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Excerpt: Hearing the voice again. And trying to capture it.

Reclined in silent joy. Peace.
Hear a voice, a flicker, a whisper.
Faint, barely audible, she speaks.
“Come, come follow me, come”.

In the darkness, bursts of blues ignite!
After months, I hear her tone again.
And towards the mountains fly. Soaring high.
“Faster, faster follow me, to glory”.

Flutes turn to trombones, harpsichord organs.
Louder, faster, bliss and ecstasy waits.
Till in the distance I finally see her, all alone.
Blistering and barrelling down, simply to meet.

I stand, and ask her; beg her – to speak again,
“You are nothing” she says. And fades away again.

Excerpt: As we get accustomed to the day to day norms, we sometimes forget that life is but a fleeting moment that could end on any day, any hour, any moment – no matter what our age. And death is always around the corner, waiting.

Having had a day, filled with much.
Realisations to be. Loves once lost.
As sounds of pianos and husk do rise.
Wonder, is this the reason for life?

The vain, deluded by Dunning and Kruger,
The lover, always betrayed by the whore.
The smiles, only thick smog to hide the tears.
The young and bright, dying before their parents eyes.

Wonder, is this all that I will come to see?

Imagine the impossible. Achieve the dream.
Live as death hides, and waits.
But think, deeply, before you leap.
And you enter the bowels of an abyss.

Haunted by shivers as young friend whispers in the wind,
Wonder no more, to experience and love, can be the only reason to live.

Rest In Peace.

Excerpt: When all seems lost.

Asking this night of nights,
How long on this path of life.
Why, looking afar and around,
Seeing black. Shifting rooms to breathe.

Like a dying bulb. An empty well.
All potential long lost and gone.
Now a hollow shell, without drive.
Drifting in the wind, an autumn leaf.

Searching for smiles. Searching for meaning.
Struggling. Crawling tiny by tiny – forward.
Whilst being pulled from each leg, behind.
Searching. To find the colours of life.

Entranced in unending darkness. World of shadows.
Trapped. Yelping in pain. Only to find the path of life.

All is Lost.

Excerpt: Most of our lives are the usual routine, not necessarily always predictable, but also never really touching our hearts. This is why on those rare occasions when we experience a moment that stands out we are reminded of the candle of hope in the darkness. It may only be a small surprise lasting a few seconds but something we want to be grateful for, and something we want to last forever.

Reclined in a state of pure bliss.
Wondering. Pondering. Maybe there is more.
Having had a day, scorched and baked by the sun.
Tasted salty sweat. Blurred sunglasses.

And yet, if it were not for wonderful friends.
The food, the love, and the soft meadow.
If it were not for the sights, colours and culture.
I would have been the same lost warrior, alone.

And then there was her.

Her beautiful sound soothed these ears.
Her flowing hair, like a moment from paradise.
And as she did smile with eyes of sparkling wonder.
Time stopped. The sun froze. And all became one.

Reclined in a state of pure bliss.
Wondering. Pondering. Maybe there is more.

When will I see her again?

Excerpt: An attempt at answering some of the biggest questions of life, in the form of a ghazal. Ghazals for those who do not know, are an ancient form of Arabic verse dating back to the 6th Century that are similar in form to sonnets. For more information about ghazals, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazal.

Pondering the great questions of life once more,
Wondering where we are, why we are, once more.

Reaching out to clench the rose of greater purpose,
Only to grasp the stem and spikes, pain, once more.

Blood streams and seems so pure , so raw like truth,
Flows without face, without motive, once more.

Love must be the solution, the potion to true happiness,
What of those cursed that see through its veil, once more.

Exploring the great jungles and deserts of mind,
Yet finding no peace, no harmony, no reply, once more.

Eyes close and in trance, asking Rahi the poor faqeer,
He says discover the answers in life, so live. And ask no more.

Excerpt: Regret is an interesting experience, and has equally interesting connotations. And most people see it, ultimately, as a negative experience. I saw a tattooed up teenager the other day, with a “NEVER Regret” boldly tattooed across his forearm. And apart from the initial logical paradox (seeing the tattoo prevents him from forgetting whatever caused him to tattoo “Never Regret”), it got me thinking – and writing…

The argument made is quite simple – don’t experience a feeling of sadness or disappointment over something which has been done – because it’s in the past – so simply forget it. And it’s a tempting argument to succumb to. However, it doesn’t take into account two very fundamental things.

The fact of the matter is that the experience had many teaching qualities. The choice we made, led to a journey, an experience, and ultimately, we learnt something about who we are. It was a process of discovery. Simply forgetting the experience may ease the pain a little bit, however it will also lead to the lessons of the journey, and the appreciation for the journey – being lost.

And second of course, we must not forget that the choices we made, were at the time, exactly what we wanted. And, for whatever reason, with hindsight it wasn’t the best choice, or it just didn’t work out.

Darkness surrounds. Silence before sleep.
As a day of battle and victory, slowly dims.
She strays in my thoughts as my teacher.
Stop to think, stop to learn. A child eager.

“How was I today?”

Gentle and calm. Loving and kind.
Around the fire, relax and smile.
Draped in white, a goddess of light.
I wait to hear soft tone speak.

“You were a fool!”

Naked. Salacious. Flashy. Pure lust.
Mistress emerges from the flames.
You were too arrogant here! Too bold!
Too much sarcasm there, unaware.

She did not laugh, her glaze did stray.
She thought you an idiot. Too fast, too slow!
You will never be worthy. Never be known.

*Stabbed in the back I fall*

Slowly dying. Burden of mistress no longer a secret.
Thank you my teacher, till tomorrow I regret.

As long as we don’t let the sadness, disappointment or repentance take over the experiences we have in the present, we should never forget the experiences we had as a result of our choices, and the amazing lessons they taught.

So regret away – for it is our mistress; and our teacher.

Excerpt: How many times have you seen someone fake a laugh at a party or at work? Or smiled even though it was not really necessary, just to make an impression? Almost every girl knows the laugh she has given a guy when he cracks jokes about cars or a fancy new gadget.

But what happens if we continuously have to do it, day in, day out? What is the cost when all our emotional responses in life just become fake?

Think to talk. Speak not.
Feel a laugh. Smirk just in-case.
Time to leave. Stay till it’s late.
Want to cry. Careful, have to wait.

Magic wand. Freedom.

Unchained. Unbound. And liberated.
What of a life where one cannot be?
Smiles now roam free, without judgment.
Heart breaks free. Smile to see it exists.

Dreaming again in silent space. Speak your mind.
Crying the sound of erhu. Breathing bansuri.
Mêlée the great questions of life. Laughing hard.
Able to think the light, distorted time.

All birds can be caged, they say.
All men controlled.
Yet ask can an emotion be contained?
Can happiness be chained?

Laugh. Cry. Speak. Live. Be wild.
You were born free. So smile, just like a child.

And be yourself.

So stuff the fake, and be yourself

Excerpt: Thanks everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes!

Another birthday, struggle to ponder.
Swim through the darkness of what was and how.
Make sense of a year long gone. One to come.
To know what is and where, when the sun will rise.

Android, facebook and emails – friends give fleeting peace.
Welcome guests. A change from the big questions of soul.

Like we are all dying, so what of life?

A year ago, vibrant dreams. Passionate desires.
Solidified goals. Knowledge of will. Knowledge of why.
A great oak eroded, now just a floating twig.
Destiny no desire. Just go with the flow.

And with time’s answers has more questions created.
All is well, part of the great mystery that is life.

Thank you to all my friends, for your wishes tonight.

Excerpt: Sometimes dreams can be the best place to be. Here, we can effortlessly create our world like an artists strokes. Instantaneous. And beautiful. And sometimes, in our heightened state of intuition, we truly become inventors and conquerers of our own reality.

In this state of meme
Do not value. Nor wish.
Do not want nor need.
Do not love. Nor hate.

And yet, drops just fall.
Imagination ceases. Dreams end.
In my world, there is no down or up.
Peace. And answers. To be. Content.

Eyes close.

Lush green with a castle and a baron.
Aicha his baroness, beautiful, and perfect.
Together they rule. And conquer.
Just them.

The scent of her hair engulfs the land.
Prairies. Mountains. Snow and Orange.
Bold oaks guard the entrance to paradise.
Just us, me and you.

And as she does so smile, flowers blossom birds soar!
Laughter spurts growth, spurns strength and gathers promise.
Peaceful serene with colour. Seasons and storms.
Love and life. Just us, me and you.

Eyes Open.

Lifeless. Salty taste. There is no baroness, no great land of mine.
So close your eyes, and dream, for you are forever mine.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world” Einstein

Keep dreaming, because that’s what really matters.

Excerpt: There is no disputing that results take time to manifest. Whatever you want, rarely happens with the click of a finger. Sometimes it takes decades of hard work or research working only on a belief until a breakthrough or achievement.

But how does someone deal with this at an emotional level? How can they invest so deeply and wholeheartedly into a goal, or dream, or a love – without any results?

Once an old man grand did say,
The same world in some eyes, is black and white.
But beauty is only in the shades of colour.
And no one cares about end-but that we lived. Fearlessly.

Yet today, I ask to you those wise and seemingly brainy,
What of the days where there seems to be no colour?
When the rainbow hides behind a cloud and thick mist? Of black.
What of the time when even time does not pass?

What of life, when we do not want to live?
What of heart when there is no one to love?
What of laughter, when I just can’t be stuffed?
What of darkness? When will it end?

Goddess descends.
She laughs. Hard and haughty.
Mockery? How dare she?!
She smiles. And says.

“Just Wait”

Don’t worry too much about results, just work hard, invest and be grateful you were able to. Because not everyone can. And smile like those content and enlightened, for you learnt.