Visiting Foreign Lands and Fairy Lands

Daily Prompt: Stranger in a Strange Land
What’s your favorite part about visiting a new place — the food? The architecture? The people watching?
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The possibility of discovering things keeps me excited when visiting a new place. Living in an urban city, combined with the pressures of college, I’ve developed a repulsion towards vehicular travel, but that is starting to change and I am very glad about it. I have traveled more in the last 2 months than I did in all 4 years of my graduation. I have always given much thought about architecture whenever I go some place. There is something conjuring about the history of mankind when looking through the architectural manifestations of it. Although I have never been to the pyramids of Egypt, or any of the other 7 wonders of the world except the Taj Mahal, I am sure that everyone would stare in amazement if they were told that the pyramids were built in  2600 BC. Freaking awesome, right? Evolution always amazes me, although it has become worrisome lately. And there is always something adventurous in meeting, or even looking, at people of different cultures.

As much as I love going to new places, observing the new people and their ways, I am not so adventurous when it comes to food. I simply don’t risk it with the local cuisines everywhere I go. I’d be happy and smiling if the place offers something I eat regularly, I’d say thank you very much.

And yeah, the vehicular travel thing! The other form of travel I always preferred was the mind travel.  As I said, I traveled very less, physically, during my college days. But I partnered with my mind and soul to places I could never have traveled in real life. Although it sounds like a deluded personality trait, I’d have to tell you that I have grown very much as a person through those journeys. There is something in me that wants to have a higher level of understanding of the experiences in life, and imagination coupled with reasoning the reality is one of the biggest and most challenging things I’d ever take up.

Anyway, some people may find it stupid that I took this post towards philosophy, so I’m going to stop it there. Coming back to the ‘new places’ theme,  I’d be joining an IT firm soon and I am excited about the prospect of having to move to a new location for work. I have never been out of home during all of my education, and the explorer in me is pretty much raring to go out there with his camera, canvas and journal, recording experiences and growing from them.

Random places most of us dream to visit:

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You can find posts from other bloggers @ The Daily Post. This is also a part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge(UBC), today is Day 18 and I have only started two days back! It would be great if you could join us.

Together Into Unknown Waters

we found shelter
under the same canopy
rain, start of something

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Writing a haiku after almost two months. This time, I stumbled upon Haiku event at Write Tribe. I never knew haiku ‘had’ to have a reference to seasons, or technically, the presence of a ‘kigo‘. Kigo is a word or phrase associated with a particular season.  Those visiting from my entry at Write Tribe, if you love haiku, here is another Haiku portal for poets: Haiku Heights hosted by Leo. It is a lot of fun there too, and every April and November, we have a month long haiku challenge! Its good to be haiku-ing, writing and blogging again! Please do drop by and share your thoughts about the haiku.

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Black and White Heart on facebook.

King, Dove, Friend And Peace – Haiku #33

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Scene I

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A Dove flying in some mysterious but beautiful place ( First Person – Dove )

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O’ mother, thank you,

soothing plains, blissful green woods,

wonderful is world.

~ ~ ~

pristine, agile winds,

lift mine spirits to heavens,

wings hardly matter (for spirit).

~ ~ ~

angelic white, mine

plumage, how many hearts changed,

chose peace over battle?

~ ~ ~

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Scene II

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A cruel king came for hunting Stag ( First Person – King )

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( Addresses the Stag )

mine aim wavers not,

arrow tip bellows thy end,

royal dish, thine flesh!

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( Suddenly he sees the dove above )

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elegant beauty,

she’s mine, on royal platter,

arrow aims high now,

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( Addresses the Dove now )

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O’ dove, thee is mine,

die proud as regal king’s food,

death be upon thee!

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( He leaves the Stag and loosens the arrow at the dove and she is hit )

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Ha Ha! King I am,

no being eludes arrows,

Dove slayer king, me.

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Scene III – Act I

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A man sees the dove being hit by the arrow and runs to the fallen bird ( First Person – Man )

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O’ mine friend, tell who

hath brought this upon thee –

my sword rages in anger.

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O’ mine friend, beauty,

leave this world not, breathe please, love,

god needn’t have you.

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don’t shut eyes;

O’ blind god, why her;

love, love, friend!

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The Dove speaks to the man  and at the same time,the cruel king reaches a point where he can hear her speak, he stops and listens ( First Person – Dove )

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O’ kind friend of mine,

thy love for nature pleases

it is time i rest.

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promise, little one,

that thy sword tastes no blood, to

avenge mine that spilled,

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shed blood never, Friend,

keep peace, alive or dead; world

needs peace, give it and……………………………

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( Dove breathes no more )

( King  comes out of the bushes, the friend of Dove speaks )

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My King,  great hunter,

none can match your skills, no one

in your whole kingdom!

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My King, what justice,

do you serve, your cruelty

is the crown you wear!

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Hadst she not asked peace,

(i) shan’t think twice, i’l behead thee,

my foot on thy crown!

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( The king speaks )

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O’ grieving friend of  Dove,

i lay down my crown and sword,

i repent mine wrongs

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O’ trustful friend of Dove,

ascend mine throne, give peace then

kingdom needs her, peace.

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O’ true friend of Dove,

forgive ,  i will show myself

to no eyes again.

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( The king goes into the wilderness in repentance and to keep the kingdom running, Dove’s friend ascends the throne.

He speaks : )

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every battle now,

that we shall be part, be for

peace, not blood or pride .

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every battalion,

shall bear white flag, symbol peace,

remembering dove.

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Tweet me at @sankarajayanth

I don’t know why, when i saw the prompt the first thing to come to mind was “alive or dead, peace.”.
maybe due the ever eluding peace, for which runs a daily quest for me and that my tired mind and soul longs for a piece of it.
And peace = dove, as many things i relate to nature. And i thought of presenting it this way.

And later when i was half way through, i remembered a childhood story : hunter kills a pigeon but the pigeon’s wife gives shelter to hunter,
to satisfy and do justice to the dharma of comforting the guests, she jumps into flames to become the food for the guest.
My story, i think, was almost the same. So, i thank that childhood story and whoever wrote it.

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Suggestions and corrections are most welcome, I’m still learning Haiku.

This post is an entry in Haiku Challenge for April 2012 at Haiku Heights. The prompt being ‘alive’.

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Arms Of Forgiveness – Haiku #20

you are in for a long set of haiku ( abberated ones ), have patience if you can manage. 🙂

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O’ Love, in thy arms,

of forgiveness, is written

mine exile,  hidden

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O’ Love, in thy arms,

of forgiveness, a thriving man,

who hurt thee in past

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O’ Love, in thy arms,

of forgiveness, a broken man,

who hurt thee, never

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O’ Love, thine virtue 

hath me breathing hard, why blind,

what sin i doth thus?

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O’ Love, thine virtue,

forgiveness, hadst me exiled,

someone else got closer.

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O’ Love, speak ‘least now,

i question not in arrogance,

what sin i doth thus?

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if to -try to ebb

thine pains served by life- is to

sin, then i did sin.

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if to -hide my name,

in humility- is to

sin, then i did sin.

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O’ Love, what hadst i

done, that hath me pushed into

this vile emptiness.

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O’ Love, in angst, i,

ask thee to see, difference,

in love and true love.

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O’ Love, in thy arms,

of forgiveness, is written

mine exile,  hidden.

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archaic (old English) words :

hath = has

hast = have

hadst = had

thy / thine = your

thou / thee = you

doth = do / does

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i started writing it as a haiku,

but the inner feelings caught me in a grip and dictated me to write this, even if there were abberations from the rules of haiku

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one thing i want to tell not in haiku :

forgiveness is a great virtue,

a very great one indeed,

but in excess of it,

shall, many a time,

sinners thrive,

while all along, good ones get the woeful plate of plight.

how strange.

how harsh.

how forgiving ( yes, sarcastic in deed ).

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This post is an entry in Haiku Challenge for April 2012 at Haiku Heights. The prompt being “forgive”.

Hurt Her Not – Haiku #18

forgive : i feel it is a tough word in general and a tough word for a haiku too.

so here’s my try :

” thou hast my lady,

hurt her not, forgive she may,

as lost love, i won’t “

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i donno if people can get what i tried to tell, i would just say that this haiku’s fictional context is

” my love is with an other man, her only man (she never was mine, in fact), but i still love her, for eternity.

and i warn ( not in grudge, but in a concerned urge, for my lady) him, as she chose him, above me,

i warn him not to disappoint her or hurt her because i wouldn’t if i was him.

O’ love,

lost love.”

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This post is an entry in Haiku Challenge for April 2012 at Haiku Heights. The prompt being “forgive”.

She Sells Shells – Haiku #24

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dreams big and hopes high,

she sells sea shells on seashore,

buy one, help her smile

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a haiku inspired by the famous tongue twister “she sells sea shells on the sea shore”

can’t get it right once, not once 😀 :O

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Suggestions and corrections are most welcome, I’m still learning Haiku. 

This post is an entry in Haiku Challenge for April 2012 at Haiku Heights. The prompt being ‘seashore’.

Silence Is Not Trivial

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everyday i put others before me,
tiring, enduring, all in silence and always trying not to show the weariness on my face,

sometimes it is too much,
breaking point is reached, and i break,

you see me break and you loath me for not standing strong for you,
that hurts,

though in humility i live, i hoped you would understand my silence one notch more,
so that you give me enough time to get back to the routine- everyday i put others before me, tiring, enduring, all in silence and always trying not to show the weariness on my face

– before judging me as too weak to stand for you,

silence doesn’t mean i don’t love. it means i love so much that i prefer to hurt myself being silent than hurt others by talking.
silence doesn’t mean i am not happy. it is my way of saying “i am happy for you. and i indeed am smiling. more on the inside.”
silence doesn’t mean i am not angry. it means i fight my anger in my own self.
silence doesn’t mean i am not in pain. i can wail and grieve over my wounds out loud, but i din’t choose it.
silence. it tells what many words can never ever explain.

i hoped you’d try to understand my silence one more notch.

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yes, silence sometimes hurts.

but counting the number of times it takes the hurt unto itself, i think you could ease the rope around my neck.

and it hurts to know that my silence hurts you,

but i always am silent for a wiser reason. because i put others before myself.

just when i see myself grow wise, noticeably,

situations close in on, pushing me into ‘regret’.

wish i stayed less wise.

i do not know if i would say that tomorrow, but right now, i really wish i was less wise and more fool.

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Silence is my language and will always be.

I don’t have the strength to talk and say things. So, i, for you, wish some freak accident befalls me and changes me into that,
Into what ever you wanted me to be.

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A part of one’s wisdom lies in understanding the silence.
There are always silent “hellos” and silent “goodbyes”.

A new born baby wont understand our blah blah, smile at him and he knows we are saying “hello”.
A friend blinks, empty eyes, sober face and then turns away. It tells you he/she has to leave though she doesn’t want to.

If one cannot decipher these, we would always end up misjudging the other one.

And there is so much of true and pure love in these little, silent moments,
where tears, smiles, empty eyes, all in silence, speak of love. true and pure.

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I am a teenager.
People have a basic image of an average teenager.
I am not even close to it.
The time i spend in silence itself shows why.

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why would someone so young rut so much over something that is so ‘trivial’ for the world.
don’t make me feel worse by saying, “because he is insane”.

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One thing i can tell, everywhere in this post where ever i used an ‘i’, there could easily be a ‘you’ there.
because everyone experiences time where they cannot speak because of the multitude of high emotions running inside,
but it happens more often with me.
and i can hardly help myself.

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Life And Wheels Moved On – Haiku #45

This post is submitted at Haiku Heights. The prompt is ‘mask’.

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you see me not love (dear);
help comes; heals wounds; i wear mask
named humility.

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far away you went;
still wondering who it was;
life and wheels moved on.

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distance grew much now;
same humility hinders;
from seeking your love.

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love is not to ask;
but to give away; like blood,
from mother to child.

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hope filled eyes; i wait;
will your ever see through the mask;
forces act against.

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( The below is the text from which i framed the haiku. I couldn’t put in everything in Haiku. So, read on if you like to. It’s long though, don’t say i din’t warn you. )

while he dared, i cared.

expressing all is never always right,
it only takes boldness.

to hold back expressions take a lot more,
of love, faith and hope;
in truth, it takes a herculean boldness, more than what it takes to express,
but none sees it, just because there was an absence of my expression,

so, if boldness weighs more than love, care, faith and hope,
then yes, i was a loser right from the first moment,
the moment when i chose to hold back,
knowing too well what it takes and what it gives me.

one day hardly goes by,
with this question not torturing my mind,
“don’t you see this yet?”,
yet and again, i hold back from asking this loud.

why, ask me “why?”,
i might just yet stay mum, for the answer i have for you will stump you.
so, instead i choose to see you hurt because of my silence, than because of my answer,
i choose to see you hurt less while i still have the option.

but as no question should go unanswered,
i would give you these words,

“let your heart be honest with your eyes and with itself”

now go,
the journey is yours to travel,
the answers are your to unravel.

the journey would still end at where i am,
the answers still leave a part of the question untouched,
“why did you stay silent when you had so much love?”,

that, my love, shall be answered after you complete the journey,
the reason for making you search for the answer yourself is to prepare you,
for the eventual leash of my held back love.

a little apprehension lingers deep down though,
time is a thin thread, that i am playing by,
i fear i might not radiate and transfer enough reason into you so that you don’t give up on the journey that i put you to,
i fear, time might crop doubts in your head,
and if you submit to them, you would be convinced that i was a fool,
and you would distance yourself from me.

but doesn’t truth always win, as told by the meandering bards,
that’s one gamble i took.

now we go to where this started,
what it took to take this gamble, that might leave me with nothing if it went wrong.

my love,

expressing all is never always right,
it only takes boldness.

to hold back expressions take a lot more,
of love, faith and hope;
in truth, it takes a herculean boldness, more than what it takes to express.

Oh wait,
didn’t i tell you that i would go along with you through the journey, masked in a cloak of invisibility?
oh sure i din’t, because the quest for truth is one you should not skip,
though i knew it would impress you if i told i was coming along,
and it would raise my stature up a notch at your heart,
but i choose to hide my presence and lose a chance to have you love me.
but this journey is not about me, this is about you,
and that along with my enormous care is reason enough for me to wear the cloak of invisibility, in humility,
and walk along.

Oh darn!
while he dared, i cared.

that’s all i need you to see.
that’s all i need you to learn.

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Time Will Die Before My Love Does…

I wrote this a year ago, felt like re-posting it. I wanted to feel ‘soothed’, that was what I felt after writing this back then.

…

as if lava cooled down halfway through its hell hot chamber,
and as if lightning lost its bright superfluous yellow hue halfway through the roar,
and as if the clouds vanished suddenly because they knew not what they were made of,
and as if earth stopped spinning halfway through her graceful roundabout motion,
and as if the universe stopped keeping track of time that rightfully follows its duty for every single tick,
and as if existence always meant void, only mistaken hitherto,
my words, i gulp down.

what they are, only i know,
such feelings are meant to be expressed,
even if not now,

though repeatedly suppressed,
if allowed to flow,
you will be caught in a vortex of extreme care and psychological embrace and be so immersed,

but i cannot, O’ love,
time isn’t showing me when and how,
though i believe in my own conscience and love,
learn you shall somehow,someday, even if the days and nights change slow,
for all i know,
time will die before my love for you does,

and if this is called exaggeration,
then
my love for mother, my love for father, my love for sister and my love for  a friend should also be called exaggerations,
for the true and pure form they exist in.

Dear Facebook, I Am Not An Addict..

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Dear Facebook,

Sorry to disappoint you, I am not addicted to you. I am addicted to expressing my concerns and criticisms, sometimes topped with mild sarcasm.

yours tell_me_more_uses_about_facebookly,
me.

.

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Tweet me at @sankarajayanth.

Humans And Other Animals – Haiku #46

Written for Three Worded Wednesday
prompts : Dampen, Keep, Tremble
i chose to write in Haiku .

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once clouds grew angry;
roared and fired thunders of rage;
shrill trembles shook earth.

oceans nearby sang,
a similar song; harsh rains,
dampened rich harvests.

all treated equal;
humans, other animals;
nature keeps records.

hints look harsh;
put trust in nature;
our mother.

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Mother’s Day, Just Another Day

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Click the image for high resolution, my blog template doesn’t allow larger images than this on the post.

Click the image for high resolution, my blog template doesn’t allow larger images than this on the post.

The Scarlet Bond

crimson bushes conjure spells;
hold me tender is their call;

spell bound;
reckless hands get the scarlet wrath;
tender hands get the scarlet fragrance;

i would say;
you could be a little more cautious (in life);
is the message you try to teach.

where from did you learn this art;
of filling heart;
with black and white;
in equal parts;

you spill black, when i finally am settling in the too bright white;
you paint white, when i eventually start seeing solace in the dark black;
why these unbearable swings of torment;
why not paint me scarlet once and for all;
so that,
i fly away with white wings,
into the black void,
breaking bond with the scarlet forever.

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This poem is written for One Single Impression. The prompt for the week is ‘crimson’.

Grace, Then Void – Haiku #44

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eyes meet swift;
turning away brisk;
grace, then void.

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grace, then void;
millionth of tick;
heart beats skip.

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hear beats skip;
words wrestle inside;
“goodbye, love”.

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Submitted at Haiku My Heart.

Heart Traps Light – Haiku #43

Shadowy Heart

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heart traps light;
contours no measure;
shadowy wings.

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This is a post for Shadow Shot Sunday 2

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