BEHIND THE MASK
On a hot, sultry afternoon,
I couldn't help but notice a masked man limp.
Unable to conceal my emotions,
I laughed out loud.
He seemed to have noticed
Yet, to our surprise, remained calm.
Reading our changing expressions, he said —
'You may laugh all you want,
But being robbed of choices is why I'm doing this'.
His words left our minds bickering,
Giving rise in us, a thirst for answers.
The next time, at a similar instance,
I gathered my courage and let it all out -
The questions, the thoughts, the suggestions.
The answers baffled us, adding on to the confusion
Nevertheless, we got to witness a beautiful scene.
The expressions of a man who worked out of force,
Yet giving us the time of our life, with such joy.
Whether that explained the mask on the face,
I know not, for what the mask hid, I cannot say.
#poem #vb #review
On a hot, sultry afternoon,
I couldn't help but notice a masked man limp.
Unable to conceal my emotions,
I laughed out loud.
He seemed to have noticed
Yet, to our surprise, remained calm.
Reading our changing expressions, he said —
'You may laugh all you want,
But being robbed of choices is why I'm doing this'.
His words left our minds bickering,
Giving rise in us, a thirst for answers.
The next time, at a similar instance,
I gathered my courage and let it all out -
The questions, the thoughts, the suggestions.
The answers baffled us, adding on to the confusion
Nevertheless, we got to witness a beautiful scene.
The expressions of a man who worked out of force,
Yet giving us the time of our life, with such joy.
Whether that explained the mask on the face,
I know not, for what the mask hid, I cannot say.
#poem #vb #review
QUESTIONING HUMANITY
Seeing the world ’round me,
I was forced to question humanity.
Why do we fight amongst ourselves,
When we can accept everyone and live happily?
Why do we wound each other with daggers,
That miss our heart, but puncture our lungs.
Causing us to breathe painfully,
With more than a pinch of scorn and agony’s garnish?
What’d we lose if we accept the equality among us,
Regardless of skin, gender sexuality,
And the numbers that roll into our accounts,
On a monthly basis?
What joy do we get by labelling and shaming?
Aren’t we born with the seeds of integrity sown in us?
Can we not respect others, yet express views?
What good do we do by suppressing the “weaker ones”?
Why do we fall for the collective madness,
Thinking that it guarantees us safety,
When we haven’t ventured into the unknown,
To prove and accept it?
Why can’t we just make the world
A place where love flows like water,
Where equality showers like raindrops,
Erasing all the signs of the thoughts that corrupt our lives?
Is it too hopeful to think,
That, maybe, one day,
Everything will fall in place,
And we’ll all be in peace?
After all,
If we fight with fire,
We only ignite ourselves,
Setting the world on fire.
#poem #vb #review
Seeing the world ’round me,
I was forced to question humanity.
Why do we fight amongst ourselves,
When we can accept everyone and live happily?
Why do we wound each other with daggers,
That miss our heart, but puncture our lungs.
Causing us to breathe painfully,
With more than a pinch of scorn and agony’s garnish?
What’d we lose if we accept the equality among us,
Regardless of skin, gender sexuality,
And the numbers that roll into our accounts,
On a monthly basis?
What joy do we get by labelling and shaming?
Aren’t we born with the seeds of integrity sown in us?
Can we not respect others, yet express views?
What good do we do by suppressing the “weaker ones”?
Why do we fall for the collective madness,
Thinking that it guarantees us safety,
When we haven’t ventured into the unknown,
To prove and accept it?
Why can’t we just make the world
A place where love flows like water,
Where equality showers like raindrops,
Erasing all the signs of the thoughts that corrupt our lives?
Is it too hopeful to think,
That, maybe, one day,
Everything will fall in place,
And we’ll all be in peace?
After all,
If we fight with fire,
We only ignite ourselves,
Setting the world on fire.
#poem #vb #review
SHE IS A WOMAN
She is a woman.
A woman who wouldn’t break,
No matter how hard you try.
She is a woman.
Someone who cries over simple gestures,
Yet, braves through hurricanes with a smile.
She is a woman.
One who knows how it is,
To be a fish in an ocean of whales.
She is a woman.
The kind who’d smile,
Just to put to shame the full-bellied moon.
She is a woman.
A woman who can swallow the sun,
If that’d be of any help.
She is a woman.
One who embraces the homeless,
And carries candies for the needy.
She is a woman.
Could be Eve, Juliet or Aphrodite,
All depending on how you treat her.
She is a woman.
One who can’t be touched,
Kissed, tasted or smelled.
Thus, my dear, she deserves more,
Much more than what humanity can provide.
So, if not provide, please don’t deprive.
#poem #review #vb
She is a woman.
A woman who wouldn’t break,
No matter how hard you try.
She is a woman.
Someone who cries over simple gestures,
Yet, braves through hurricanes with a smile.
She is a woman.
One who knows how it is,
To be a fish in an ocean of whales.
She is a woman.
The kind who’d smile,
Just to put to shame the full-bellied moon.
She is a woman.
A woman who can swallow the sun,
If that’d be of any help.
She is a woman.
One who embraces the homeless,
And carries candies for the needy.
She is a woman.
Could be Eve, Juliet or Aphrodite,
All depending on how you treat her.
She is a woman.
One who can’t be touched,
Kissed, tasted or smelled.
Thus, my dear, she deserves more,
Much more than what humanity can provide.
So, if not provide, please don’t deprive.
#poem #review #vb
A HASTY RETRIBUTION
An eye for an eye -
Is that what humanity is all about?
A hundred today,
Simply means a thousand tomorrow.
Why revenge, when we can be better?
Behind the blinds of revenge,
One forgets that the greater good
Is all about letting go.
Was the sacrifice to be retributed?
Wasn't it supposed to not go in vain?
Retaliation today, simply means
Worsening our fate for tomorrow.
Clearly, patriotism ain't barbarianism.
A wrong just 'cause of another wrong,
Clearly doesn't make it all right.
An act in haste shall cost heavily.
A hundred today,
Means a thousand tomorrow.
It may even cost the entire world;
Do we even deserve to bear the sins?
#poem #review #vb
An eye for an eye -
Is that what humanity is all about?
A hundred today,
Simply means a thousand tomorrow.
Why revenge, when we can be better?
Behind the blinds of revenge,
One forgets that the greater good
Is all about letting go.
Was the sacrifice to be retributed?
Wasn't it supposed to not go in vain?
Retaliation today, simply means
Worsening our fate for tomorrow.
Clearly, patriotism ain't barbarianism.
A wrong just 'cause of another wrong,
Clearly doesn't make it all right.
An act in haste shall cost heavily.
A hundred today,
Means a thousand tomorrow.
It may even cost the entire world;
Do we even deserve to bear the sins?
#poem #review #vb
CAGED
Woke up blithely on a morning
With gushing thoughts of the day's plans.
Adagio, reality begins to strike,
Marking the lovely plans delusional.
The monotonicity of life forcibly takes on,
Leaving no choice but to become mechanical.
Leading to second thoughts on hankering,
Giving way to lament of all sort.
Late realizations dawn upon one,
Causing convincing of the highest order.
All ends with the blatant thought -
There's no end to this rat race of rabbit runs.
#poem #review #vb
Woke up blithely on a morning
With gushing thoughts of the day's plans.
Adagio, reality begins to strike,
Marking the lovely plans delusional.
The monotonicity of life forcibly takes on,
Leaving no choice but to become mechanical.
Leading to second thoughts on hankering,
Giving way to lament of all sort.
Late realizations dawn upon one,
Causing convincing of the highest order.
All ends with the blatant thought -
There's no end to this rat race of rabbit runs.
#poem #review #vb
THE INVISIBLE RAIN
26 June 2008, Thursday
A long day at work. Exhaustion all over my body. Reluctant to drive, I headed towards the parking lot, only to find my car missing. After some panicking and calming down, it struck me that I didn't bring my car to work. (Mind, where you at?)
My partner wanted it, and I gave in, not before he played the "I'm back from a long voyage" card.
So, after a quick scan for cabs (to my luck, I found none!), I decided to exploit every citizens' right - public transport.
Found no buses in the closest bus stop despite waiting for quite some time. Grew impatient, and decided to just walk back home.
Started pouring down heavily - not the normal rains everyone experiences, but the kind that inverts your umbrella. Managed to reach a shelter and waited the rain out.
Heard a man call out to me from far. To my surprise, he was without an umbrella or any sort of protection against the rain, and so were everyone else.
Soon, he was so close to me that I could hear his moustache whistle everytime he spoke. He used the choicest of words to abuse and judge me. Asked me why I was gesturing holding an umbrella, and if I was trying to con people. Clueless, I replied in negation and pointed out to the pouring rain. The words became no less kinder, only this time, by more like him, followed by pushing me out of the shelter, claiming it to be only for 'sane people'.
So, there I was, helpless, chattering like a monkey, out in the rain, with an umbrella that started wearing out, only wishing they could empathize with my life.
A second life that I led - a schizophrenic one.
I must've convinced myself a million times - before I headed out in *my* rain - just because they don't see what I see doesn't make me any more insane, or them, any less sane.
If only they could understand.
If only they chose to visualize the seemingly invisible rain.
If only they would not see me as an outcast, or get intimidated by me.
If only...
#wca #wcp #diaryentry #journal #review #vb
26 June 2008, Thursday
A long day at work. Exhaustion all over my body. Reluctant to drive, I headed towards the parking lot, only to find my car missing. After some panicking and calming down, it struck me that I didn't bring my car to work. (Mind, where you at?)
My partner wanted it, and I gave in, not before he played the "I'm back from a long voyage" card.
So, after a quick scan for cabs (to my luck, I found none!), I decided to exploit every citizens' right - public transport.
Found no buses in the closest bus stop despite waiting for quite some time. Grew impatient, and decided to just walk back home.
Started pouring down heavily - not the normal rains everyone experiences, but the kind that inverts your umbrella. Managed to reach a shelter and waited the rain out.
Heard a man call out to me from far. To my surprise, he was without an umbrella or any sort of protection against the rain, and so were everyone else.
Soon, he was so close to me that I could hear his moustache whistle everytime he spoke. He used the choicest of words to abuse and judge me. Asked me why I was gesturing holding an umbrella, and if I was trying to con people. Clueless, I replied in negation and pointed out to the pouring rain. The words became no less kinder, only this time, by more like him, followed by pushing me out of the shelter, claiming it to be only for 'sane people'.
So, there I was, helpless, chattering like a monkey, out in the rain, with an umbrella that started wearing out, only wishing they could empathize with my life.
A second life that I led - a schizophrenic one.
I must've convinced myself a million times - before I headed out in *my* rain - just because they don't see what I see doesn't make me any more insane, or them, any less sane.
If only they could understand.
If only they chose to visualize the seemingly invisible rain.
If only they would not see me as an outcast, or get intimidated by me.
If only...
#wca #wcp #diaryentry #journal #review #vb
WHEN I MISS YOU
When I miss you,
I become like the earth without the sun.
A child without fun
Cold and dark.
For I miss your royal smile's spark
My hearts beats in a frozen cage,
As my soul turns to a blank page,
Where once upon its mate's beautiful face stayed.
Life can be poisonous
And death venomous
But you are the antidote
To both.
When I miss you,
I wear sadness like a smile
And confuse eternity with a while.
I guess all I want to say is this;
That it's hard not to be with you,
When all I think of is you.
#wca #wcp #diaryentry #journal #review #vb
When I miss you,
I become like the earth without the sun.
A child without fun
Cold and dark.
For I miss your royal smile's spark
My hearts beats in a frozen cage,
As my soul turns to a blank page,
Where once upon its mate's beautiful face stayed.
Life can be poisonous
And death venomous
But you are the antidote
To both.
When I miss you,
I wear sadness like a smile
And confuse eternity with a while.
I guess all I want to say is this;
That it's hard not to be with you,
When all I think of is you.
#wca #wcp #diaryentry #journal #review #vb
WHEN I MISS YOU
When I miss you,
I become like the earth without the sun.
A child without fun
Cold and dark.
For I miss your royal smile's spark
My hearts beats in a frozen cage,
As my soul turns to a blank page,
Where once upon its mate's beautiful face stayed.
Life can be poisonous
And death venomous
But you are the antidote
To both.
When I miss you,
I wear sadness like a smile
And confuse eternity with a while.
I guess all I want to say is this;
That it's hard not to be with you,
When all I think of is you.
#diaryentry #journal #review #vb
When I miss you,
I become like the earth without the sun.
A child without fun
Cold and dark.
For I miss your royal smile's spark
My hearts beats in a frozen cage,
As my soul turns to a blank page,
Where once upon its mate's beautiful face stayed.
Life can be poisonous
And death venomous
But you are the antidote
To both.
When I miss you,
I wear sadness like a smile
And confuse eternity with a while.
I guess all I want to say is this;
That it's hard not to be with you,
When all I think of is you.
#diaryentry #journal #review #vb
INDEPENDENCE
73 years of Independence alright,
But are we truly free?
In an era where misogyny prevails,
Feminine confidence considered frail.
Heaps of patriarchy leaves its trail,
All diverging roads to equality fail.
In an era where the poor are to sleep hungry,
Whilst the rich decide the fate of the country.
The pleasantest of climates turning sultry,
Effortlessly ignored by all and sundry.
In an era where shoes depict personalities,
Where looks weigh more than capabilities.
The prevailing trends lead to insanity,
Setting standards, erasing familiarities.
In an era where objectifying is "cool",
Humans, though not animals, drool.
Labelling, branding are all man's tools,
One who thinks otherwise is a "fool".
In an era where depression is profound,
Where mental issues are silently crowned.
Our lives constantly chased by greyhounds,
By judgemental stereotypes, we're bound.
73 years of Independence alright,
But when do we end this spree?
#poem #review #vb
73 years of Independence alright,
But are we truly free?
In an era where misogyny prevails,
Feminine confidence considered frail.
Heaps of patriarchy leaves its trail,
All diverging roads to equality fail.
In an era where the poor are to sleep hungry,
Whilst the rich decide the fate of the country.
The pleasantest of climates turning sultry,
Effortlessly ignored by all and sundry.
In an era where shoes depict personalities,
Where looks weigh more than capabilities.
The prevailing trends lead to insanity,
Setting standards, erasing familiarities.
In an era where objectifying is "cool",
Humans, though not animals, drool.
Labelling, branding are all man's tools,
One who thinks otherwise is a "fool".
In an era where depression is profound,
Where mental issues are silently crowned.
Our lives constantly chased by greyhounds,
By judgemental stereotypes, we're bound.
73 years of Independence alright,
But when do we end this spree?
#poem #review #vb