BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

Books that make you laugh,
books that make you cry
books that make you ponder
over the vagaries of human life.
Books that take you travelling
over strange lands you've never seen
meeting stranger beings along the way
that might or might'nt have been.
Books that come alive
and threaten to swallow you whole
when they rouse a frenzied furor 
in the very bowels of your soul.
Books that talk of passion
of vengeance wearing a lovers cloak
deafened to the sound of reason
caught in a deadly vicious choke.
Books that talk of nights
pregnant with brooding malice
of sinister dark intents
ruling hearts as cold as ice.
Books that flutter and flit
through shadows and pearly light
under the bellies of leaves and clover
with the wings of a frisky sprite.
Books that make you silly
doubled with peals of laughter
echoed through the day
sneaking over your shoulder.
Books are the very fabric of life 
woven with tales that enthrall
that take us a moment outside our own
yet taken from moments that do indeed befall.

MEASURE

Everyday with a beating heart she waits

for a letter that will say

I am coming home Mother

I am coming home to stay.

Everyday she runs to the door

with tremulous feet on the carven floor

to the ring of the postman's cry

anything for me she longs to pry.

Only to watch him wheel away

without a glance, without a say.

She bows her head and begins to pray

for the strength to hope for another day.

And so the days pass

weeks turn into years,

there is no more hope

there are no more tears.

Now she's deaf to the postman's ring

to the joyful news that he might bring.

Now she stoops embracing the dark

with utter despair ruling her heart.

Until one day there is a knock at the door

she barely shuffles across the dusty floor

and there he stands the apple of her eye

the letter it seems had gone awry.

Oh how the flower of happiness blooms in her soul

one by one the fragile petals unfold

Oh how her face is radiant with light

like a new born star twinkling bright.

And this is where we shall leave her be

Basking in love and all its glory.

Closing the door softly and firmly.

WHILE I AM TRYING TO SLEEP

While I am trying to sleep
the shadows begin their dance
they pirouette, they flutter,
they shimmer and they prance

While I am trying to sleep
the monkeys come out to play
they scream and they screech
until the break of day

While I am trying to sleep
the lions wake up with a roar
round and round and round they prowl
on my bedroom floor

While I am trying to sleep
the bears begin their sniffing
stomping through my house
searching for those muffins

While I am trying to sleep
the ants take off at a run
up and down my arms and legs
their tickling's not much fun

While I am trying to sleep
the chimps start their march
jibbering and gibbering
swinging from branch to branch

While I am trying to sleep
the elephants blow their trumpets
I am sure to need a pot of tea
with my morning crumpets

While I am trying to sleep
the lambs jump the fence
1 2 3 4....
so on and so forth

While I am trying to sleep
the bees are busy buzzing
zzzzzzzzzzz.........
(yawn)...oh is it morning already?

MEASURE

As the last grain of sand
slips smoothly and silently
falling without a ripple
only to be lost in the dune
my final moment fast becoming my past,
I shall face my Maker
standing alone and naked
stripped of all material bonds,
of all the illusory trappings of this world.
Clothed in my humility
I will stand before Him with my soul in my hands
surrendering to His Eternal Grace
waiting for the tipping of the scales.
In His realm
my skin will be coloured by the actions of my past
my race, a mere human being
my religion, kindness and generosity.
And that is how I shall be judged.
My worth measured by my deeds alone.

TOGETHER

Like the pebbles of a sandy shore
many hued and multi-textured
all unique and yet so alike.
Some shine and glitter in the warmth of the sun
while others brood in the deeper shade.
Singly, lost and alone
at the mercy of the crashing waves
at the mercy of the gathering storms.
But together, a force to reckon.
Together, a formidable shield
not easily broken, inexhaustible.
For every one lost, another takes his place.
Together we can take on the murky waters.
Together we can push it bit by bit, wave by wave
over the horizon and out of sight
until all are uncovered
until all are glittering in the sun
all unique and yet so alike.

MEMORIES

Memories can be a blessing or a curse.

A fearful thing if a curse.

I have so many of them.

Of people, places...

They haunt my mind.

Fleeting shadows from the past

fighting for precedence.

In the stillness of the night

as I await the sweet embrace of slumber,

they assail my mind.

With hurried feet and fumbling hands

they tear at the barely healed wounds

until the pain comes gushing out

like a sudden downpour of rain

cold and drenching.

I sit up gasping for breath

quivering with anguish.

I reach out my hand

to that face, that voice from my past

longing to hold it to me once more 

but it slips through my fingers

like mist through the blades of grass

leaving behind a paralyzing ache

for them that belonged to me.

Like a rabbit caught

in the bright glare of my memories,

I sit stunned, breathless...

my body tightly clenched

my lips murmuring soft pleas...

Oh sweet slumber, dont elude me.

Take me into your arms again,

hold me, soothe me.

Take me forward to happier times,

to new memories yet to be made,

to new people yet to be led into my heart

and an endless blue sky without a cloud.

A LAZY DAY

Its a lazy day.
My mind is free, light.
I could float away on a cloud
over strange lands
over fields of gold
over rolling hills of deep emerald.
I could reach down my hand
and let my fingertips run over them
gently brushing the dancing rustling tips
of the Earth's yield.
I see it in my mind's eye.
I feel it vibrate through my being.
I laugh at the playfulness of the gentle breeze
as it carries me where it will.
But my heart is heavy.
Weighted down by something intangible.
What is it that plunges me so?
Is it knowing that one day
I shall close my eyes and see this no more?
That all this is transitory,
a beautiful dream
that will end as all dreams must.
A momentary play where the curtain falls
a moment too soon
followed by a heartbeat of hushed silence.
I know the curtain will rise again and the play will resume
but this time...without me in it....
without me in it.

THE FARMER

There he sits

his back against a wall,

motionless.

Careworn and aged before his time.

Submerged in the suffocating depths of futility.

Despair in every line of his face,

helplessness in the curl of his fingers,

unshed tears burning hot in his eyes.

Gaze staring blankly at a distance

looking inward.

Searching searching...

What does he search for?

Surely not for the days

when he listened for the first crow,

when he stood silhouetted in the dawn's gray light

his strong body eager for a hard day's work.

When everyday was hopeful

every night filled with dreams of green pastures.

Those days are long gone..

faded to a far distant memory.

Now he is just a body without a hope.

Just a body without a soul....

Broken...

Simply searching, looking for an end.

SILLINESS

The words seem to have vanished,
gone...without a trace.
Maybe.....just maybe
I could use numbers instead?


5,8,15,20,25
60,80,90,21,35
oh, that doesnt work
so..dont bother..never mind.


I wonder if they are in the closet
playing hide and go seek
I must find them you see
or my poem will seem rather weak.


Or maybe they are in the kitchen
making toast and egg-fry
or baking some desserts
like pastries and apple pie


Could they be outside
flying around the trees and the towers?
Or making friends with the bees
among the petals of a flower?


They could be anywhere,
even swimming in the lake.
I have to find them, for afterall,
I have a rhyme to make.


So while I go look for them
will you hold the fort?
And if they try to sneak by you
just grab 'em and dont ever let go.

For Ashwinitai

I bow before your enveloping love

and march forth fearlessly to my battle with words.

I shall fight to death I say

climbing over every stumbling block

breaking down every stubborn wall

knowing in the end

victory shall be mine

and the words will burst forth in a torrent,

a just reward,

like flowers in spring

weaving a sweet garland of symphony

that I shall lay at your feet

in eternal gratitude for your faith in me.

The Old Pretender!

An Ordinary Woman

I am an ordinary woman
I carried another life in me.
I am an ordinary woman
I help shape this world
by nurturing that innocence
teaching love and compassion,
equality and hard work.
I am an ordinary woman
I create a peaceful and harmonious space,
a nourishing haven for my loved ones.
I am an ordinary woman
a shoulder to cry on
or a fountain of encouraging words
to a dear friend.
I am an ordinary woman
A pillar of strength and wisdom
for those fighting injustice.
I am an ordinary woman
always good for a warm hug.
I am an ordinary woman,
living an extraordinary life.

VANITY

As time passes by and the years rush on
stumbling, now running, now stampeding
trying to clamber one on top of the other
like falling dominoes,
I gaze at my reflection in the mirror
turning my face this way and that
like a poised bird trying to listen intently
to the echos only she can hear.
Even as my thoughts cross the bridge of time
and return to the days of my youth,
of sparkling eyes filled with dreams,
of a limber body that knew no bounds,
of tender lips trembling for their first kiss,
my gaze mocks me in the mirror.
Move on she says.
Dont look back...for it is surely in vain.
Look instead at the wisdom shining in your eyes,
at the strength of your body
that has endured much and is yet faithful to you,
at the smile that lurks everyday at the corner of your lips.
And know that every wrinkle, every line,
has a lifetime of love and laughter written on it.
Forgive and then will you see your true self reflected
still sparkling and limber,
still eagerly waiting for the dawn of another day.