.
• p-                                                                
eople do                                                              
not see past                                                               
her   makeover•                                                               
•only  traded snea-                                                               
kers for heels beyond                                                             
her years• starkness of                                                         
change, her  before and                                                   
•••after•only constants                                                 
•••are her darkness and                                             
•••••fears•happily ever                                          
•••      after is a dream so                                     
•••         far•when sickness                                  
•••          consumed her caregi-                           
   •••           vers old•hides these away                    
  •••              as she approaches the stationary      
        •••                  car •  only her stilettos know... of her
         •••                     ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
      •••                       ••••••••••••••••••••••••


*story untold•

.
O
•i found truth
in a saying i read•that we
start dying the day we were born
•not from life inflicted wounds from
which we've bled•not from illness or
disease that would have us torn •we
only live and breathe upon borrowed
sand•because we age; because we are
but mortal•it's only up to ourselves to
be mediocre or grand• what we'll be at
the end is consequential• it'll matter not
if we won popularity polls• or what riches
over which we covet and fuss•when asked, "for
whom does the bell toll?"•look in the mirror for it tolls
••••••••
•••••


                                          ­    for no one...
                                                          ­            but for us•
.

.
•
fes-
tooned
against the
canvas of night
•your efforts would
reach but it's just too far•you twinkle the hardest...despite•
being crowded by the other stars•at times i see you
faltering dim•you fight to conserve what
fuel you've left to burn•as you
feel the encroaching void from uni-
verse's rim•keep    twinkling for only
time...will                                  tell what's
left t-                                                  o learn•
•                                                         ­               •
.

.
•not all
of us were born
with the gift of health
•not all were born into a
bassinet  fashioned out of
gold•but all of us here, be-
stowed with a treasure tro-
ve of literary wealth•an e-
ndowment to last a life-
time, that never gets
old•one must
take it
and s-
oar to
great-
er hei-
ghts..•
...ones
should
never...
forsake
such  a
boon •
let  the
...black-
ness of
our ink
coat......
the  em-
ptiest of
nights •
let the p-
ermanen-
ce   in  our
words over-
whelm...
the



finiteness
of the
silver spoon•
.

.

•up the
wall... he wou-
ld climb every  night
again and again... • every
time he did, to the bottom he
would fall•fortunately aid came
quickly to where  he had lain... • on
handsome horses, sat  men moustach-
ed and tall  •   overhead the moon cried
sullen and grim•oh why  does he always par-
take in such foolish endeavour?•the men hurr-
ied back on thundering  hooves to save him
•he laid motionless  awaiting to be put toge-
ther•"we're the same,  both ellipses, she and i"
•same words he would repeatedly mutter
•"to be closer to her I will always try•only
then she would know that forever
i'll be falling for her"•

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII­IIIIIII
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|­-------|
|--|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|----­---|---|
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------­|-------|
|--|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|---­----|---|
.

.
/                                  /             /           /    /           /    /
/             /                       //          /        / /        /
/           /     /    /             /                       /        /       /    /
//               /        /     ••        /               /    / /
/      /           /      •••   /                 /   /
/            /         •lift me up over-          /             /
/      /    head•for i only seek to shelter    /      //
          you•from the sun who'd scorch you red          /
•from monsoon rains that'll chill you blue•you
may at times think i'm cumbersome to carry•when
the winds of change put you in all kinds of weather•
but i can collapse and fold... i stow away easy•keep me
close and i will spring to your aid... whenever, wherever•
such           is my           pro-   ••   mise           to...           you•
•                   •                  •       ••      •                  •                   •
for
yo-
ur
lif-
e's
un-
pr-
edi-
•••            cta-                   
•••          ble                 
journey•                


soon you'll find my words to be true•
that i'd forever be your brolly•

.
                       •the   ••••••••
         old man wi-    ••••••••
    thered•as suns    ••••••••
  would set....over    ••••••••
many days•follies    ••••••••  
he committed, then    ••••••••    
unencumbered•fina-    ••••••••       
lly caught up...so now    ••••••••         
he pays • like an unca-    ••••••••         
ged bird,  he had left his    ••••••••            
perch• not looking                                              
back, leaving behi-                                                
nd hatchlings  and                                                  ­
nest• he discarded                                                    
his­  roots  when he                                                    
left them  in the lu-                                                      
rch• flew to pursue                                                      
what­  he had thoug-                                                      
ht was best•now he's                                                    ­ 
ailing thin.....he seeks                                                     
to reconcile • reached                                                   
to his sons...and left a                                                   
voice message•asking                                               
atonement for  his cri-                                             
mes so despicable and                                          
vile • for now he lays con-    ••••••••           
sumed.........by illness and    ••••••••         
rage•hours tick by as his    ••••••••       
days blur into weeks...•    ••••••••      
his frail  breaths weak-    ••••••••   
en as he succumbs in    ••••••••
  bed•finally the call    ••••••••
     did come bearing    ••••••••
           the absolution    ••••••••
                   he seeks•    ••••••••


just a minute too late,
for the old man is already
dead•