Life , Death .. and that one phone call

Maa ...Madre .. Mother



Smoke fills the air… 
  
remnants of an addicted nature ... 
  
An empty bottle by my side … 
  
liquor a  regular feature.   
  
  
  
A future seemingly bleak...   
  
My mind convoluting without brakes 
  
I seek out the easiest escape route ,  
  
one decision is all it takes. 
  
   
  
As moments slither by , 
  
the ceiling fan seems friendlier ... 
  
To end it all seems appropriate , 
  
a tragic end to a dismal failure  
  
  
  
I look around for an alternative,  
  
all routes  showing none ... 
  
I messed up bad, I know it,   
  

  
  
  
Just a few more moments remaining , 
  
a sad conclusion to the million seconds before. 
  
I steel myself towards the finality,
  
resignation writ large on my soul ....  
  
  
  
And then the phone starts ringing
  
I wonder who the caller might be.
  
the incessant ring filling up the void 
  
begging to be answered by me.  
  
  
  
A tentative 'Maa' comes forth,  
  
as I recognize the caller on the phone .
  
my eyes start pouring away
  
as my soul unburdens my woes 
  
  
  
She proclaims no miraculous mantra
  
no grand statements of inspiration .
  
she simply connects to me 
  
courage enough to challenge my damnation.   
  
  
  
As I recall that call over the years
  
my beautiful daughter by my side 
  
a few roses for a stony grave 
  
and for my dear mother who never died.

Bargaining by her bedside .

Some bargains are worth the barter ...



Her eyes tell me that she can make it ... 
The doctor's tone tends to disagree .. 
... I stand silent, a few feet away ... 
... the wedding ring, luster-less on my finger 

Those X-rays .. their images utterly bleak... 
confirming the worst ..of that which we may not speak 

She's nothing but bones & a bald head .. .. 
Her beauty much more underneath ... 
She then slowly whispers my name ... 
'I have made peace, my love ... do the same' 

My eyes only on her, my lovely lady on the bed ..... 
My heart sinking in despair .. those final words she said... 
I fight furiously with her ...for me & our kids ... 
She smiles & nods .. tears streaming down her face ... 

My words seem desperate, so do any promise that I make ... 
The selling of all my property .. or extra shifts I intend to take. 

I spend that night with you ..... 
the darkest hours of my life ..... 
The morning brings in a conclusion .... 
the machines eerily silent on my wife..... 

It's been 16 years past that fateful night ..... 
Our beautiful daughter's about to be with her man ... 
her walk with me to the aisle so graceful ... her face so much like yours .. 
She misses you very much, I know ... I tried as hard as I could do ... 

and then she pauses ... looks at me in the eye. 
I swear I see you .. her voice , yours .. without doubt ... 
She embraces me warmly , her words soothen my soul 
' You did good, daddy .. you did good. Mom would be so proud !!!' 

The honest man's fate

Scrape the surface a little, 
along comes a bit of dirt ... 
Point it with good intentions .. 
... a billion sentiments get hurt . 
  
The dirt lays unnoticed ... 
the scrapper gets the blame . 
'Oh he commiteth blasphemy'.. 
they cry hoarse & bloody his name 
  
As men heatedly debate ... 
over the atrocity of his crime ... 
The nation weeps silently 
Ohh!! Wish they heard him this time ! 
  
Honest men are not rare ... 
But honesty remains to be found ... 
As long as the dirt lies still ... 
Our soul would always be bound!! 

Me , my country & my cowardice

We existed long before that day .. 
our senses tuned to glorious self - gratification ... 

... Our failing , our ignorance , our apathetic system ... 
a golden opportunity in the hands of a few radicals .. 

In the name of 'God' & 'freedom', they arrived ... 
the route much more easier than they bargained for . 

Striking us where it hurt the most ... 
their actions derailing an entire country's future ... 

Definite body counts and indefinite emotionally injured .. 
and for a billion mortals ... life would never be the same... 

Accusations flew thick & fast . responibilty a bloody orphan .. 
a young nation lay traumatized, all hopes for the future meaningless 

We blamed 'them' for failing us, our own inadequacy masked hypocritically.. 
self-righteous jerks we still are .. the devious mask yet not shed ... 

Every war has a few martyr's ..and this one had it's too .. 
Salutations came thick and fast ... glorious epitaphs written on a few 

It's been many years since .. and we remember them in mere passing ... 
their lives tragically lost .. in many ways their deaths weighing on our hands.... 

Things still remain the same, the apathy more prominent ... 
the devils have always been within us .. ignorance providing fodder 

and as I look beyond the humiliating charade , I agonise over my cowardice.. 
not patriotic enough to lend a healing hand ... nor human enough to be a healer .. 

We have ignored our nation for so long .. our mistakes defining her ... 
and as we are .. so is our country ..as we would be .. so would be our nation ! 

Alexander's statue & those pesky doves ...

That which we treasure the most ...


You wouldn't notice at first ... 
the cold war that  silently brew ... 
The abandoned courtyard revealing nothing .. 
Just a few stray doves & that broken old statue . 

The doves usually sedentary ... flocked together in a herd ... 
The object of their attention .. that old statue with a sparse beard 

His voice the sweetest ... closest to cannon fire 
A Deep silence arose ... as the statue begins to speak 
Why me , you feathery fiends . the poor victim of your atrocities !!?? 
Pray tell me .. what pleasure from this torture do you seek !!?? 

A wise old Dove , apparently the group leader ... 
prostrated beforre the statue ... voicing his doubts loud & clear ... 
'Pray !!Oh! Ancient one!! What is it that you complain of ? 
We both have been here for centuries .. Pray !! Let us hear !! ... 

'I am the statue of the mighty Alexander ... 
Half the world beneath my glorious knees 
The youngest commander of the mightiest empire .. 
annd yet your feathery friends s**t on me as they please !! 

The Dove  ..sagacious as ever .. swore a profuse apology ..  
' Oh Ancient One !!  From this day to the end of time ... 
No bird shall disturb thy slumber . No bird shall s**t on thee !! 

The Birds all gone .. silence arising in their wake 
the statue happy in the abandoned courtyard .. 
No more disturbances !! Peace , for heaven's sake!!!!! 

The days went by ..but the peace never came .. 
The statue wondered why .. now that there were no feathery souls 

All these centuries ... he was angry at their intrusion .. 
those gossips from the far away lands ... those birdlings born on his breaches ... 
That familiarity the birds felt .. their hatchlings left safe on his hairlocks ... 
The mighty statue realized ... he missed those annoying creatures 

All alone stood the statue ..no soul in sight for miles 
and his despair grew sadly  ... the hills echoing with his cries .... 

Gods & Mortals

Philosophy  .. Religion & Spirituality seldom come to a normal footing .


My belief fluctuating on either extremeties .... 
In the best of times .. my faith unshakeable... 
In the worst of times ... the same on shaky waters 
My comfort haphazard across the whole scale .. 

The Bible , The Quran, The Gita & the Tora ... 
Their authors different .. the essence still the same 
A guidebook some call it ..others  ... a way of life 
Each hold you in high regard ... praises adorning your name. 

I am a mere mortal ... bound by a set of rules. 
My choices .. the only thing ... seperating me from the rest... 
The  high road you portray seems inaccessible to me .. 
I have fallen every single time...no matter.... I still try my best 

My quest for an easier route ... led me astray across a vile path .. 
I canoodled with False godmen  ..  their words falsely enigmatic 
The scriptures .. they twist ... the essence willfully corrupted ... 
And a horrific Holy war I wage .. it's consequence oddly karmatic 

I am not a Hindu ..nor a Christian .. neither a Muslim 
Just an ordinary man .. doing his natural duty .. 
God ..for me I realized ... works in an odd way .. 
He lies in those little things ... radiating in their inherent beauty 

My father's car ...

The story of a dad & his car


My dad's a decent man ... 
no materialistic desires does he crave... 
He owns a pint-sized car ... 
the kind you wouldn't spend money that's been saved. 

Every morning he washes the junk ... 
his attention meticulous to a fault.. 
Me & my bro mercilessly tease him .. 
he smirks & takes it with a pich of salt... 

He narrates the day he brought the car .. 
he fell head over in love with a certain lady .. 
Please let her be  'Maa', we hilariously beg !! 
The million times he told us that story ... 

His car as good as new ... 
the ultimate pride of my dad !! 
Ask him to take her for a ride .. 
He predictably start hopping mad !! 

The years had brought a few  classier ones ... 
But that car .. remained his favorite ... 
Her travel restricted to an unfortunate few .. 
she remains unburdened in the garage .... 

And then that unfortunate day arrived .. 
my father breathed his last ... 
No send - off more appropriate for him ... 
than a final journey on his favorite car  !!!