Today, I realized,
It’s been long since I danced to the gushes of wind of the fall,
Long since I sang to the birds that nest in my branches,
I was too busy giving shade to the passersby who ate seeds and littered my feet with plastic wrappers.
You see, I was a seed once, too, and then a sapling,
I looked up and gazed at Ma, who used to filter the sun so that it was just enough for us saplings.
She sang to us that it would be our noble duty one day to welcome everyone in our leafy arms when we would be as old as her.
The birds cheered to her songs while the squeaky squirrels added to the chorus.
She danced with the storm’s gusty winds, through pouring rain, and even when the sun shone bright.
But she sang it one last time and soon forgot about us.
She became busy looking after the guests that sat among us.
Giving them shelter even when they scribbled painful wounds on her skin.
Today, I realized I had forgotten to sing, too.
Ma thought her leafy canopy was insufficient, and her concern made it difficult for her leaves to stick to her, depleting her shade.
This vicious cycle made the birds concerned, the squirrels alarmed, and the strangers left gradually.
The birds requested a song from her again, thinking it might bring her back, but they couldn’t chirp through her self-contempt.
Soon, a day came when the winds proved too strong for her, and she bent down, never to rise up again.
The birds flew away, the squirrels fled, and the strangers returned.
With her last remaining breath, she tried to sing a song again, I tried to sing along with my shaking voice, but it got masked with the sound of her carcass getting dragged away.
I am as tall as Ma now. My canopy shelters the whole park. But just like Ma, I am not confident with my branches anymore. The strangers came and scratched on me the same, but I grew more concerned about whether my shadow was enough for them. It is my duty. I try to look at my sibling for songs of encouragement, but today, I realized, she got plucked away by a stranger for having flowers too beautiful. I wish she helped me add to my canopy on the days when I couldn’t.
So, I turned back to my birds, who have been waiting for my songs for centuries. To my squirrels, who value how much I care about sheltering their food. And I tried to sing. I had forgotten the words, but they reminded me and sang along. The winds vibed with my melodious branches as the rain washed away my sins. My leaves started growing again.
Strangers will come and go. They will hurt you when you shelter them. Curse you when you sing to them. Drag you through the ground when you need help. And you must keep offering them a haven from the sun’s rays. It’s your duty. But if you want to live, you turn back to your family and sing, and they’ll sing along with you.
So, today, I realized,
You can’t really forget to sing,
Unless you want to.
Tag: life
The Deal
It wasn’t a normal day, I had had enough.
If my eyes shifted just an arc more, my own breath I would have snuffed.
The world had jumped in the toilet with its bleeding hand reaching for the flush.
Thoughts were pouring through me like shoppers on a sale spree, I just couldn’t handle the rush.
My brain screaming for help, blood boiling thorough the skull window, with my final gasp I called,
“Hear me, the Greatest Dealer ever, I think I’ve seen it all! ”
Immortal
Once there were a man and his friend, who lived in the happiest of towns,
But stories of their selfish deeds made the townies always frown.
They didn’t care for a single soul, all of their promises were fake,
You’ll never hear a single tale of them helping, even by mistake.
So when the people faced any of them, clear they used to steer,
The man and his friend lived alone at a desolate house for years.
One day a dark shade loomed over the town, all the smiles faded so soon.
The river flowing down the hill turned vile, which was once a boon.
People turned black and blue with one sip of the poison,
They left the mortal world in pain before the sun rose in the horizon.
The wealthy left the town, with the less fortunate standing helpless,
They accepted their fate and coldly counted down their days.
The man and his friend went up the hill in search of water fresh,
They planned to bring and sell them at a cost of an arm and leg.
Climbing up through the forest, they met an unknown voyager,
They asked him of his purpose here, he said he’s here to win a wager.
He told them he’s there to find the mythical elixir of life,
You take one sip of it, and for a hundred years you’ll thrive.
The man and his friend looked at each other, as their eyes glowed with greed,
An opportunity for them to be gods has presented to them indeed.
They befriended the voyager, and asked him for the elixir’s location,
The innocent tourist became thirsty as he shared all the information.
The friend brought cool water for the traveler from the river,
He gulped down the venom, as they waited for the sun to deliver.
They reached the top of the hill following the traveler’s words,
In a cave covered with shrubs they witnessed a world unheard.
They saw a dozen species which are no more heard to survive,
Between some ‘extinct’ twigs, in a pot, there lay the elixir of life.
As agreed before, the exhilarated man gulped down half the pot,
Happy for getting a long life, he overlooked his friend’s plot.
His friend had left the spot before his thoughts allowed him to turn around,
The friend poured the elixir in the river and ran with the pot, right to the town.
He went to every home and offered a sip of the river to every sick person,
So as the sun rose the next day, they saw nobody’s condition had worsened.
Smiles soon returned to the faces of people, it was really a miracle divine,
The man smirked, bowed down to his friend, impressed by his design.
There is an old man far away, whose friend once saved a whole town,
There’s a statue of this friend at the heart , to which all people still bow down.
Tale of this heroic deed went around from ear to ear,
He cared for every single soul when he lived, that’s what they want to hear.
But when people see the man now, they still steer away from him clear,
They say the old man lives alone in a desolate house, and unlike his friend, has lived for a million years.
Remember me?
Hey there! Remember me?
I am the one with whom you used to talk everyday!
Our topics were so wild that if any regular person heard us, they would have recommended us a psychiatrist or would have called the police.
I still remember once your dad called you five times during one of our calls and found you busy.
The call back was more like a Vietnam flashback, and you rung me up again to cry your heart out.
And then you posted on the social media: “No one understands me..”
Hey there! Remember me?
I am the one with whom you used to talk everyday, but one day you stopped. Continue reading “Remember me?”
Aeons
Teary eyes,
Sad goodbyes,
We break away,
Apart too far.
Aeons pass,
We meet at last,
Ring fingers say,
“Too late you are…”
The Ride
I still remember that dusty afternoon,
When you hitched a ride with me in my mediocre car on that desolate drive,
I thought, just like everyone else, you’re going to split up and leave me to continue your own journey,
Never did you ever tell me, our separate roads have ended, and the road ahead is one,
And no we didn’t stop so soon
We hopped some breakers, we bought some flowers, we crashed into some cactus thorny,
We believed we’d never run out of fuel, but you know why our car’s called “life”
Sad moments did cloud us often,
But regret is a thing we missed,
Thank you for this journey
Thank you for this ride so fun…
I am fine
Stuck in Sunday eve traffic, you’re getting bored as heck,
You’ve reached the end of your newsfeed, there’s nothing more to check.
A boy walks by, his dirty clothes make you frown,
And then you think “Why should I care? I’m going to the best pizza place in town!”
His shoulders drooping with dejection and not school bag,
The boy’s pants are his dead father’s, his shirt’s a former rag.
No, he doesn’t have a soul in this world to look after him,
His little brother waits in his slum, unbelievably joyous to the brim.
Earlier in the morning he came first in his class,
He was promised by his elder brother that he’ll gift anything he asks.
The innocent little soul doesn’t know how much his brother gets kicked around,
His hungry stomach blurts out “I want the best pizza in town! ”
The boy masked his helplessness with a smile, he showed nothing in front.
One pizza costs more than his salary for an entire month. Continue reading “I am fine”
The Elephant Who Learned How to Climb
No one ever asked him what he wanted to be. Ever since his first steps, his father showed him off to his friends and boasted, “Look at his strong legs, he’ll surely be a Climber!”. The Climber. The one that his parents couldn’t be, despite their burning desires.
So when he was supposed to play with his other friends from the jungle, the little elephant was snatched away from the playground and enrolled to a “jumping school”. Specialized teachers like kangaroos and grasshoppers had been enlisted to clear the basics of these little admitted kids. It was their sole responsibility to train them so that they could be ready for the next step, climbing.
The elephant tried hard. Really hard. Animals laughed as he tried to jump with his round belly, balancing himself with his long snout. Tears got mixed with the dirt as he fell on his face everyday. His sobs were masked by the laughter of his classmates. Still he didn’t give up. He did not want to see his parents upset. In a few years he learnt to leap over small shrubs and bushes, which was enough to get him enrolled into the climbing classes. But maybe it was not worth his bleeding tusks.
Climbing classes included more specialized teachers like the bear and the cheetah. They were considered the best, since they had once taught even a goat to reach the top branch of the famous Old Oak at the end of the jungle. Their other accomplished students, the orangutan and the raccoon, had their pictures carved on every tree bark in the jungle. The elephant parents were pleased to see that they had brought their son to the right place. But no one asked him if he wanted to learn it.
Soon the judgement day arrived. Continue reading “The Elephant Who Learned How to Climb”
Heartburn
Let me tell you all a story about a girl who once meant the world to me.
And right now, she’s someone who can’t even look at me.
Yeah!
You see, I’m not a toy,
Yeah I did fall for your coy,
But I’m not gonna let you take the joy out of this!
So before you enjoy, like nothing happened, with your homeboy,
Just remember what happened to Troy,
And wait till I completely destroy you.
Rewind to the time when we met at a strange place,
Where people bought glory and bet their souls instead.
Like fish out of water, we fret about what lay ahead.
And then you played that card, I take the hat off my head!
Maybe you schemed for days and said “I need you”,
To a lost boy who’s been ignored since his grade two.
He thought you’ll fit, like two puzzle pieces;
But it turned out you’re the hammer that broke everything in the first place.
You’ve hung on to me for too long like a parasite,
Well, this is my medication, I’m putting up a fight! Continue reading “Heartburn”
Rise
You are running on a strenuous road,
Your feet strike a boulder hard.
You fall down, people laugh as if they should,
No one comes to help you out.
The sun will rise again tomorrow,
The stars will shine again tonight.
They will condemn your guts today,
And soon they will hate you for your might.
They never knew how to run, never tried to,
But they know how to mock your grit.
They’ll make you think that you should give up,
Like they did with their empty story, that’s it. Continue reading “Rise”
The Living Writes 