The stone

A little stone lay by the roadside,

Thousands passed by everyday,

But no one had the time to spare a glance..

And yet, the stone was happy in its solitude,

Its quiet reverie and its tranquil trance.

And then, one day a girl came along,

She took a fancy to the stone and its quiet song.

She heard the tremble in its tones,

And the soliloquy that struck a chord within her own,

And a bond was formed that day,

Yes, the girl treasured the stone,

Accorded it a place of honor and to friends it was shown,

Days were spent in quiet talks…and nights were full of whispers,

Secrets were shared, promises made....

And she made the stone forget its place,

The stone assumed them to be inseparable,

The inanimate being did know the meaning of forever,

But little did it know of the fickle human nature,

And their attachments and affections that last only as long

 as something more interesting does not come along.

But how can anyone expect a mere stone to comprehend,’

The depths and intricacies of human emotion,

Unknowingly it presumed too much and became too bold,

Forgot itself and did something that it wasn't told,

And viola, the girl finally realized..

That it was just a common roadside stone,

So out of the window it was thrown,

The stone landed in the same old place,

People still came and dint spare a glance.

But this time something had changed,

The stone was still there but….it had cracked.

Resilient!

Pain – worse than any I’ve experienced before,

Hurt – Not just the body but the soul,

And yet I’m not going to give in,

I know they can’t win as long as I hold on,

I won’t let them have the satisfaction they seek.

They can break my body and use it as they will,

But my soul? They’ll never be able to break it.

I won’t let them have the pleasure of hearing me scream,

I’ll hold on – right till the end,

And then when they think they’ve won,

I’ll be there – my unbroken spirit,

A blatant reminder of their defeat.

Lifeless

Alone – I’ve never been so alone,

And yet I don’t wish to see another human being again.

Lost inside myself, I can’t see the path,

But I don’t even wish to go back – not ever.

It’s dark - frighteningly so,

But after what I've endured the dark is the least of the horrors.

I've embraced the dark coz light holds just pain,

Continuous and never-ending, an endless torrent.

I feel the groping hands, but I push the memory away,

No – I do not wish to think,

The memory – I wish it would go away,

The leering faces, those bumbling hands,

Block it out, it’s worse than the pain,

The pain I can bear – the broken body too,

But what do I do about my soul,

That is ravaged beyond description,

There is no healing, no hope,

I’m not myself, they took away my identity,

I just watched helplessly,

From somewhere inside me,

I watched as they abused a body again and again,

Kicked, scratched and made it bleed,

But the body lay lifeless,

Coz of course, that was me and I was not in there anymore,

That was me and yet not me,

Who am I? I’ve lost my identity.

I’m lost and I can’t see,

But I don’t want to see ever again,

That scene plays in my mind endlessly,

I wait for the release, but death does not come,

Why oh why? Am I to be tormented so?

Kill me, do not keep me alive – because I’m already dead,

And it would be a mercy.

Just another Girl

She lies there, the one who once used to be,

Lively, vibrant, full of energy,

Now quiet for the first time ever,

With no visible activity whatsoever.

There was a time, she laughed and she played,

When she was the source of joy and mirth.

But now, her body lies lifeless.

She harboured hurts – bottled up the pain,

No one realized that she laughed in vain.

She wasn't happy, it was just a show.

That she put on for the rest of the world.

Coz no one wanted to just know.

They were happy with the false reassurances

Coz that is what they expected and got,

Why look beneath the surface, when truth scares them all.

So she put on her “Smile” and went out to socialize,

Never once letting her real pain show

Beneath the delicate mask.

But now that she is gone, everyone wonders,

If there was anything they could have done.

But the moment that thought comes up,

They quell it immediately,          

Coz who cares – she was just another girl.

And that is what I am scared of –

Of becoming just another girl,

So I stay way and be my own person.

I don’t want you to appreciate or approve,

I wanna be myself and to hell with you all.

Independence Day

Rejoice, reclaim and sing today,

oh, 'tis the independence day.

The flag flies high,

heads held higher.

A happy note rebounds through the foyer.

Children with their tinkling laughs,

celebrating the day we became free.

Tis an opportune moment for our country.

But wait, do we know what we are celebrating,

the price of this freedom was paid in blood,

Oh yes, they were not celebrating then, tears fed the growing flood.

Thousands died, this opportune day,

whose memories in dusty history books do lay.

How can we forget a sacrifice of such magnitude?

Why are we wasting it all in our ingratitude?

They fought and they died for us,

for a golden future, not for a nation gathering dust.

How can we relax and enjoy,

while the pulsing heart of our country cracks like a toy.

We are not free, and will never be,

not until we realise that this freedom isn't free,

we owe it to those unsung heroes,

to realise their dreams and raise our nation to amazing heights after all the lows.

It is our responsibility, our ancestors, our country,

let us pledge today to honour their memory.

Trapped

I bang on the iron bars, Let me out!

I’m not made for this cage,

Give me my freedom, I shout.

But there is no one to hear me for miles,

I’m all alone…trapped and bound.

My frantic gaze looks for a way out,

Alas, there is none, a voice does announce.

I look towards the source of the sound,

And behold an old man, a few feet from the ground.

What sort of dream is this? I ask,

Who are you and why do you float so?

Oh lovely maiden, you know me well,

It is by my command that you are so leashed,

For I loathe maidens who try to be bold,

Now you try and break free….

And he vanished on this sinister note.

For naught did I shout, at least tell me who you are,

Free me….why have you tied me in chains?

Only a booming laughter answered my plea,

But after a minute, I did get a repartee,

It is I - fear, impertinent fool, you created me,

You gave me the power I posses and you freed me to bind you,

Now these bonds, you cannot escape as they are not of my making,

They are yours and you cannot break them,

It is your fear  that keeps you trapped, dearie.

Give up, let the flame extinguish! You have lost,

You thought no other could defeat you,

And how right you were.. as your defeat,

Was written by your own hands.

Thy enemy is as strong as thee, tis, of your creation,

Proud fool, you did not realize the power you held

And now you are a slave to yourself.

No, this cannot be. But my frantic cries had no effect,

How do I fight a monster in my head?

I lay down, but could not rest,

Lurid phantoms plagued my thoughts.

Yes. I was proud, but now I’m only a shell,

All my glory..It just fell…

How do I conquer myself?

Maybe one day I will and die a free woman,

but till then I am trapped in a cage of my own creation.

I just wanna Run

Late at night, when I can't sleep,
what is it that makes me wanna weep?
I just feel like running away,
so far, that I even forget my way.
Away from everything and everyone,
I just wanna run, run and run.
Every memory, I wish to leave behind,
each and every person, kind or unkind.
I don't wanna think, just run,
away from everything and everyone.
Restless of this dreary existence,
why am I alive? It just doesn't make sense.
I wish I could run far away,
to escape all that the voices in my head have to say.
I wanna leave behind my life,
I would just run, run and run if I had the choice.