenty,
A man that isn't ready.

How naive was I.
How misguided I am.
To trust in life,
And faulting twice and more.

One moment of folly,
A lifetime of pain.
What's done been done.
The luxury of regret never earnt.

Toeing the lines of freedom,
The hardest frontier.
I'll learn it hard.
A lesson never to be unlearnt.

20: Stars

Look up, look up,
The dark skies of twilight,
Littered with diamonds,
Glittering, glowing, flowing.

Constellations that prophesied,
Constellations that illuminated.

Torches from beyond,
Specks of silver dust to the naked eye.
A band of jewels across the midnight skies,
Forgotten amidst the glow of our cities.

Beacons of hope,
Bearings to guide.
A symbol of the undefeated champions from legends,
Residence of vanquished heroes from myths.

A great hall in the heavens,
Frequented by tales of gods.
An even greater mystery,
Pondered upon by us mortals.

Is there life out there,
Gazing upon our sun,
As we gaze upon theirs,
A distant star from where we are.

We will never know,
The ultimate fate of our lone star
As we search for our companions from afar.
Are we really alone?

19: Bound

The sand between my toes,
The wind upon my brows.
Do you hear my heart beat?
It pounds, ravaging my chest from within.

The light dims,
My favourite time of the day.
That magical moment between night and day, day and night.
Dusk,
Bathe me in magical blue.

The sun sets and rises,
Rises and sets.
The waves ever crashing,
Another rhythm for eternity.

The sky lightens.
My favourite time of the night.
That magical moment between day and night, night and day.
Dawn,
Bathe me in magical blue.

Through the darkness,
There will be light soon.

Do you hear my heart beat?
Desperate for the sand between my toes,
And the wind upon my brows.

I am pounding hard,
Against the walls of my cell.
For that magical moment between day and night,
To feel the sand between my toes,
And the wind upon my brows.

Soon I shall be unbound,
Soon I shall be free.

18: Peace

Nobody said it was easy.
It's not.

How do you still a lake of ripples?
How do you quell a raging storm?

It's not easy.
It has never been easy.

How do you silence the voices,
Demons whispering lies in your mind?
How do you filter out the white noises,
Senseless static filling the void?

It's not easy.
It'll never be easy.

Still your heart and still your mind.
Inner peace amidst a sea of chaos.
The eye of the hurricane is calm,
Despite the flurry all around.

One day you'll realise this.
Peace comes from within.

Then it'll all be easy.

17: Abandonment

The sun falters,
Or so it seemed.
The happiness of the land seeps away,
Leaving darkness and a chill that gripes my heart.

How quickly it all changed.
How quickly you changed.
Where were the promises you made?
Where are they?

Have you known betrayal so great,
That it drains you of all hope and belief?
How can one be so heartless,
And without love?

Fate jests.
Maybe you've had enough with me.
Maybe it's time to let me go.
Afterall I'm just your toy ain't it?

Yet with one who taught me betrayal,
Another taught me love.
Perhaps there is still something worth living for,
Perhaps my life is still worth fighting for.

For a long time I've felt,
Heavy hands and grazing blows.
What is this treachery,
Tender touches and loving strokes?

Where were the open fields when I could run?
Now that I'm all twisted and crippled,
With wheels to drag around.
Freedom never felt further.

As dawn nears,
My chances diminishes.

Maybe I'll get a chance to run in fields of green and gold.
Maybe I'll get to look upon sunrises and sunsets.
Maybe I'll live through to tomorrow.
Maybe I won't.

My life is in your hands,
Will you give me a new lease of life?

16: Nature's cry

Did you see the trees waving to the wind?
Did you see the eagles glide on an invisible stream?

Did you hear the whispering that comes ever so gently,
Singing songs of promises of a tomorrow that's on its way?

Have you felt the gentle breeze upon your face,
Caressing affectionately,
Embracing lovingly,
Running imaginary fingers through a ruffled head of hair?

Have you heard the stories the songbirds tell,
Ancient tunes akin to the bards of old?

Have you felt the sun,
Exuberating joy and happiness through the air,
Engulfing and eliminating your worries and vexations?

Have you smelt the fragrance in the air,
After a morning shower,
With a clear sky of azure blue over the lands?

Things we took for granted,
Things that are slowly disappearing,
Right beneath our very noses.
Things that have been,
Things that had been,
Things that might no longer be.

Will our sons look upon the scintillating stars in the darkness of night?
Will our daughters dance in freedom upon the green meadows of our land?

The inevitable destruction caused by man,
Whispered through stories carried upon the wind.

Have we paid any heed?
Will we reflect upon our deeds?
Or are we waiting for the day,
When nature's cry finally ebbs away.

15: Clarity

Tell me that the rain is gone.
Tell me that the pain is gone.
Show me this train that we are on,
Leaving this empty hole we're from.

Tell me that the skies are clear.
Tell me that the fire's near.
Show me those stars that we hold dear,
Drifting along without a fear.

This life of mechanical inanity,
Does little to soothe my growing insanity.
Unhinged and unbalanced,
My mind needs a little clarity.

The rain falls,
The pain lingers.
The skies overcast,
The sun nowhere found.

Judgemental and self serving.
Prejudice and discrimination.
Hushed whispers and finger pointing.
Am I deserving?

Cold clammy hands, 

Grasping at an invisible noose. 

A noose noosed by none other,

Than myself searching for answers.

There are no answers. 

There are no questions.

There is only the clarity,

Of living in the now.

The clarity of it all, 

Glaring and dazzling, 

Mesmerising and enchanting.

The rain stills, 

The pain eases.
The skies clear,
The sun is here.

14: Maker's Curse

I remember the day you came into my life,
An image forever seared into my mind,
Formless and figureless.
An image recalled through sound and smells.

I looked upon the sweet trebles,
I sailed on those beautiful lines.
I never thought one day they'd be from me.
Beautiful images through sounds.
Lovely basses throbbing through the air.
Painting the fundamentals of life.
I didn't dream of having them so close to me.
It seemed all too wonderful.

Splashes of blue green red,
Against a backdrop of life.
Bringing and binding.
A promise of the forbidden fruit.

Little did I know,
This temptation,
This deception,
This never ending pursuance for perfection,
It will never lead to salvation.

Writhing and weaving,
Twisting and twirling,
The makers chose this path,
Of unending torment,
Of endless frustration.
A lifetime of searching for that promised fruit.

The maker's curse they call it.
The maker's curse we made it.
The never ending search for the forbidden,
Critical of imperfections in perfection,
Never sated with perfections in imperfections.
Always seeking,
Always searching.

Enough is enough,
I've had enough.

13: Hidden

Hidden away from sight,
Hidden away from probing eyes.
Hidden away from the prying curiosity of strangers.
Strangers that once were,
Strangers that might have been,
Strangers that we might be.

Hidden away from thought,
Stowed away for another day.
Another day that might matter.
Maybe not.
Another day that might be today.
Another day that might be yesterday.

Hidden away from speculations,
The very mention of rumors frightens.
What is knowledge?
What is courage?
Every motion read and dissected,
Every concoction met and consummated.
Nothing is for certain.
I am uncertain.
This much I am sure.
Of uncertainties that bind and wind,
Blind and grind.

This much and more,
That must be kept hidden.
A secret for eternity,
burnt up in an instant.

Maybe I'll know someday,
Maybe you'll know some way.
Maybe the probing and prying,
Hiding and praying,
Will end someday.
This much I am certain.

Maybe.
Maybe not.
Till then,
I stay hidden.

12: Remembrance

Dragons breath of fire,
Scorching earth, sand and man.
The menace thunders,
Fighting a battle of resolve.

Who is to say one is righter than the other?
Who is to judge and mete out judgement?
There are no winners in bloodbaths,
There is no glory in battle.
The fallen a statistic, remembered occasionally, never fully understood.

The fight never fully justified,
As most actions of Man usually are.
A competition of ideologies,
Paid for in blood and lives.
Forefathers that paid the price for a future that descendants don't give thanks for.

There are no winners in a war,
Only statistics,
A mark on history.