1

If you know how to simplify
your problems will not multiply

2
Because you see with one eye only
the horizon surely looks blurry

3
He is truly wise
who gives no advice

4

If you don't seize opportunity
it will fly to someone too quickly

5
You are your own teacher
that's all, go no further

Nancy, do you remember me?
I was a member of the Dramatic Society
you played the part
of Juliet--you stole my heart.

I was not good enough to be Romeo
I wished that had been me--I know
that would have drawn me
close to you--now all I have is the beautiful memory

of you saying those words--so amorous and sweet
I dreamt since--had your eyes did mine meet
you would feel the love stirring within me
do you remember Shelley's 'Love's Philosophy?'

Your home address I got from your brother
he knows me like none other
he will testify to my high morals and impeccable character
my mobile is .....I would really love to meet you and chatter.

signed:
One who adores you but is shy and lacks the courage to approach you-forgive me for writing this.
I am Arthur

From a broken heart
tears will fall to water
the garden of love
that someone will come to  be your lover.

If the sorrows of love
you never did know
how would you taste that ecstasy
when love its splendour doth show?

I am in outer space
I am levitating
light as a feather
in another state of being

but I am no alien
( I am not dreaming)
I was born with a heart
I have every human feeling.

I touch the tips of stars
I sleep in the cradle of the moon
I dance with the clouds
to the music of the heavens I swoon.

Lighter, yet lighter I am getting
(I know I am not dreaming)
weightlessly I am drifting, flying
in space infinite--in a world without ending.

A fool I know gives
half his monthly salary to charity
while we the ones with wisdom look away
as we don't subscribe to such benevolent philosophy

Anger first cost me my friends
then my job
my long-suffering wife left me
it's too late now for me to sob.

I quarrelled with the bank manager
the bank cancelled my credit card and recalled my loan
I scored an 'A' for being Melbourne's MAM (Most Angry Man)
it's too late now for me to moan.

The mariners are asleep
silence reigns over the distant hill
the sea has lost its rage
every wavelet lies serene and still.

Echoes of violin strains
are fading, fading away
receding, receding into the sombre night
the horizon looks like a blemished painting in misty grey.

The song has been sung
and the last note of the symphony
is sinking, sinking, dissolving, dissolving
gone, gone is the poignancy of every melody.

The poem has been written
of fresh themes the poet hopes to dream
he looks at the pale sky through the window
where neither the moon nor the stars shed a beam.

I feel it
and now  
I think I am sure
I know nothing

at the end of things
nothing seems the same
the past in retrospect is but
vestiges of words and memories-
it seemed so real then
but is now shrouded in a cloud
in the most nebulous doubt

yes, I was there
that I don't deny
as I recollect in the present
I could never be sure
(who is sure about life
or the right or wrong of things?
and what is real or unreal?
Who can grasp life's unknowns and mysteries?)

Am I a walking dream?
Is life a mere illusion?

no
it's not about
to be or not to be
or being or non-being
that which I had acted upon
were deeds that had been done
and the past could never be undone
moments that expired
like  rain once fallen
could not be recaptured
even if I were to repent
yet--there's none to judge me
but my own self--
why have remorse then?

we are shadows
we aren't real
(is reality but a hoax?)

All said and done
I conclude-
life is a lacuna
I am nothing
but  a moment in time
and nothing do I know.

' Do you understand me?'
A most awkward question to pose
It weakens you and the addressee
Senses your insecurity-- with a sneering nose

Would come the reply:
'What do you take me for--a fool?'
Think before you speak
You command respect when you are sure and cool.

A MYSTERY BEYOND MYSTERIES

Outer space/the cosmos where elements collide/stars are born and die/
wonders and mysteries of the universe/beyond human comprehension /that which cannot be expressed sets limits on language and thought/we and the universe live in co-existence and are bound together by a mystery beyond mysteries/we live on as the universe/ we live forever as the universe does not die

China of old was a nation
of traditional avid tea-drinkers
when foreign alcoholic drinks were brought in
the Chinese turned into tea--totallers.

It's in forgetting the self
that you are set free
the sticky ego would perish
the mind feeds on nothing as it's empty

that which is empty has no boundary
and everything does it encircle
that which is full soon spills over in excess
he who is relieved of the burden of self is his own miracle

That which is rigid its own boundaries  sets
  that which is stretchable goes a long way
  that which is tall  unwanted attention attracts
  that which is low and humble wins the day

You do not win because you are smart
you have first to acquire the winning-art

This is another kind of death
of our own making
we die not once
but through our whole life-time
moment by moment
bit by bit

this is the sad and tragic story
of our moral decay
and spiritual death


through lies
and untruths
we give away
the best in us
so that we may live and survive

never mind the prize
we pay
what we care about
is the moment and the day

the end justifies the means

we learn the power of words
we grind them to knife-sharp
they glitter
and acquire the power to cut through
the hardest stone

the smartest
the most successful and powerful
are those
who have perfected
the art of lying
and manipulation
supreme masters
of pretence
and deception

who really cares about
moral decay?
spiritual death?
who is speaking?

APOCALYPSE

Civilisation will sleep
in time's graveyard
there's too much hatred
bad blood that would split
every artery and vein asunder
when the human heart
could feel no more
when reason has been
swept away by the soulless indifferent wind
and nights are but the ghosts
of anguish and perdition
when dreams are hellish nightmares
and sleep is but a trail
of torturous afflictions
when peace has bidden farewell
and hopes have sunk
into abysmal oblivion

what is left
and what is there to be lived for?

now in this grimmest hour
darker than the silent grave
rises only spectre's head
ugly, ominous , relentless and revengeful

this then is the apocalypse -
the world has lost its sight
splendour and beauty
and in every corner of earth
a signboard will be found
bearing the name : Dead

I ain't sweet
I can be real bad
I pull my dog's ears
when I'm not glad

I kick the pebble back from school
hoping it would land on someone's head
I don't like our form teacher Miss Carey's ugly nose
I'm a monster many teachers dread.

At the end
everything breaks up-a tiny
drop of water falling incessantly
on the biggest rock dissolves it over time--completely

if you love truly
and breathe into a dew-drop
it would transform into an eternal ocean
there would be no end--no full-stop.

1
Because I pause
I think

2  Because I stop
I see

3  Because I am silent
I hear

4
    Because I am still
I am unshaken

5

Because I know my station
I am never out of place

1

Because I was born into poverty
I learnt some of life's most valuable lessons

2

Because I don't over-rate my skills
I suffer from few disappointments

3

Because I could not flatter nor compromise
some people kept away from me

4

Because I recognise the ways of the world
I am not easily fazed

5

Because I know life is too short
I don't fritter time away in idle indulgence

1
Because I strive with none
none strives with me

2
Because I don't go to the Money-Place
greed I avoid

3

Because I don't argue
I am free from dispute

4

Because I choose to sit at the last row
no one notices me

5

Because I am not in the race
I suffer from no disappointment

1

Because I obey my heart
I love

2

Because I cry
myself I purify

3

Because I suffer
I acquire patience and endurance

4

Because I am content
I have everything

5

Because I observe
I learn

1

Because I wait
what I desire comes in the fullness of time

2

Because I control my impulse
I avoid rash decisions

3

Because I share the sorrows of others
I acquire humanity

4

Because I share
richer is my life

5

Because I count myself less
I acquire humility

1

Because I know my imperfections
others I don't judge

2

Because I don't listen to rumours
I am not confused

3

Because I don't over-stretch
I keep my balance

4

Because I mind my own business
others leave me to myself

5

Because I am not a member of any club
I keep my independence

1

Because I don't know
I ask

2
Because I don't  know enough
I don't comment

3

Because things are never constant
I acquire flexibility and adaptability

4

Because I know my territoriality
I don't infringe on my neighbour's rights

5

Because I can't please everybody
I don't fear rejection or disapproval

1

Because of my past failures
I analyse my mistakes.

2

Because life is hard
I should not make the lives of others any harder

3

Because I take no one's side in any dispute
I am free from blame.

4

Because I discard trivia and non-essentials
I perform more effectively

5

Because I know my limitations
I focus on sharpening the edges of my competence

1

Because I know anger destroys
I learn to acquire temperance

2
Because I respect people's rights
they accept me

3

Because I know flattery is poisonous
I don't swallow sugar-coated words

4

Because I am willing to help
the rewards I receive outweigh all my expectations

5

Because I know there's always a better way to say things
I learn to choose the right words

1

Because I hurt others
I try to mend my ways.

2
Because others hurt me
I must accept that the world is made up of different kinds of people.

3   Because every person's opinion of me differs
I must accept that some would say things not  in my favour

4

Because it's not possible to read another's mind
I find it prudent to reserve my judgment

5

Because I know life is parsimonious
I don't ask for favours

Because I don't know
and know I don't know
it saves me from putting up
a stupid and self-stultifying show.

You thought I knew
(what a mistake you did make!)
But I knew you knew far more than I did know
I held back and my folly I did forsake.

BECAUSE I LIE

Because I lie
you will catch me somehow
some day
though not now

I would give
myself away because I would slip
at that critical moment
my cunning I can't always keep

though I had triumphed
many a time--in many a place
the mask must fall down
and what I inherit would only be disgrace

but I'm used
to telling every lie--I can't stop
I have become my own victim
and at the end I must lonely sob.

Because I speak the truth
( '  To speak the truth is the best policy')
those around me raise their fists
crying foul and threaten: 'You are our enemy!'

They would rather I lie
( '  Say good things about us lest
you pile troubles over your head
we will hound you and you would know no rest').

In the court the judge says to me:
'You must speak the truth and nothing but the truth'
my enemies in the room cast me a murderous look
I would end up either in prison or suffer the boot*.

What should I do?
I am done for either way
the safest way out
is to cut off my tongue-then nothing I would say.

Because of memory
hate, more than love, returns to roost
(love knows its place and needs nothing
its steadfast joys to boost).

The gaps of time are closed
the past like a cinema-screen unrolls-
faces, scenes, places, words, dreams
sorrow and pain--each its story unfolds.

Memory like a task-master
wields its well-seasoned whip
its punishment it threatens to unleash
with cuts painful and deep.

Now in my days of decay
yet I've not forgotten-
me you did abandon without a single reason
do you dare ask to be forgiven?

Words are traps-
beware!

'  I know more than my dad--I live in the modern age'.
Before you address your dad,
Beware!

Here
there
somewhere
anywhere
everywhere--

beware!

You have some harsh words to say to your boss-
Beware!

Hate is the neighbour of love-
Beware!

You want to tell the truth?
Beware!

When you thought you had found the truth,
beware!

A friend sought your intervention
as he had fallen out with a mutual friend -
Beware!

You are euphoric and want to embrace the whole world-
this is your weakest and most vulnerable moment-
Beware!

When you say to yourself:
'  I succeeded before and the next will be easy'
Beware!

The years glide on
not so much as a sound
like late-autumn leaves falling
on the waiting ground

the sorrows we met, the tears we shed
love watched with faith, in silence and never frowned
that which is beyond the pale of words
is infinitely more sublime and profound.

BEYOND THE RAINBOW OF OUR DREAMS

         Beyond the rainbow of our dreams
         we'll build our home and together share
         the light of the moon and stars
         fly among the clouds as a pair
        
         of love-birds carefree and oblivious
         to time--the holiness of the heart's affection
         the whole universe encompasses
         love is truly ceaseless adoration
        
         guided by faith that serves only to strengthen
         this sacred bond to which we are sworn
         no longer shall we be earth-bound
         but to a celestial life reborn

         behind the veil of time abides
         love's sweetest mystery
         beyond the rainbow of our dreams
         sublime beauty belongs only to you and me.

What should I do
with this burden
of self?
weariness-laden

while time's restless wheels
turn and turn
inexorably
through each season

at the end of the spectrum
old age hangs--where light doesn't glisten
where life harshly and mindlessly grinds
and no hopes beckon

there's no turning back
useless it is to reason
everything perishes at the end
the last journey into the unknown knows no return

then there's no longer
self---end of burden

Catch every moment
time does fly
embrace love
lest it should pass you by

having courted and won over love
faith you shouldn't leave behind
constancy never fails in duty
affection outlasts time and is forever kind.

Not seeing you just for a day
is three autumns long*
since you my love has left a year ago-
that's 1,095# years---do you hear my sad song?

At night I see
myself
more clearly.

Daylight
obscures
I can't think right.

There is mystery
when the day is done
the mind is set to grasp reality.

Silence rules the night
(day is silly clamour)
the heart's feelings are at their height.

This calmness with none in sight
while sanctity and purity* its cool balms shed
I've touched the sharpest edge of beauty--how I love the night!

A BETTER RESURRECTION

I have no wit, I have no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numbed too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
A lift mine eyes, but dimmed with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is like the falling leaf;
O Jesus, quicken me.
(Book: The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath)


Coda of mine:

Is there light after the darkness
if so, how would we know?
we mortals are born to suffer alone
in life's stormy and unfriendly waters wherever we go

but the spirit of man
is larger than man---in suffering he will grow
(purified by a better resurrection)
and richer seeds of wisdom he will surely sow.

Come, meet me tonight
when the stars and the moon have gone to sleep
bring nothing but your true and sincere heart
faith let us never forget to keep

till new stars are born on high
and the moon has put on a brighter look
we shall dance in the firmament beyond time
and together write love's most beautiful book.