Mistletoe

Little yellow angels floated around
The violin played in the background
White lilies adorned the decor
The harsh cold mist outside,
The blazing warm fire inside,
All so perfect'o.
And that was when he said - Mistletoe.

My World - Around you

Around you, my world revolves
Around you, my work dissolves
Around you, my ways are clear
Around you, my worries fear
Around you, my weakness' flee
Around you - my wish.

Atop Clouds

He took me there.
To the midst of the forests,
Where the dark canopy above,
Let the rays stream in at angles
To focus the light below
On us.

He took me there.
To the midst of the orchard,
Where it seemed,
That the vines creeping around,
Wrapped us together,
Forever.

He took me there.
Where by the lakeside,
The thousands of lamps,
Floating around,
Seemed to light up our moments together.

He took me there.
Where from the bus window,
We watched the elephants in herds
And they seemed to say,
Well, you're in one too now.

He took me there.
Where there was no one, but us.
And the silence was comforting.
Where his breath and mine,
Became one.

He took me there.
He said it.

Innocence

The laughter in your voice,
I can hear no more.
The beauty in your eyes,
I can see no more.
The purity in your thoughts,
I can sense no more.
The love in your touch,
I can feel no more.
The clarity is blurring.
I think, I've finally grown up.

Oh! Hands that give...
Give Love.
Give Happiness.
Give Peace.
'Cause today what you give,
Tomorrow you'll receive!

Oh! Hands that take...
Take with Thanks.
Take with Humility.
Take with Hope;
That someday,
You'll give much more than what you take.

An Elephant's Tale

The National Geographic Feature Story(March 2007) on Elephants at the Zakouma National Park in Africa made me cry. These gentle creatures are ruthlessly poached for their tusks! As soon as the elephants cross the sanctuary of the park, Arab nomads and poachers hunt them down - they shoot nearly 8 bullets and then when the elephant finally succumbs, they chop off the head and scurry lest the authorities catch them. One incident described in the feature also said that the lake in the Sanctuary had been poisoned which caused the death of a few elephants and several thousand other animals which grace the park from Jan-May before the rains begin...

This feature story inspired me to write this - from the point of view of a scene described in the feature. A 40 year old female guides the younger ones to the lake to quench their thirst on a dry May evening. Following her is the entire herd and the author (Mike Fay) had the amazing opportunity of witnessing the socializing (which is often characteristic of these animals - or rather was...) of nearly 150 elephants along the river bank edge for a full 4 minutes, before they retreated into the 'safety' of the jungles - in fear of being too exposed to the most ruthless animal - MAN..

SAY NO TO IVORY!

I approached the water cautiously
The younger ones in front of me
Were demonstrating their displeasure
At having to wait by the river's edge
But it wasn't worth being foolhardy
And regreting later.

I scanned the area around
With the keen eyes that I'm proud of
First I looked for signs of the others
Who usually like to come in large groups
With their feriocious roars
And sharp, stinging teeth
They corner us -
Its usually one of the little, adventurous ones
And then...

Anyways,
No sign equals a good sign - for me
A tiny groan of satisfaction nearly escapes me
The little ones are still impatiently watching
They grow even more restless by the second
But I still say
Its not worth being foolhardy
And regretting later.

The others are here
They are quenching their thirsts as well
It is getting unbearably hot
If the others are here..
Surely that means..

Those ANIMALS aren't here!
With their weird trees
Which they somehow hold awkwardly
Between their front limbs
While they balance themselves on the other two
They produce those dreaded sounds
Which usually signals the onset
Of Death.

They've taken too many of us already
I'm beginning to even like our hairy, golden friends!
Them seem like angels in comparison...

But I cannot see them today
So I signal to the little ones
And dash to the water
They know its nearly the end of my routine
So they are excited

I walk over to the water edge
And take a deep long drink
The younger ones look at me expentantly
And after a few minutes
I nod my head at them

It tastes like water
Not like the other day
When I lost my mother
When the water didn't seem like water
I'd wanted to stay there by her side
She was screaming in pain
But nanny took me away then
And I'd hardly begun running
When I heard a shot pierce the air
And I heard the last sound of my dear mother

But at least today the little ones can drink
And play and roll about the sands
And know the pleasures
That were somehow stolen away from us
Maybe it was just me
When I was born it was all fine
Now, I'm hardly 40
But it seems like I'm in a different world
I don't want to be.

Its beautiful

The rays streamed in through the white drapes

Bouncing off her streaming, long, dark tresses,
Impressing into my eyes, the peacefully sleeping image,
Of my beautiful wife.

This day, a year ago,
She glided into my life.
I can never forget the day I first saw her
Because that was when I was struck –
By Cupid’s Arrow

I remember it as if it were yesterday –
She walked into the coffee shop
A white kurta with beautiful blue embroidery
Fitting jeans giving her those long legs
Her flowing hair, tied carelessly into a loose plait
Dangling behind her
Tiny blue drops hanging off her ears
And a cute, tiny platinum ring
Sitting proudly atop her left ear
Rimless glasses hardly balancing themselves
On her very flat nose -
On her face – her eager, smiling eyes
Her good natured wide smile revealing
Refreshingly half-white teeth
Her slightly chubby cheeks
That coloured slightly
As her eyes sought and caught
Those of the man her parents
Had said she would share her life with -
If she said, Yes…

Mine. I fervently found myself praying.
Mine.

And today, I realized
A year had flown by since then…
And even as she was soundly sleeping,

I found myself looking at her image
That moved to the white drapes
And drew them apart
Her hands outstretched,
Breathing in the fresh morning air
And enjoying the view of a clump of trees amid the tall buildings

Her hands lovingly running through my hair
Reminding me that it was time to get up

Her hair tied into a knot that rested on her neck
As she swayed slightly to the song emanating from
The tiny studs embedded into her ears

The smell of tea leaves and boiling milk
Finally rousing me enough to brush madly
Lest I miss my morning kiss

Even as I wrestled to cut up
Those beans into tiny, perfect cubes
I couldn’t stop looking at her
In her tracks and tee
Fervently turning the newspaper

And her occasional glances
That never failed to flood me with the same longing…
To see if I was done yet
And it was her turn…

She shifted ever so slightly
Graceful even in deep sleep, I thought
And I was shaken out of my reverie
She would be up soon …

She lifted her hands up to her face
Her knuckles trying to rouse her

And as she opened her eyes
Blinking away the suddenly dazzling light,
Her eyes caught mine
She smiled and held my hand to her soft face
Snuggling in the comfort

And then she suddenly looked up
Her eyes wild with surprise and anticipation
As she awoke to the fact
That today was the day.

She sat up and gazed into my eyes
And I sat there, doing the same
Quite unable to do anything else…
And then when she made to envelope me
In an endearing hug,
I raised my hand
Between us

She threw me a look of shock and surprise
As my fingers glazed over her brows
I brought out a brightly wrapped package
And after extracting her promise,
Removed my other hand from her eyes and brought out
The rose that I’d kept beneath our bed

She opened her eyes
And I gave her the rose
Suddenly she was really shy
To look up into my eyes
And my heart began thudding against my ribcage

Lest they succeed in breaking open,
I took her hand and placed in them the package
She now raised her suddenly huge eyes at me
And with a grin, started to rip open the package

She opened it.

And even before I caught the
12 colours reflecting from my package in her eyes,
A tear splattered onto my hand

I looked up to see her
Astonished that she was crying
But she took my hand
And I guided each of those 12 rings
Over her soft hands

And as they tinkled she looked up and said
‘I love you’
The first time she’s ever said that
‘Done in by a dozen of bangles?’
I asked rather surprised,

But nevertheless giving her an *all-knowing* smile

She smiled coyly and put her arms around my neck
‘I haven’t brushed yet…’
But I wasn’t listening anymore…

I'm so excited to tell ya'll that this poem is selected for publication in a book titled - “Romance Vol. 1” - published by renaissance.sg :-)

http://renaissance.sg/news_events.htm

Why do you blog anyways?

Is it because you know that there are friends out there who actually read what you scribble and care to comment?
Or is it because youwant to hold onto some small little memories forever - so that you can share with your someone special your youth?
Or is it just because you want to bear your heart out?
Or is it the excitement of connecting to a person you've never met but you know?
Or is it a platform for you to express yourself on topics you'd never have thought about otherwise?
Or is it because of the hope, that way into the future people will quote your blog ?!
Or is it just because you want to give that really cute guy sitting diagonally across some more time to pluck up his courage?
Or is it just because of want of something else better to do?

I remember...

I remember, how your surprises
Posted a huge smile on my lips
For days.

I remember, how your tears
Loosened the heavy burden on
My heart.

I remember, how your caress
Made my lonliness fly away
Somewhere far

I remember, how your smile
Inspired me to reach up to
The skies.

I remember, how your eyes
Made me feel like the most special person
On Earth.

I understand now that you
Were the most beautiful person
I've ever met.

I only wish
That I'd realized this
Earlier.