.
/                                  /             /           /    /           /    /
/             /                       //          /        / /        /
/           /     /    /             /                       /        /       /    /
//               /        /     ••        /               /    / /
/      /           /      •••   /                 /   /
/            /         •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•

.
•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•
.

.
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•
.

.
                       •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•

.
a■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
quiet  sol-■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■­■■■■■
itude envelopes■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
my space • deflecting■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
all that is consequential•lea-■■■■■■■■■■■
ving voiceless  thoughts i cannot■■■■■■■■
trace • only ghost-like echoes vi-■■■■■■■■
sit;  faint  and subtle •nestling in■■■■■■■■
this void that i am in• comfort e-■■■■■■■■
mbraces warm like a  long lost fr-■■■■■■■■
iend•i melt as i sink deeper with-■■■■■■■■
in• slow tumble into an abyss w-■■■■■■■■
ith no end•relativity dissolves in-■■■■■■■■
to nothingness •everything seems■■■■■■■■
warped and incoherent•there is...■■■■■■■■
an odd strength about being wei-■■■■■■■■
ghtless • as the currents carry me■■■■■■■■
away from the days' detriments...■■■■■■■■
welcome, come in......you've been■■■■■■■■
here before•do not fear......it's not■■■■■■■■
too far • just a few steps, beyond■■■■■■■■
the door•slip into my dark-          
   ness for i've left the
               gates to my
                         mind
                              ...

slightly ajar•
.

.
•look far...
to the horizon•as the sun
dips into the ocean •most magnific-
ent display of colours • radiance in yell-
ows and captivating ambers•majestic specta-
cle that will  dwindle within minutes•no words
could match  such  beauty that deals  in infinites •
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ si  nk ing unse~en beyo nd the thr eshold• the mi ~ghty ~~
~ ~  s  un grows red der•~night sky cree ps in, with th e ~
~~ ~moon smilin g bold• ad opting her ~stan ce as the     ~ ~
~~  ~ gua  rdi~an hereaf ter• entour age~ of s  tars  ~
      ~   ~*****  le with s peckle s of g old •       ~ ~
        ~   ~      ~ ~ b~idding  farewell t o         ~  ~       ~
~             ~t he su ~n's ~       ~~~
~            ~~         ~  ~     ~
~~ ~                   ~ ~               ~


*ruling sceptre•

.
O                                                                                  
•• i really don't see the need to                                
•• dictate•the way the dishes are                           
•• sorted in order in the sink •i                              
•• don't see the point in being                                
   •• irate• if the door creaks when you try to think•
    •• i can't tell apart between emotions you feel•sad-
   •• ness and disappointment, they look the same to
   •• me•i do not care  if it's mauve or teal•for good-
    •• ness sake, the  cushions...,  they look fine to me!!
    •• •well, i now wave my white flag and surrender
     ••                             • because all these  differences...
     ••                           don't matter at all•just know that
     ••                          i have sworn to love you forever•
••                                                      ­                          
••                                                              ­                  
••                                                              ­                  
••                                                              ­                  
••                                                              ­                  
                                        *even if you drive me insane
                                        and up the wall•

.
*•••••••
•here lies
the  rema-
ins• that once
beat with  superb lustre•
caring not for worldly gains•on-
ly undying  hopes  of pairing  with
another• but fate had tipped  the scales, not in his favour
•when  it  sent an  oncoming  car to share  the  same lane•
driver was behind the wheel but alcohol had  taken over•
causing the car to swerve recklessly
in the rain• the last  few moments
was punctuated with a deaf-
ening sound•his
day began
not know-
ing  death
was  writ-
ten   from
the  start•
so here li-
es *he, whose
heart had thus
been crowned •
his love is immortalised with this tombstone as his heart•
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••