To quote Athos from "The Three Musketeers"
"You are not a woman
You are a demon escaped from Hell"
When I first met you as a colleague
I made the mistake
Of getting friendly with you
When I should have ensured
That our relationship was going to be strictly professional
Of course, you had your own ways
Of charming those whom you came in contact with
That is something for which I have to give you credit
Albeit grudgingly
And you were an expert
At playing the victim card
Nevertheless, after I changed jobs
I thought I had seen the last of you
However, you came back into my life
As unexpectedly as the recent rains in Chennai
Initially, it seemed kind of sweet
However, I should have realised sooner
That you had certain ulterior motives
Unfortunately, I got fooled by your sweet talk
And started helping you financially
Because you looked up to me as a brother
I never doubted you in the slightest
Which was probably the biggest mistake of my life
You took advantage of me
In the worst way possible
And kept draining my bank account
Your lies kept getting taller and taller
And I kept believing them
Because, you had me well and truly under your thumb
However, even the most credulous person in the world
Can develop suspicions at some stage
Thus, after years of being in a psychological coma
I finally managed to wake up to the harsh reality
And told my family everything
Of course, with the help of a dear family friend
After we finally confronted you
You signed a written agreement
Promising to return all my money
Within a certain deadline
That deadline has long since passed
And you have not paid even ten percent of your dues
What is worse
Is the fact that you are absconding
And giving absolutely nonsensical reasons
Which even an utter fool would find it difficult to believe
You ruined my life
Destroyed my happiness
And shattered my self-confidence
Is this the way you treat a person
Whom you have addressed as "brother"
Not once, not twice, but several times?
I am giving you one last chance
Not for your sake
But for the sake of humanity
You had better take it
Because, if not
Then you will soon find yourself in prison
Again, to quote Athos
"You are not a woman
You are a demon escaped from Hell"

"Twenty years before current time, the Spear Sect, known for only taking one student had its Sect Head accused of practicing Demonic Martial Arts by the leaders of the Murim Orthodox Union and was given the judgment of death."

I.

"A team of horses will struggle to chase down a spoken word. From the Analects of Confucius"

And when they died, their life ebbed away.
The maws of dogma forcing their daggers
To blot out the truth with the blood of the lost.
The orthodox sect's swords painting an old wall
With thin veneer of paint, haphazardly done.

In an unmarked grave lies the spear sect.
Where two died, another lived on.

II.

"An old warhorse in the stable still longs to gallop a thousand li. From the Analects of Confucius."

And they pierced his ribs,
his flesh threshed by deceit and
The facade of the pharisees
forcing him down. In the dark caves
he was placed with the heavy stone.

The shroud is a white sheet
Covering his scarred body.

His life lived on with the sinful:
the tax collectors and the courtesans;
the uncouth and uneducated,
the murderers and drunkards,
the gentiles of the other sects.

Though he lived not as others did.

From one spear he died,
with another he lived,
Leading them with the sacred fire.
Fishing for followers
among the many hungry.

December 2021

Those midnight memories still haunts me today,
I still remember what we were that beautous day.

With silence spread all over the valley,
You came to my house without a dally.

I felt my heart beating out my chest,
But hugging you after entrant brought it to rest.

Everything was going so perfect just like a dream,
And you started to come really close with such a glee.

My mind got numb as i was scared from this all,
But you said you will always be mine after this all.

With kisses so right and fingers crossed tight,
I exposed you all that glooming night.

Your fingers running all over me exploring my waves,
I gave you my soul before you craved.

In between all we said i love you again and again,
And you said if i forgot you, you would regain.

All the promises you made told me that you'll stay,
But little did i know it was a ****** play!

I thought i was only girl who was supposed  to be your life,
But their was another girl whom you called her your wife.

You broke me all and vanished with a glare,
And i complained to god because that was not so fair.

Throwing your feelings on me you completed your sake of desire,
But what do i do with my feeling now that got so despair.

I screamed, i cried why you did this to me,
You said nothing and left all alone by me.

After such a long time you realised your mistake but we didn't patched up again,
Because you loved that girl and i hope so not if you do that again.

Wonder how they came up ahead of me… she’d been leaking information to the enemy. A double agent. She loves me but it can’t be helped. It is her nature. Well don’t you know, my seductive charming spy mistress, that the fuse is lit. Your behavior, a recipe for calamity. We might be the epicenter, ground zero, but no one shall be spared. Everyone involved will be affected. A 360 degree firestorm of shrapnel. Just because. You needed more… to feel more beautiful, more wanted, more seductive, by more parties. Never enough. More.
Love lies spilling guts, from the mess up still partially beautiful. Face almost calm, not contorted. Pain is numbed as she disintegrates like vapour. But we’ve become a desert and it will not rain back for centuries.

Outside the tower
In fear people cower

Outside that they call the slums
Where people were nothing but bums

Till one day you are called inside
they say the tower you must climb

you are chosen they say
there is a role you will need to portray
you need to conquer
this 300+ floored tower

And at the top they promise
A land full of promise
A wish will be granted
You'll have anything you wanted

You then build dreams as high as the tower
Only to find disappointment
outside they call you chosen
inside they call you a regular

Along with people that were also "chosen"
You must climb with them
live with them
befriend them
Fight them
Betray them
**** them
Step on them to climb

those same people as you
those same people who were chosen
those same people who were called regulars
those same people that share dreams as you

you need to beat them
and carry the weight of betrayals to climb on top
will you still accept
the title of
a REGULAR?