Part 22: The boy, the journey & the old man at the top of the hill

A day by myself
As I longed to begin
I drove by to the edge of the forest
Beyond the city I now call home

I met someone that day
Beside a brook, near the hills
Unknown to me was he I thought
And yet related I felt
For there was something in his eyes that spoke
Although no words did ears hear
A t-shirt, a cap and shorts till his knees
He wore these along with a smile
Little boats of paper and leaves did he make
And set sail them through that gentle stream
A few just sank right at the start
A few a little later began to unfold
And amidst the two that still sailed
Only to one could he wave farewell
And yet in each
He found joy enough to smile
Enough to go back to the pages he had
Enough to start building his armada once again
. . . enough to make me SMILE

I moved along

Walking further I reached the foot hills
To find a winding staircase
That seemed to lead
To the top of those hills

I began to climb
It was a long walk
The stairs just never seemed to end
And yet at many places
On my way up
I found places to rest
With food when I was hungry
And water when I did thirst

I decided to rest for a while
So beside the stairs in the shade I did lie
And in my sleep this dream I saw

I had reached the top of the hill
To find a land as lush and as green
As nature in all its abundance can be
With trees of every fruit
And flowers of every kind
And amidst all this
Was a small little cottage
With an old man sitting
In its portico
Unknown to me was he I thought
And yet related I felt
For there was something in his eyes that spoke
Although no words did ears hear
He sat there carving beautiful little ships of wood
Making each one different
Each with delicate care
And the ones he completed
He placed as trophies
Above his fire place

Who are you I asked
And do you know the boy by the brook
…do you know ME?

He looked up at me
And smiled through his beard so long

I do know the boy by the brook
As I know you
As he knows you
…for He and I are YOU

He is the child that you call your PAST
That you left long ago
Who had little dreams
Who found little joys
In the world around him
Who never got disappointed
Who never gave up

Him one day you left
To climb the stairs of time
On your journey of life
A journey that you thought was long
And yet was a journey
Where you found everything you really needed
When you needed them
A journey you made alone
A journey that you call your PRESENT

As for me
I am you too
I am the you that is called your FUTURE
I wait for you at the end of your journey
In the beautiful cottage of a life well spent
Amidst the fruits that you earned through life
Building these ships of what you dreamed as a child
For now paper I use no more
For on the journey of life
I found a box of experience
Which held within it
The hammer of knowledge
And the chisel of wisdom
And with these I make those dreams come true
To place them on the mantle of my achievements
Above the warm fire of my soul

… with this I awoke
I looked up at my road
I have a journey ahead of me

... its time I move on

Part 21: the Frosted Garden

A cold wind still blows,
As the rusty old lamppost still stands,
In the garden crafted in nature’s glass,
In a heart that no one understands.

Frosted are the roses,
Frosted is the tree of the lark.
Frosted is that lonely bench,
By that frosted lake in that park

Winter here … seems to last forever,
Time out here seems to stand still.
Life amidst all this still seems to go on,
Believing that spring shall not pass by again, believing still… atleast until.

Part 20: Like the lady I loved

(its a song)

I look at the sky
its dark and stormy today.
I see strokes of a paintbrush
flashing across that black canvas
And it looks so beautiful, it feels so nice
But it disappears before I can see it twice
the storm s so like the lady I loved

Chorus:
Come winter or summer
The cold or the heat
There s no going back for me now
For from the sea to the sky
There'll always be that drop in my eye
That'll miss you
But will never call
That will care for you
That you never fall
That will remain in your past
But love you...
Love you Forever

I look at the sea
its rough and wild today
I see splashes of whats gentle
splashing across my face
And it feels so nice...so gentle and plain
but i open my eyes and the waves have gone back again
even the sea s so like the lady I loved.
(Chorus)

I walked upon the desert sand,
Its serene beauty I just couldn't understand.
And with it I felt so warm,
nothing else around me for miles.
And it felt just like how the whole world can be lost,
When someone special smiles.
But as I continued to walk along, my feet began to burn,
Oh my! Even the desert s so like the lady I loved.
(Chorus)

I walked in the snow,
So soft and so white,
Everything seemed so serene,
Atleast all that was within my sight.
I build this nice snow house with care
Just by the crystal bay,
But just as I touched it, it just melted away.
Oh my! oh my! even the snow s so like the lady I loved.
(Chorus)

Part 19: A Stranger to Today

A sip of love,
thats all that I need.
A sip of true love,
a moment of bliss
a memory of sorrow

For I've loved once
I've loved again
a time more than two
I have felt the touch
. . . and it is no mirage
and yet it isn't with me anymore

For what was mine
is what I never owned
and who I never belonged to
was just but a stranger

. . . ha!

That's love
My love
and I've walked passed it
only to keep looking behind
to see what isn't there anymore
to see what they tell me never existed

. . . if the only knew
I live in a world of dreams
I live in yesterdays and tomorrows
. . . for I am a Stranger to Today.

Part 18: Changed

They say I have changed,
They who never knew me.
Never knew who I was,
And will never know who I really am.

They say I have changed,
That I am becoming a differant person now,
But they never knew the person I was,
Not for a day, not even a moment.

And so I wonder,
who has changed indeed,
or what has changed, if I may say so.

Is it the window through which they see me?
Or
Is it the mask behind which I hide?

Has the fog of perception started to clear away?
Or
Has the myst of time begun to gather?

I really don't know,
But then do they?
They who say I have changed...
They who say you know me...

Changed they say...ha!

Part 17: Conversations in Monologue - by the Sea

The sea at night speaks in so many languages
The stillness of the wind
The darkness of the naked sky
The anger of the waves
The mischief of the moon
. . . all together
adding up to a night of monologue

Listen … don t speak
for the stillness talks about a life without a goal to conquer
the darkness speaks about the inner you that is hidden from everyone else. . . behind a mask of what people think you are
the anger that reminds you of all you wanted to be and do but never could. . . portrayed by the waves that touch the shore only to go back again
and the mischief of a naughty moon eluding its lover through dark clouds

Speak to me Oh Night
Speak to me today as I sit by the sea
For I will be gone tomorrow
Beneath the sands of time

So speak to me Oh Night
Speak to me today as I sit by the sea
For tomorrow
We become strangers once again.

Part 16: The Unusual Dilemma

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon when I heard a strange sound, which sounded like a bird chirping. It wasn't like any bird I heard before so I looked outside my window. To my surprise I saw a small colorful yet unusual bird struggling to free her feet from some strings that she had got entangled in. I felt sorry for that bird and stretched out my hand to help it. At first she got alarmed but soon somehow realized that my intentions were noble and let me pick her up in my hand. I gently took off the entangled strings from around her leg and smilingly said as I placed her on the windowsill " Now be careful little one, don t go getting yourself in trouble again".

What happened next was quite unexpected.

To my surprise the bird spoke back to me "Thank you kind man, for helping me today. But I am no ordinary bird.
name is 'Hope'. But I was not always a bird. I was a heavenly being called 'True Happiness'.
I was cursed by an evil demon to live my life as Hope until I meet a 1000 good men. I could grant each one of them a single wish.
However the last of these I could grant only a wish that is selfless. You are that last man. So now I can grant you one wish and return back to Heaven. However, please remember, your wish cannot be one asking for wealth and power."

I thought for a while, still surprised about what was happening. "It must be just a dream" "I said to myself." So I decided to play along. After all a dream can be no harm. But what can I wish for then if not for wealth or power. I thought real hard.

And finally said to the bird "Oh little magical genie bird, this is what I ask for, may this be a peaceful world where people love and care for each other"

The bird's face fell. She seemed worried. "What have you asked of me young man" she said "It is an impossible wish you ask"

"Impossible" I said "why would you say so?"

The magical little bird looked up to me and said

"Young Man, this world, your world is a funny place.
Something no one can ever understand.
Throughout the animal kingdom
Everywhere you look
Creatures of every kind show similar behavioral patterns.
In joy and happiness they come together
Though sorrow and danger scatter their flock.

But you humans are quite the opposite of all
Your behavior defies all logic.
In Happiness and Prosperity, you forget each other.
You live a life of selfishness and greed
Loathing all for yourself
Caring not for your brother
Caring not for your world.

And in sorrow and calamity, you get closer to each other
You go out of your way to help
A Tsunami or a 9/11
Are moments that bring forth so much destruction
And yet through these moments
Come forth the true spirit of mankind

You refuse to share when you have everything in abundance
But go out of your way to give out of your nothingness

So now you see
Why I cannot grant your wish.
For in a peaceful world
You humans grow selfish and hard hearted.
Caring and loving no one but yourself.
While
In a world of sorrow and dangers
You reach out to one another
In love and care

Thus you see
Both cannot exist together
Cause you and your world
Are quite so strange.
So ask me something else
for I cannot gift a wish
which cancels out itself"

I was now more confused than the bird
Although I knew what she said was true

This then is my dilemma,

Do I ask for a Peaceful world where no one cares for each other?
Or
A world filled with chaos that holds people together.

What do I ask for what should be my wish

And so I sit with this dilemma, beside a little magical 'Hope' that wishes to turn back into 'True Happiness'