Life is Life

As Shakespeare rightly said...

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts…

We come, we play our role and we go. The world goes on. What we do and how we do what we do while we are here is all that matters. We’re here one minute, gone the next. No one knows how long they’re here…but so long as we’re here, we can and must make a difference.

Adi Shankaracharya puts it poetically when he says “Life is like a dew drop on a lotus leaf, one never knows when a gust of wind will end its existence”.

All of us all well aware of this truth of life, yet we continue living, day after day, as though there is no end. There are enough things we put off for ‘tomorrow’, there are enough grudges we hold and hatred we nurture, all in the belief that there’s tomorrow. On the other extreme we have those who waste away their life on frivolous pleasures doing nothing substantial with their life.

The wise alone live in the present, making the most of each day. They neither spend their time regretting the past nor worrying about the future, but in the moment, making the best of it.

Generally, it is only in the time of tragedy that we give a thought to the frivolity of life, its unpredictable nature. We resolve to live life to the fullest and not waste a moment. We resolve to spend more time with our loved ones and make up with all those we’ve hurt or been hurt by. We resolve not to leave anything for tomorrow and make the most of the present. But day turns into night and night into another day…and there we are back to our busy lives. Till one gory day once again we face a tragedy and the cycle begins again…

Let’s not wait for a calamity, let’s start today, let’s start right now. Live life to the fullest, make the best of the present, for who knows, tomorrow might never happen, because life is…life.

I'm Sorry

There are people and there are special people. And some are so special, that you don’t see beyond them. It’s these people, the one’s closest to you, that you end up hurting, intentionally or unintentionally, you’re so close to them that you take this liberty (unfortunately). Words flow, bitterness grows, hearts get broken and friendships go sore.
All said and done you realise you were wrong. What do you do? Say sorry of course. And then, just hope against hope that it works.

I’m sorry 

For all the times I hurt you
For all the things I said to you
For all the days I shunned you
I’m sorry.

For all the times I didn’t care
For all things I didn’t do
For all the days you cried through
I’m sorry.

For all the times you explained
For all the things I didn’t believe
For all the days I stayed away
I’m sorry.

For all the times I doubted you
For all the times I questioned you
For all the days I troubled you
I’m sorry.

If only sorry was a magic word
But sadly it isn’t so
It doesn’t fix broken hearts
Or bruises or sores.
If only sorry could heal and mend
If only sorry could erase pain
If only sorry could turn the clock around
I’d use it in plenty right now.
Hey buddy...I'm sorry.

Blown by the Wind

Do you ever feel you’ve had enough of life? Do you ever wish time would stand still and for a moment, just for a moment the mind would go quiet? That the flow of thoughts would cease and that ache in your heart would disappear? That the emotions surging in your bosom would lay at rest? That the sun would keep shining in the sky and the birds stop in their tracks?

Well, I don’t know about you, but I sure do feel these things at times. And today is one of those days. Life feels too burdensome and the heart too heavy to continue carrying around. I wish the day would just end and tomorrow would be a new start. But alas! It isn’t so. Today simply continues into tomorrow. Like yesterday continued into today and the day before continued into yesterday. Tomorrow will be just another day.

Where and how and why do things go wrong? Do we mess things up or is it someone else’s fault? I tracked the route and it all boiled down to my fault. Why am I the way I am? Why am I so fragile? Why am I so emotional? Why do I break down at the slightest fall? Why do I lean on others and expect them to be there for me? Why do I give anyone so much importance? When will I ever learn to walk on my own?

A leaf in the wind
Blown around
No destination
No path
Just drifting along.

Doing nothing
Is the basic aim
But I’m unable to live it
Where all do I go wrong
I can’t handle it.

From nature we learn
To just Be
To rejoice in Being
At ease
At peace.

Well, talking is easy
Doing is not,
Moving, forward or backward
Or stagnating
I know not.

Why oh why
Why me?! I cry
There is no answer
There might never be
I hope I last to see the finality.

Walking the razor’s edge
Whoever said it’d be easy!
Knowingly I tread it
I chose it
Do I now regret it?

The mind plays tricks
That is its passion
It runs amok
Out of control
Dragging me along, with its ruthless hold.

No victory
No failure
No loss or gain
Keep walking, He says
I’m right behind ye.

My Lord, my Love
I’m so helpless
So weak
No strength to fight the matrix
Or live by it.

You are my saviour,
My anchor,
My buoy,
My boat to carry me
Across this ocean of turmoil.

I know you’re here
Watching my every move,
Laughing at my follies
Grinning at my goofs;
Don’t just look…help me through!

It ain’t funny anymore
I’m hurting so bad;
Every minute every second
Is so difficult to tread
Can’t you see I need your helping hand?!

Help me my Lord
Hold me close
Embrace me tight
Never let go
I need you so, I do need you so.

- Rukma

The Puppet

The Puppet

Tears of blood flowed down her cheek
Her heart was broken into tiny bits
Though feebly, it continued to beat.
Everything had changed at once
What was a lovely evening
Was reduced to a morose one.
The stars twinkling in the sky
Seemed to mock at her plight
At the mercy of her beloved
His actions had tremendous power
At once elating, at once painful
Being a puppet is definitely not gleeful.

Colours of the World

See green
Feel green
Eat green
Drink green
Think green
It’s green, green, green all over the world

See red
Eat red
Drink red
Flow red
Think red
It’s red, red, red all over the world.

See black
Think black
Feel black
Eat black
Drink black
It’s black, black, black all over the world.

The end.
No more rainbows or flowers...

Life Lost

Grains of sand slipped from her hands
Her life had gone by as easily
Nothing gained, much lost
Not really anything worth remembering.

One more soul had passed through life
Eat, drink, sleep, cry, rarely a smile
No path to follow, no goal to achieve
Wandering along, lost totally.

Why she was born, she wondered at times
Finding no answer, she’d brush it aside
The right to query, ponder and discover
Is not the right of many she’d learnt.

The soft breeze caressed her face
Her tangled hair covering her eyes
Through the gaps she gazed at the sea
One vast, silvery, glimmering stretch.

The sun slipped below the horizon
Her life had ebbed away as silently
She would leave behind not a mark
That she’d ever lived wouldn’t make history.

What romance the poets found in nature
It made little sense to her
Everywhere she looked all she found was sorrow
Even nature was in pain, not just she alone.

The water disappeared into the sand
Her life had gone by as easily
Nothing gained, much lost
Not really anything worth remembering.

- Rukma

White Canvas

White canvas
A splatter of yellow and pink
Shades of green all over
Ugly blotches of black
Oozing through the cracks streams of crimson red.

Wails in the background
Screams in the foreground
Pain shooting through the chest
As metal finds its mark.
Their good deed done for the day
But they continue on their way
The vision is high
The good Lord will applaud
They will win accolades…or so they say.

- Rukma