On the East of Palatine Hill, on a hot Roman summer;
A congregation gathered at the Colosseum to the sound of Trumpets and Drummers!
A few hundred others jostled for permits at the Arch of Constantine, while a sea of delirious and exuberant souls, packed like sardines in a can; waited to catch a glimpse of their Emperor- Titus Vespasian.

To the Emperor's decree, the gates were raised, the hungry gnashing lions let loose,
who pounced upon these captive men-
Tearing apart their flesh and spilling their blood on the aranaceous ground.
These were men of No Use.

It was my First at the Arena, Aurelia was my name; joining with my brothers and our father in the travesty of 'Games' of mortal combat and venationes,
Chariot races and Executions of Condemned criminals or men defamed.
At one such time, I glanced at you-
Trotting on your dark stallion; a soldier past, you must have led a few batallions.
Now, a gallant Murmillo,  ready to strike with your glistening sword and armour on one arm,
a man so brave, you swept the crowd with your  beguiling charm.
Yet at this hour, as death draws near
as you wave amidst loud cheers,
Could your stout fingers have quivered?
Could your bold senses have gone numb,
Could You Too have feared?!

You gave a valiant fight till the last drop of your sweat, Seeking God's Mercy, or Eternity or Eternal Rest?
What must have gone through your noble mind, The Thoughts Unspoken...
Images of your unborn child or ;
Memories of your young wife?
To hold them one last time, you could give your thousand lives!
As you march to the Anthems, fit for kings,
What voices now with courage ring?
Bleeding for Glory or for Freedom Must?
O' Gallant one, you lay down in the dust!


A Thousand Years have passed since then
I visited the Colosseum with my family again!
The clouds above Rome gathered, and
Drizzled on my eyes...
And thoughts of 'being here Before', momentarily agonize.
Far across the blooming ground, amid the dilapidated walls and ruins- a shadow looms...
Lost Souls from the Past, meet once again and
Spirits reawaken from their tombs.
Could I ever have forgotten him, it was love at first sight? And...
Here we meet again after a 1000 lifetimes,
on this very ground, where my Knight met his plight.
Was it the autumn rain, or a drop of my tear?
Flabbergasted I stood there!
Was he a figment of my imagination or was he real?
The shadow smiled as a breeze came blowing and whispered in my ears...
" Aurelia, do not stand at my grave and cry
I have lived in you forever, I never died".

Tanaya Roy Choudhuri
31st March 2020

Colossal and Colonial stands that bloated aristocratic Mansion...
An abandoned and gloomy Red-brick Victorian, once substantial.
Composed it stood, even in solitary ruins;
A wretched reminder of Savage Time's Doing.
The crumbling, bleeding walls, standing like a ghostly silhouette;
Of previous existence and lost glory,
Now desolate, despondent and in debt.

The long abiding hallways that once reverberated with laughter,
Now laments of Purgatory, of looming disaster.
A Hundred years gone, since footsteps echoed within those halls, and yet...
still not quite empty;
Generations of the oldest residents have laced its walls with cobwebs-
Enticingly delicate, a pale silvery dusty.

Clinging to the shivering wall is an antique Oak Clock;
Once a witness to glorious days, every hour now stands to mock.
The stained glass high windows, stares like the eyes of a melancholy soul;
Like a beautiful, forgotten concubine, Time has taken its toll.

That Old House now just weeps in silence,
Discouraged with age and lonely battle in defiance;
Triggered by acquainted smells and memories galore,
Alas, It holds all that dear, that exists no more!

Tanaya Roy Choudhuri
26 th June 2020

The journey is supposedly better than the destination-
A lifelong pursuit to complete our mission.

The Engineer of my life who embarked me on this train; A ride slumberous and galloping at times, took me through the meandering dark tunnels, yellow sunflower fields, the storms and pelting rains...

I embrace this train journey- the distant blurred views, the exhilarating rhythm, the wavering pace;
and as it takes a menacing speed,
the unsettled wind whipping on my face.
I look back at the platforms gone by; desolate and abandoned...
Once waited upon, now alone they stand!

Life's indeed a train ride, a joyride of emotions, where wanderers leave and join, at many stations;
By the end of my expedition, few seats lie empty;
Tracks of yesterday, still cognizant;
my heart besieged by memories plenty!

Wishing a joyous journey to the passengers who remain,
until another day- at another place and another time, we meet again;
I hear the train whistle, finally arrives my location.
Time to bid all adieu, I have now reached my perennial destination!

Tanaya Roy Choudhuri
13 th April 2020

Fly me high above the cloud
Far far away from the madding crowd.
Let me not fall back on Earth,
Let this day be my Re-birth!
Let me not look back;
Plead, take me away from the hostile flak!
From spurious appreciations;
Empty promises and mortal creations.


Let them not ensnare, with chilling calls,
Or the ****** love letters- The Devil scrawls.
Neither dressed in red cape and pointed horns nor;
Does he wear a crown of thorns.
But from the deep dark dungeon he arises and crawls,
Singing Sweet lullabys, before he mauls!

Hear all, but trust few...
not everything's real, nor everyone's true.
Clasp your dreams before they die,
For then life's a broken winged bird that cannot fly!

Tanaya Roy Choudhuri
10th April 2020