As the curtains swayed to a chilly draft
Her hands of the softest silk
Her shadow a ghost of the night

Dark and pale
Against the misty grey
Lay bared she, a lifeless but intoxicating sight

Her flowing white gown, caressing white marble
As she glided along, the hillside castle

Fleeing in the moonlit corridors
From an inevitable fate
The signs of death, so subtle

No walls did speak
Neither soldier nor servant
In life alone
In death alone

Her king shed a tear or two
In a ray of light
His hand though, red shone

Unspoken Words

What beauty lies

In a simple word

Of care, of love

But never heard

Lingering around

In awkward smiles

In longing eyes

Like a caged bird

Wanting much

To wander out

But shackled in

By lessons learned

Waiting in hope of being set free

By another unspoken word

The pyres lit high
Heavens they engulfed
Lest the skies unfold,
What had transpired

Massacre so grave
Never before witnessed
Legacies of the brave
Lay crushed and disgraced

Stench of the blood soaked soil
Sullied the holy air
Pleased weren’t the gods
For whom had been caused this despair

Cries of the wounded
Made a din as they bled
Vultures all around
Feasting on the dead

Kings and soldiers
All slain together
A sight so macabre
A lesson though learnt never

Widows left behind
And children in tow
To build a generation
Seeds of future to sow

To make them strong
And make them brave
And send them to war
To kill all over again

In Strange Company

Often I travel, along this road
A merry heart, a merry soul

In strange company
Of faces anew
Amongst whom, I take this stroll

As the sun sets
And moon ascends
I wish this journey never ends

Where solitude and gathering, coexist
And tranquil shades, to life it lends

Strangers though,
A bond we share
No words ever spoken
Just a glance or two

Where under moonlit skies
With the deepest blue
They rest my mind
For moments few

And return I do
To my life
Full of vigor
To fight another day

A road like this
Has a charm of the untouched
And till I come back
I pray, the same it will stay

The White Carpet

Veer not, my gaze
Off the silent scene
Where wanders my mind
A spirit serene

Untouched for miles
The silky snow lies
White carpet as if,
Beneath blue skies

Amidst the milky way
Conifers stand erect
Like giants of Stonehenge
Stillness in effect

Descend their leaves
Without a sound
In a rhythmic waltz
They fall aground

Its bluish tint
Has a touch divine
Like Atlantis of lore
It is sublime

Flow like a River

Meandering through the plains
A river charts its course
Cutting through the mountain
Ferocious in its force

Its water flows steadily
Not wavering from its goal
Joined along the way
By streams of the same soul

Vanishing at sea
Its legacy left behind
We are travelers on our own road
Meeting nomads of the same kind

A Reflection

04/18/2008

Across the hall sat I
Uncomfortable, out of place
Shifting in my chair
Searching for a pleasant face

I had no conversations,
No views to air
Bored to my wits end
I had nothing to share

Thats when I saw her
Within a noisy crowd
Her presence inconspicuous
Not making even the slightest sound

With a stroke through her hair
A beautiful face she revealed
It was nothing perfect
But to me pleasant it seemed

Her smile was infectious
And personality calming
But her eyes did not twinkle
Betraying that she was acting

The sadness in her face
Although not apparent
The hurt was still there
Chipping away making her blunt

Her thoughts wanted to drift
To their own little paradise
Where nothing could go wrong
A place without deceit and lies

That one glance at her
Rooted me to my chair
I had seen my reflection
And at it I continued to stare

Quest for an Equal Mind

04/15/2008

This is kind of my version of Hank Rearden and his search for Francisco.

Stood he on the terrace
Face beaming with pride
He had finally reached the top
It hadn't been an easy ride

His empire stood below him
Made with his toil and blood
Till the point of collapse
He had crawled through every bit of mud

As he now stood there,
Thinking about his struggle
The victory he had achieved
What had made it possible?

Something was amiss,
He looked around to find he was alone
A metaphor to his future
A dreary fact he would soon bemoan

All his success, All his victories
But never once did he find
A person who could match him
In his spirit, effort and mind

Is there no one in this world? He asked himself
Let him even be a foe
Let him challenge me to my best
I will not ask for more

But let there be someone
I can deal with equally
Who understands what I am
And doesn't ask for charity

It is true what they say
It is lonely at the top
I yearn for that beautiful day
When this search of mine will stop

Symphony

04/14/2008

In the amphitheater the people await
Under the moonlight the orchestra stands
In the silence he raises his hands
To commence with those magical wands

The musicians stand on their instruments
Like the confident knights in the battlefield
Their faces have a steely focus
Those of artists who will never yield

The first sounds set
The tone for the evening
As they harmonize together
Giving symphony its meaning

Decisiveness in every stroke
Clarity in every note
Their unison creates
Music that makes one float

The grandeur and its brilliance is
A statement of sophistication
The rise and the fall of tempo
Is a surge of emotion

Then in the final moment
They reach their peak
As it culminates in a flourish
You are left with more to seek

Insomnia

03/24/08

Its been days now
Since the last time I have slept
Thoughts have stagnated
Every night I have wept

Night by night pain grows
As a shadow through the day
My mind is losing
I don’t know how long I have to pay

It is impossible to hold back
To contain my anger, my fear
I try to hit out violently
But instead I hurt myself deeper

I can't assuage the cause for this
Neither can I destroy myself
The thought of wounding what I love
Will kill whatever I have left

Now there seems no respite from here
So I beg everyone for a cure
Just a few minutes of sleep
Just a few minutes… sound and pure

--Sam

Reason to Live

03/23/2008

The wood was splitting in its columns
One could see the remnants of the gate
The house was crooked and derelict
An apt reflection of his fate

He sat in a cane chair
His eyes staring into infinity
The longing for something was evident
His anticipation disturbed the serenity

Then suddenly with a push of hands he stood up
As if his wait was over
The clatter of small feet broke the silence
And tiny hands reached his fingers to cover

A bright smile appeared on his face
Not for the sun, not for the river
Not for the birds, not for the flowers
This is what he lived for

--Sam

Against the Tide

03/21/08
Against the Tide

Standing at the sea
Waves pulling me back
All along the horizon
Crimson turned to black

My mind wanted to return
But my feet sank in the sand
The shores suddenly seemed empty
A chasm between sea and land

Then like the scent of life
I smelt the land on the other side
I thought I had lost it all
But I knew I had to fight the tide

With new strength my feet moved
Full of purpose, full of verve
Stronger than the sea they proved
Is man's will and his nerve

From that moment I knew
I owe it to my life to pull through
Live again with all I have
To look ahead at what is new


--Sam