"BANG!" and a life lived...

*a deafening BOOM!*

*dust settling*

Throat parched, eyes blinded, ears shrill, his life flashed past...

**Aged 4**

"Bang! Die, bad men! Bang!"
 
"Amrit, now will you please put away your gun and have your lunch!"

"Mumma, I want to become an army-man when I grow up! No enemies! Only friends!" *beams the endearingly darnest of smiles that only kids can flash*

**Army training**

"Listen up lilly-livered layabout green-horns! This is a rifle! *holds it up* Not one of those musical guns you held as a brat!"

**Reality**

Men shrieking in pain,
It is war, he can't explain,
And as he lay, on the field, bleeding,
"Will I live to see all this ending..?"
He prayed, tears in eyes,
He breathes, just once. Dies.

- - -

A classic case of what started as a 55Fiction, ended up as a Drabble. A drabble, by the way, is very similar to a 55Fiction; the only difference being the word limit, which is a hundred or less. Discounting the scene descriptions (content between the asterisks), this composition runs to 99 words.

Food for thought

Nightshade, in despair,

Tenaciously clings to the 

Melancholic rose.

Entering this world, 

Bald headed and round bellied,

We leave the same way.

---

Of Shadows and Light...

So long that I am turned away from light,

I see a spectre, my own shadow - 

My darkness, lying beside something bright,

Like a gloomy, veiled widow.

I turn to the light, my shadow takes flight,

I face the source of my eternal glow.

The shadow exists, but is out of sight,

And stretched ahead of me is a divine meadow.

I turn my sight away from that source,

Shadowy spectres still outline my course,

But when I fix my gaze upon what is right,

Undeterred by shadows, I see light.

---

Mr. Anil Sawan links his composition - Dark Could Signify Life 

An Unborn's Plea...

Staying in your nurturing cradle,

Counting away to daylight,

I feel a poke so cold, so... fatal,

Embryonic dreams would never take flight.

A Princess from the fable, I would grow to be,

As the doctor went about his work,

Longing for a Prince to set me free-

I was numbed by a surgical dirk...

There is no room, for me, it seems-

The unfortunate result of sin.

Gaia's breasts, but with life, teems...

Yet, I am decreed: a has-been.

A future undone, a mother's strife...

A Freedom that never covered me.

"Please protect an unborn life"

This is my humble, dying plea...

(Afterword-)

"Alone on the cold table, silence cries...

Snatched in haste from a mother's womb,

It will be discarded once it dies.

The trash can will make-do as it's tomb."

---

Will be away from Blogsville for a week, populi. Au revoir.

Peace.

Gaia's Indignation

Tearing away in cellular bloom,

An emergence from maternal womb.

Crying and crying, whilst she bled and cringed,

A new life wriggled...

Laws of avarice would not be infringed.

And as you grew - you cried and craved;

All of Nature, you decreed, enslaved.

Guns to grenades - your designed assault;

While Gaia, but writhed...

Her creation had come from a bottomless vault.

Tartarus opened! It all spells doom!

Divinity devoured by unholy gloom...

Unimaginable chaos from creatures unseen!

Most holy Mother! Save us!

May thy Holy rapier smite the unclean.

Yes, she does, with a wave of her might!

Nature's fury overcomes the slightest of blight.

And so, "life" returns to it's womb...

As flesh and bone and ash and dust,

To the eerie warmth of a stone-cold tomb.

---

Just a gentle reminder... Do not play with Nature. The moment She decides to set things right, brace yourself for a pretty bumpy ride.

The Fire Still Burns...

As 2008 enters history books, we prepare to herald the dawn of 2009, MMIX in Roman, the year of the Chinese Ox. Pray and wish the new times usher in success, much needed peace, pinkest of health, happiness and affluence to all and sundry.

Gauisus Novus Annus, amicitia... Yes, I'll spare you the translation trouble - Happy New Year, friends. Here's an English haiku (of course written by moi! :) ) for ye all.

New⋅er days ush⋅ered

Our jour⋅ney shalt con⋅tin⋅ue

Mind grav⋅id with hope

---

I lost my grandfather a couple of days back (the 29th). This one is for you, ol' man. I could never bring myself to show you what all I have written. Beats me as I search for reasons why... 

You never failed to inspire me. I am blessed to have been your grandson. A vestige of Life endures past Death. 

Chry⋅san⋅the⋅mum wreath

A shroud of e⋅ter⋅nal peace

Death can⋅not take all

---

Will catch up on missed posts soon. Peace.

The inner self speaks

Everyone has an inner self. They may or may not reveal/listen to it. I am no different. I possess an inner self; one that in some ways is my polar opposite. If I am the ice, he is the fire. Together, we form the searing ice and the congealing flame... 

Deep with⋅in sub⋅con⋅scious⋅ness I dwell,

My el⋅e⋅ment leaves you blind⋅ed.

I make your ver⋅y pride swell,

And you re⋅main hat⋅ed.

Un⋅leash me! Be⋅hold...

Fu⋅ry un⋅told!

Nev⋅er gauge;

I am...

Rage!

---

Greetings populi... Been a hectic week. First, a faulty internet connection that marred my catching up with your blogs. And then, an all important certification. Got done with it today... Which effectively means I am a Sun Certified Java Programmer. *gosh! And to think how much I loathe programming... I am an electronics graduate!*

And oh yes, this nonnet should have been published long back! Catch up with you all soon. 

Peace.

The Suicide...

Pillows besmirched in sanguinary brown,
His countenance - pallid and writh’d.
At the ceiling, he cast that morbid frown;
A sight that beheld fright…


He had starved, there was no work,
and Women were a part no longer.
Not a man without the odd quirk,
His macabrous will had grown stronger…

Answers, he searched low and high,
‘Til his eyes met the blade.
The grim future was but nigh;
A steely resolve had been made.

Laced, was he, in sorrow and shame,
The infernal angst! He sobbed;
Cursing his Fate and its game…
“Damn! You had me robbed!”

The manic rage, within him grew…
As he smoked his last hash.
In a fit, the blade, he drew…
And slash’d his neck in a flash!

Those pillows besmirched in sanguinary brown,
That countenance – bloodless and pale.
At the ceiling, was cast a wraith-like frown.
… I lived to narrate that gory tale…---

You have but one life… Live each day to the fullest. As it is, every passing day takes you closer to your grave. Suicide is the cowards’ way out. ¡Viva la raza!

The Schizophrenic

Darkness has set in.

And the mind lies submerged…

Budge- it cannot;

Any thought of revival is swiftly purg’d!

There is an alluring beauty-

In this darkness, that I find.

The enigmatic being flashes…

I reassure myself- no games played by the mind.

I dwell in a pall of gloom;

Where there is chaos unassumed!

I need… I must have… Energy…

Lest from within, I am consumed.

Alas, my faculty ebbs away.

I try staying empowered, all in vain-

Looming large is the darkness from within…

I grow numb; I feel no pain.

Finally, the maelstrom recedes.

Even in murky darkness, I see faint light.

Is it infernal, or is it divine?

I shall know when the soul, with wings, takes flight.

Unforgiving Africa

Wild Africa has never ceased to amaze me. The first time I came across the word ‘Serengeti ’, I was a fifth standard student- on a visit to Science City, Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta). There has been no looking back since. I guess I have watched all related documentaries broadcasted by NGC/Discovery thus far! J 

The sun was beating down… The land was parched and vegetation was scarce. It was one of those horrid African summers in the Serengeti. And a typical day in the lives of those who inhabited the land- long, searing and unforgiving. Long- for, that’s how it would seem. Searing- for obvious reasons, the relentless sun. Enfin, unforgiving- because if you cannot survive, you won’t. Simple. Period. This held true irrespective of the hunter and the hunted.

Didja Laddé was old. She needed her rest, and was desperate for some shade- the only respite from, what would otherwise be a cauldron. Her name translates to ‘Lady of the Jungle’. And she was a paradigm of the great feline- for she had been bestowed with such features. Awe, beauty, care and strength morphed into her with such enviable ease. She was indeed a phenomenon in that brute of a land she was born into. She was the Lady of the Serengeti…

In her prime, she had no competitor among her sisters. She had won many a battle. Wildebeests, zebras et al could testify. Just that, cadavers cannot render any testimony. And her mate was no less in splendor. He was one of the finest males the land had seen. But he was lazy… It was her responsibility, along with her sisters, to feed the pride. And he would help in bringing down the odd buffalo. Of course, biological compatibility was always there. Didja Laddé mothered many a cub and the pride swelled in number.

Ah, the glorious past… Her mate had succumbed to age. And now, she was alone. Well past her prime, she had taken violently ill. The pride had abandoned her. Didja Laddé found some cessation in the form of an old, lone tree. She rested, periodically shaking her head to drive away those tormenting flies… She looked up. The moon was a faint disc. Very faint. It was early afternoon… The giggle of hyenas could be heard in the distance as they ate into an unfortunate wildebeest. Ugh! She loathed them hyenas. Those snarling, snickering thieves… What do they know about pugilism? Hyenas and lions never get along. May be Lion King was a momentary exception… But of course Didja Laddé would never accept that, leave alone knowing about it!

She had survived thus far… However cruel the ambiance was. She had been a fighter all her life. She matched whatever Nature had to throw… It was not for nothing that she was named Didja Laddé by those who had been following her life in Africa’s ecosystem that is known to play host to the world’s largest and longest overland migration.

It was evening. Soon enough, another clan of hyenas closed in on where she was… May be they were old enemies. Familiar, rather. Didja Laddé could sense an odd familiarity about them. She had been successful in protecting her kill from them on earlier occasions. But that evening, there was no kill she was protecting. But then, why were they there..? The foursome… Surrounding her… Snarling… Eerie giggles filling up the environment.

The old lady roared from where she was resting… But it was no longer the authoritative roar of a queen. It was more of a warning to ward off those foul-mouthed interlopers. She could sense the imminent danger. Escapism, however, was not known to her. She would fight to the very end. The retractable claws were ready… The Clan could smell weakness. They could smell blood. Royal blood… Revelling in royal blood was no mean feat to them. The hunter was soon to be the hunted.

The quartet closed in… Teeth gnarling, mouths salivating. You could see all the eyes glimmering in the darkness that was setting in. Didja Laddé was ready… With a leap mighty enough for her age, she took out one of her attackers. Her jaws had not betrayed her. Her canines buried into her smaller adversary’s spine…

But her overall agility was nowhere as efficient as it had been before. Indeed, age does have a lot to say. She failed to swerve away from her other assailants. Her strength was suddenly failing her. Illness was having a say too. Nature is cruel. Even the mighty have to fall, and in the end- she went; her weak growls drowned in the moonlit darkness amidst ghoulish laughs. Hyenas are known to eat away at live prey… Jaws that can crack bone as if it were a twig…

---

Am back after a hiatus. And well, am off again. I tell you- training is such a pain in the posterior! Sorry for not having visited any blog page for the past two weeks. I will do so, very very soon. A couple of certification examinations are around the corner and loads of assessments (to add to the 80-odd I have already given since August 21^st). Well, I guess that’s a rant for later. Au revoir…

My family and I extend our hearty Diwali greetings to all of you. Peace, take care and blessed be.

... And you bid this mortal world adieu!

... Leaving a gaping void,

In this heart that has managed to stay buoyed.

... Left alone in the lurch,

I searched, but in vain, for my Lords church.

... It seemed your job was done,

For our string had come undone.

You departed from my soul,

... Leaving behind a living ghoul.

I was but shattered, grimacing in agony and pain;

... Ne'er would I be the same again!

I cry alone, here forlorn...

Now, that you are forever gone.

My cries have now reduced to a sob.

... The heart, still wincing, continues to throb...

I miss you loads, downcast I remain;

Ah... Good times do but little to anodyne that inner pain.

I'd always tried, to be the perfect lover...

But all I wish now- to be united with you forever!

A time will come, whence I too shalt rest.

Ne'er again... Shalt we remain at His behest...

'Til death do us part!

Fate might have played it's fall, but it is said, love goes beyond the grave.

Step inside this heart, where you belong.

Profound, I promise, and strong

My love shall be,

All of my love; for you to see!

Submerged in yearning, my soul stays

To feel the care of your warm embrace!

Forgetting this world of material gain,

Lost in your thoughts I remain.

Step into my life, for I want you to stay

Close beside me all the way.

I will love you even in death,

For it's your essence that completes my breath!

You are mine now, and will always be!

I don't wish to know true destiny.

Fate may aim it's poisoned dart,

To which I will but say-

'Til death do us part!

Fate, and the Fall

Do you believe in Fate? And if you do, ever known what happens when Fate toys with you...

She was his,
He had nothing to lose.
Fate decided to play a fall;
A plot- where he could not choose.

And then she came,
To fill the void in his life.
Life a whiff of fresh air,
Putting an end to his inner strife!

She was angelic,
Far too ethereal to be his mate.
Fate, but grimly smiled;
The fish had taken the bait.

Happy times, or so they seemed;
Her essence had him floored.
Little was he to know,
Fate would soon have him gored!

She was his anodyne,
In his sickness and pain.
She was his amulet,
That brought him only gain.

Hasty, his desires grew;
As he willed to own her.
Taking someone for granted-
Something that would haunt him forever.

And when she left,
Shattered- he remained.
Reality dawned on him,
He had lost what he had gained.

She was his;
For, that's what he had thought.
Fate had played its fall;
A plot- which he had miserably lost!

Heartache

He had a heartache... And, he penned his heart out.

My heart aches for the
Heart I once knew,
Memories of those thoughts
And feelings for you.

I never dreamt I'd face
Heartache like this,
The honesty and respect
Aren't the only things I miss.

The perfect relationship
I thought we made,
Was only in my mind
As I was being played.

Love is blind, now I
know that's true,
Second chances are worth it,
If I find the heart I once knew.