The mighty Ganges continues to flow
Through land toiled by blood and tears
But little do the people know
Our love has long counted the years

As the stars twinkle in the night
And lovers gaze upon their glory
They recall our song and shine their light
To tell the world about our story

Before the waves crashed upon the shore
And the thunder roared up in the skies
They sat in a circle in days of yore
And nightly sang our love's reprise

And as the mountains crumble to dust
And the winds herald the closing of the gates
Remember, my love, oh if forget you must
Our love will endure, even Time will wait

What do you say to life
When it comes knocking on your door
Saying "Your time is almost up"
And you look at all these things
You wasted

Remember that dusty keyboard your mother bought for you
Instead of buying groceries she bought you that
Because you'd always wanted to play the piano
But your family budget wouldn't allow
Extra expenses for the lessons and the piano
And you played simple nursery rhymes on it
London bridge and twinkle twinkle
And found joy in matching some notes from songs you loved
But you took it for granted
And that sacrifice
Was wasted on you

See those gray hair stands your father started having when you went to college
And you believe it was most likely because he was trying to send both you and your sister to good schools
Because your government fails to provide free quality education
To the youth it expects to carry the nation through
Yet when was the last time you touched that hair
Do you even recall how it feels to run your hand through your father's hair,
His face,
His floor plans?
Those
Were wasted on you

Hear your sister breathe peacefully
As she dreams of the storks movie you went to see this afternoon
In your futile attempt
To correct all the wrongs you did to her for twelve years of her life
How your destructive, violent behavior
Was always poured out into her sweet, innocent soul
Because you justified that you were afraid
That if she didn't fear you
She would never learn to be strong
And face the world
But in truth you were just a monster
And you realize now
Now that time's running out
You realize that those first twelve years were the most important
Because if you only did the right things
Your bond would have been cemented
But you were a monster
Who did not know how to express the tides of love
Who damaged her emotionally by pelleting her with bullets of unnecessary lectures about the pettiest things
And you cry and plead
For life to bring it all back
To bring all those years back
Because more than anything else in the world
It is your sister you love most
And she was wasted on you

I have always had this unfortunate tendency
To feel bad about hurting the people who've hurt me

As I move along the line
Your absence will constantly remind
Me that you chose to stay
In that same destructive state
Rather than blossom into
A better person

You failed to realize
That in raising a child
You also have to grow
Up and outward to show
Them how to live
A life worth living

So absorbed in the me, me, me
Covered your eyes so you'd not see
That you let the monster in
Allowed it to eat your children
Until they became as poisoned
As your soul

I wonder how many people
Spend every day of their lives
In happiness or despair,
In rapture or apathy
Without knowing
That a poet bled ink
To write about them.

O mother,
Ye the sea who hast crashed upon the shores,
And shapest the precipitous cliffs of my childhood
Thy lull hast eternally calmed me to slumber
In truth the ululating howl of thy grief
For the moon.
The jaundiced glow of the distant orb
Beckoned upon thy aching soul and
As the world turned each night
Thy waves slammed harder against the cliffs
Not as easily hewn as the rocks of my youth
Thy insidious carving would taketh aeons to break them.
Farther and farther from me
I stood steadfast and watched
The waters yearning for the lunar glory
So distant yet magnetic,
Uncovering the depths of thy being
Something a stationary monolith
Can only ever dream of

From far away, a voice recalled
Me to the days gray, gone, and old
Dear mother tucked me in to bed
And warned me of the night ahead

Of the many monsters lying in wait
For an innocent child to bite the bait
From head to toe, they'd eat you whole
Skin and hair and bones and all

But daylight it was when uncle Strouss
Brought Teddy into his colorful house
His dad's brother helped him unbutton
While in the frame, Jesus looked on

And don't forget, it was a bright day
With Dianne there along the walkway
Wearing her shorts; the weather was hot
But those who saw her called her "****"

It was a good time, Lyda thought
To try out the new dress she bought
But men around her looked at her funny
Eyes all over her temple, her body

Mike went out for a drink with Sybill
He didn't know that drink had a little pill
The next day he woke up stark naked in bed
Beside the monster he thought was his friend

Among necktied men, Jenny sat busy
Focused on work for a 6-digit salary
But some monsters are pros too, chum
And he felt her up and left her mum

And as I tuck you in to bed, my child
I will tell you all this world is scary and wild
It is never safe for you and Teddy,
And Dianne and Lyda and Mike and Jenny