The success-gurus
exhorted me to 'think big'
I was unmoved
by their carrot-stick-

what if I were
to remain small?
Would it affect
me at all?

Did they know me
better than I did?
Were they the seers
why me they should pick?

This would be my response:
Your bidding me to think big
wouldn't work on me
my thinking small does me neatly fit!

I had been right
more often, wrong
I learnt, reinvented
as I moved along

in life's varied terrain-
thousands of voices
I heard, as many of books
I had patiently read
but nothing of note
was comparable
to what I felt
and thought-
how I struggled
with myself
and how I fought
to make sense
of the best way
to live
with meaning

not to follow
the ways
of the lot
who sought
to educate
and guide me
to stop
me from
being my own
to draw me away
from my rock-solid spot-

life--
the meeting-ground
the endless encounters
of self and the others
the discussions
the dissensions
the differences
the setbacks and bothers

what will lead
me to my salvation
is to trust
and believe in myself
before my life
ends in oblivion

The self
is its own greatest enemy
not life, not anyone else
nor society-
for such
there's no redemption
nor remedy

The self
is its own greatest enemy
not life, not anyone else
nor society-
for such
there's no redemption
nor remedy

I have enough problem changing myself,

how can I attempt to change others?


And who am I to ever contemplate this?

Most lives
move
in a circle
unfulfilled
purposeless
mundane
every turn
just routine
to return
to its initial inertia
the so-called best
is no more
than mediocre-

only
a small number
is creative
cast in its own mould
courageous
different
defiant
against
the common grain
forging
towards
a New Mental Land

Free from others
or yourself?
The former
is easy
the latter
almost
an impossibility!

How does one
detach oneself
without losing oneself?

Every life lives
under the tyranny of self
that can't be absolved

there's no solution
except to empty the self
those who could achieve this
has conquered all!

Love
is silent worship
in every moment
even as the lover
lies down to sleep-
even in suffering
loyalty and faith
it does keep

love
is wings
the whole world
does it encircle
only to return
in greater fortitude
and gratitude

love
is the sweetest surrender
there's infinitely more
to give, to smile
to share together

This is the human problem-
over-doing
over-stretching
over-struggling
over-speaking­
over-desiring
over-claiming
over-demanding
over-thinking
over-pursuing
over-in­quiring
over-expecting
over-acquiring
over-self-glorifying

people can't stay still:
the joy of living
they are missing
too late comes
the self-realising
by then
they are on
their bed dying
sobbing
and regretting

Life-
the inevitable
of self
in juxtaposition
with everyone else

the prelude
to relationships
beautiful
unsavoury
beneficial
or hurtful

the nexus
that's hard
to sever
even when
one has to suffer

in silence
unknown
to the other

sanity lies
in knowing oneself
in self-certitude
unshaken
by the world

where true selfhood
and freedom unfurl

Thanks, you are an eternal optimist,  not me---
my life-philosophy takes in the downside of life and things.

This to me is realism, not the least idealism.-

Being over-optimistic is an unbalanced view of life and things

Life wouldn't be
   a wasteland
    if the meaning
    of living
    you understand

   there's the green land-
   the pasture, the foliage
   the running stream
   the beaming sea
   the love, the joy
   the beauty and wonder-edge

   nurture and nourish
   your precious dream
   aim not for the froth
   but the very cream

  that's found within yourself
  unsullied and unblemished
   the innermost sacred kingdom
   that you alone can claim -

   in arrival
   you'd have turned
   the wasteland
   into Wonderland

... but changing to suit others means compromising or losing part of ourselves.  

    Better be a Taoist: let others be, don't interfere!

Not the giving in:
it's enough
being able
to go through
the very day
without dismay
fear or despair-

every life
is lived
in the singular
none should be
a copier
of another-

this is the keynote:
live, live, live
despite the angst
the setback
the pain
the grief !

only one life
it will come
no more-
live
live
live
ere it's over!

Mind not my presence
I'm here not to interfere
or influence--just a passerby
you needn't have any fear-

me, only a wondering poet
free to roam the world wherever
no home nor destination  do I have
I'm there, here--everywhere-

people talk of love and longing
and hold on to everything
empty-handed am I --just writing
of life, its pain and suffering

for I'm in the scheme
of things, a complete nothing
with the sky and earth
my only friends--to none belonging

Snow lays heavy on the moors
  I look into the sombre pitch darkness
a deep melancholy overpowers me
my heart is empty and void of happiness-

time has shown no mercy
love has eluded me
my years of waiting
have been in vain--such misery!

Into the murky sky I gaze
in such heartache and reverie
how I struggle to subdue
my longing-  how I yearn to be free!

The Oneness
is complete
when the Yin
and Yang meet

in harmony:
no dissonance
no rough edges
the undertone is sweet

beyond words
doubt, arguments
only the consonance
beyond dispute

Yin and Yang
Yang and Yin
the match perfect
where two hearts greet

I love you dearly
  but can't promise
   to permanently stay:
   freedom I need passionately

   love shouldn't be
   the owning and clinging:
   my all I can't give away
   that would be my very dying-

   I will plead sincerely
   that you shouldn't love me
   look away, keep your heart
   to yourself-- lest you suffer endlessly!

The old self within me
is insistent and demanding:
it sets my every boundary
and dictates my way of living-

I've struggled for so long
its obstinacy knows no easing
agendas and rules it sets tightly
from its grasp there's no freeing

only in my last days of dying
will I find its ceasing and demising

Words-- they bruise
dissect and cut
but they also teach, weep
heal and direct the heart

to unknown new heights
of feeling and understanding
every person is defined
by the words they are employing

in their daily communicating
interacting, their story-telling
what will ultimately rule the world
is finding the right and virtuous wording

Thinking
   and feeling
   neither is
a simple thing-
   each has
its own layers
  the unfathomable labyrinth
words are lost
  and confused
   in translation

  don't sell me
  AI or any technology
  they can't feel anything
  they are a nuisance-
  so annoying!

  First and last
  we're each
  a human being
  though lost
  in the labyrinth
  we'll not cease
  in our thinking
feeling and doing

Languor
but not melancholy
as in life, love, relationships
themes of music and poetry

all that is
has no permanency
each is a subject
of ephemerality

it's inescapable
weltschmerz so common
the same words and acts
the monotony--unbroken

not despair, not melancholy-
the undertone and mood of languor:
the fading, the paling, the lustre-lacking
the slipping away, the joy and beauty no more

Don't coax or bribe me
many did try before
though little I have
I need nothing more-

a tiny farm far from the city I own
in a place to others unknown
my wife and kids shout for joy at harvest times
after last season's seeds we had diligently sown

My secret hiding-place
I told no one
hid from my peers
there I did run

when I was chided
at home for being lazy
dad and mum were anxious
lest I'd not make it to uni-

tears I shed sitting
by a silent stream
nursing my wound
the image crept into my dream

ever since even
as I'm an old man now
dad and mum are long gone
I've thought of them anyhow

as past memories flash back-
if only I hadn't caused them pain
( hard I did work, a degree I did obtain
but they had departed then)-

as I sit under the same oak tree
in this unknown woodland
no words of comfort can I find
my parents' hearts now I truly understand

Tomorrow
will follow today
and it will be followed
by another day
ad infinitum:
thus. life is
an endless succession
of days piled upon
one another
we're cogs
we've no say-
we can't run away!

That which is  inexpressible
      cannot be conveyed in words proper
      language is then but a crude tool-
      however smart the philosopher or writer-

      there's an undefinable dimension
      beyond our limited comprehension
      it can only be intuitively felt by the heart
      but the person can't offer any explanation

The day might be boring
but the creative person
makes it interesting
and the hours are moved
to singing and dancing --
life springs forth- to meaning !

Neither too serious
nor too frivolous-

neither too optimistic
nor too pessimistic-

neither too spendthrift
nor too deep in thrift-

neither too trusting
nor too mistrusting -

neither over-eating
nor under-eating-

neither too confident
nor too diffident -

neither too ambitious
nor being unambitious -

neither over-planning
nor under-planning-

neither too careful
nor being a reckless fool-

this above serves as the Golden Rule

I read the works
of my fellow-poets
and deeply realise
theirs is of so much better worth
than mine--from them I learn
them I so much admire
and I readily aspire
to digesting more
like a flower
delighting in dew-fall

talent is all over
I must look outward
if I were to become
a better writer

West: Reach out!

Zen:  Reach within

West: Reach out!

Zen:  Reach within

It will hurt badly
  if life you hold too tightly
  letting go--be with the flow
is the best way to follow

Who hasn't fallen?
Who hasn't been broken?

Every such episode
is but a valuable lesson
nothing intrinsic of us
has been stolen-

we'll each on our own
rise in new strength and inspiration
to greater heights before unknown
with all our past failings totally forgotten

It doesn't rule the world---success
only kindness

Those who have no want
life's battles they have won!

West:  Charge ahead!

Zen:   Stay with the moment

You sanitise
your body
but neglect
the mind-
what use
at all
will you find?

If you've lost
the fear of self
the whole world
you'd have conquered
and would live
without fear
of anything at all-

the light
doesn't fear the dark
the latter
has been dispelled

all obstacles
have been removed-
the conquest
is complete
and unequivocal

Life and the world

would mean nothing

if yourself you don't own--

this would be worse than dying

Don't argue with life-
its mind is made up already
even if you were the smartest
it will claim victory-

follow the gentle Tao
the Way to attain tranquillity
in non-action, non-struggling
non-interfering-- you will set free of misery

Jackson, how did you know?
     Reply: I heard from John.

    I then asked John
    and he replied:
    I heard from Joe-

     I approached Joe
     and he said:
     Jason told me-

    To Jason I rushed
    and he confided:
    L heard that
    from a stranger
    drunk in the pub!

Life's 'is' and 'isn't'
the latter I choose:
the former has happened
and no longer offers any excitement-

on a journey
the best part
is not arrival
but the in-between expectation-

the rose is in budding
we wait for its blossoming-

the moon is not yet
we watch for its shining-

my lover's letter I'm anticipating
how my longing heart is beating!

Her lips to kiss I'm dreaming
it'll be bliss at our lips' blending!

Speak not for me
I need no spokesperson
nor anyone to promote
my cause---my dignity

lies in what I stand for
though unknown to anybody

every life is lived
in the silent singular
miserable is the person
who seeks to be popular

I live and I die
i need none to be nearby

Don't tell people
what you know
all you need to say is:
' I don't know].

Tall-poppies
will be cut down
those hidden
upon them others don't frown-

don't tell people
your likes or dislikes
the books you've read
your travels-- none delights

in your boasting
they find such as most irritating
the moral:  be quiet
say nothing!

After midnight
the city pales
in weariness-
too much
it has seen
and experienced
during the clamour
of the day
it hopes for silence
with everyone
being away-

the street-lights
shiver and quiver
all bars and shops
are closed--beggars
sleep in neglected corners
a few dogs linger
in search for food
in ***** bins
a church-bell chimes
as the last trams
and buses
do their final rounds-

a sudden wind descends
and throws debris
and discarded papers
into the cold air-

the city dies
for a while-
tomorrow
is another story

There were only two persons left in the world
after its mysterious end and they owned everything thereof.

They challenged each other to a duel and would fight to the death as they felt that only one of them should own the world.

But destiny had the final say:
when they drew their swords, a sudden lightning descended and struck them and they both died on the spot,  watched by a few birds perching on a nearby tree---all around was silence

An elephant on my working-table
do you say impossible?
Use your imagination:
I'm referring to plastic toy-model!

Poetry, like music.
at its utmost poignancy
speaks of melancholy
which will be engraved
in timeless memory

nothing can usurp
its grandeur and beauty
even at its darkest our
it  echoes so sublimely :

'Hearts,  do not weep
love surely there shall be
springing from every teardrop
and set your misery free'.

Here I am, in my despair
and loneliness, prayerfully
open my heart to its tender voice
and my ears to its ever-blessed melody

Beauty
can't fill the tummy
as such
it has no utility

Anne Frank: 'The diary of a young girl':

My comment:


We read the book in school. I have re-read.
She was intuitively brilliant and precocious, with the mind of an adult-philosopher.
If she had lived, she would have been a great writer.

I like her optimism, her faith in the essential goodness of people, her sense of humour and her love of life