The Poetry Marathon

The watchtower had stood the test of time
Kingdoms had disappeared, resolves had crumbled
But the tower stood, tall and proud
Looking its nose down upon time itself
The old man screwed up his eyes, sheilding them
From the sun that shone like a ripe red fruit
He smiled and with a tight resolve, he took the path to the mountains
The pathway was now coarse, with overgrown brambles and rock-strewn
His rheumatic knee hobbled along painfully
Hie eyes watered as sharp-edged rocks rammed into his shoes
And tore his flesh but he bravely marched on, smiling
Even when the wind slapped across his face
At last he was on top of the mountain; the watchtower suddenly in front of him
Eyes smarting with emotion, ignoring the incumbent pain in his limbs,
He limped towards it, touching the structure with reverence
Kissing the high walls that had been blessed with the blood of the martyred soldies, eons ago
His father had been one of them; he had resolved to come here one day
It had taken very long but he had kept his word
“Babuji, Vande Mataram!” And the hills echoed his voice mingled with theirs
Heaving a contented sigh, he lay down on the ground and closed his eyes…

He was a magnificent creature, the son of Typhon and Echidna
His mammoth heads inspired awe and fear alike
He was the dreaded monster, known as the Lernean Hydra
His abode was the seas, he ruled with great elan
And ravaged the inhabitants and livestock of Lerna
And, when they tried to retaliate and him behead,
Out sprouted from his wounds, two more heads, even more terrible, even more vicious
His boon of one immortal head, only further fanned his ego and arrogance
But the two heroes, Heracles and Iolaus orchestrated his doom
And buried his immortal head under a heavy rock
It still lies there, a testimony to how the mighty fall
The gigantic monster could have been ruling the worlds,
If only he had discerned; power is synonymous with responsibility…

When after tireless months of constant wailing
And diaper changes and anxiety over every burp, every gurgle, every hiccup,
Your baby’s large eyes, one day, display a bout of recognition
And that darling face widens in to a smile for the first time,
It is a moment of joy, frozen into factals of time…

Life seems purposeless
Like a rudderless ship,
I am pushed around in this vast ocean of life
I feel like a masochist, self-inflicting pain
I seem to have been caught
In a never-ending cycle of pain and misery
When I can end it all in one stroke, liberate myself
Set myself free forever
Why then should I live?

Hear one, hear all, listen to my tale of woe
I’m a vivacious 12-year old, with a wolf’s appetite
But alas! I have lactose intolerance
All my favourite things that I lust after
Are not meant for me, I eat them only in my dreams
O! For chocolate boats loaded with M n M’s and delectable chocolates
Bobbing along a river of thick viscous chocolate
I wish to dunk in, swish-swoosh, the river bathes me
In its chocolaty essence
The melted chocolates play a dance of sin on my tongue
I close my eyes and open my mouth, the rainbow above
Empties into my mouth, milkshakes of every colour, every flavour
This is bliss; I wish this never ends
Duh! It was only a dream
And without complaining, I cheerfully gobble up my oats milk and granola
This is the real deal, afterall, eh?!

Originating from the Southern belt of India,
This is the tale of pungappa Chetty
A young, astute businessman
Who loved his wife to death
And vowed they would always stay together
She too loved him with an unrivalled passion
Every evening, when he returned home tired
After the day’s toil, served him tasty treats
One day, a peddler with a magical voice and funny eyes
Coaxed her to buy a truckload of fresh delectable dates
When he returned that eve, she greeted him with a hug pot of dates
Her eyes shone with anticipation
He opened the lid but O horror!
Out jumped a battalion of smartly dressed soldiers, instead of the dates
Beat him up black and blue, discarded him to the ground and disappeared
Seething with indignant anger, Pungappa Chetty threw her out, accusing her of black magic
Cursing her fate, how everything changed in one night,
Dragged herself to become a light- bearer in marriage functions
Fate had other plans; a pining and slightly regretful Chetty
Met her in a friend’s function but to him was unrecognizable
As she gave him light, the darkness fled, he felt warm
” Who are you?” He whispered
And she in a sing-song voice narrated her story of woe
Chetty sprang up, touching her feet, begging for apology
Embracing her, he declared his undying love
Promised never to be irascible and irrational ever again
She smiled through her tears, shyly basking in his warmth
And thus ends this tale that silently shares the secret of conjugal bliss;
Trust, togetherness and accepting you were wrong!

Good-bad, joy-sorrow ; the eternal twin opposites
Two sides of the same coin, conjoined by fate
Are the four wheels of your life-chakra
Interspersing together, emulating each other, outdoing the other
But can never wishone other away
I have been well- prepared to receive anything they decide to bestow upon me
And yet, when tragedy struck, it hit me like a thousand thunderbolts…
Bad times; eveything went wrong in the worst possible way
From riches to rags, from a huge family to being abandoned alone on the streets,
This series of misfortunes seemed to be never-ending
And then came true the saying,”This too shall pass”
Be it joy or sorrow and the dark clouds made way
For rainbow joys and star – studded dreams
What good does come out of bad, you ask?
I will say it’s wisdom to realize everything is transitionary
And to learn who are the real well-wishers
And to stay put; have faith in the matrix of time
Winter be replaced by spring soon enough…

I do not believe in god; then Corona visited home
Claimed my most precious gem; my little one with her golden smile
I now became that tree, that lived even after lightning struck
But no longer bore leaves or fruits; just a souless living dead
Her angelic face oft floats upto me, in my sleep
I wake up, screaming; was she real or just a waking dream?
And then one day, when the sky shone like sun-ripened hay,
I joined a gathering, a prayer group, hoping to run away from her, her memories…
The chanting, the meditation and their kindness
Created electricity in my body that sent shockwaves all over me
Renewing and breathing new life into the broken tree
I meet them every day; we gather under the temple’s sacred peepal tree
Every time, I close my eyes and chant, “Om”,
A life- force breezes through me; I see her face
Prancing and laughing; I am no longer distressed
Realised she will always be a part of me, in another dimension
The tempest is over; the birds have flown home
There is forever peace all around…

L et go of expectations
A llow your heart to rule
U under the colourful vanilla sky
G o on; wear what you like, be what you wish
H air, you let it down, babes
T he world will stop and take notice
E ngage in everything that will gladden and lighten your heart, so
R ise, be yourself, let your lips curve to burst forth into a cacophanous melody…

Out of the womb of the earth,
He trickled out, once a glorious serpent; a terror to his enemies
His skin, now sallow, limp, barely covering his existence
Dragged himself painfully, a dull thudding on the ground

A curious monkey up a tree, chanced upon him,
“O serpent, how did they beat you?
Did your poison run out?”
Or did your courage?”
And the monkey thumped his tail on the ground
Grinning from ear to ear, mocking him whose end was near
The serpent, his yellow eyes filled with ire
His large angry head went side to side,
He sat up straight, his full length
Almost reaching the quaking primate up the tree
His fangs looked like the god of death; the monkey said his last prayers
For that one moment, the serpent glistened; his once glorious self
The next, he crashed to the ground, with a tired smile,
” Go, insensible monkey, I have chosen to nevermore kill
I have embraced ahimsa
This is my penance for killing so many
innocents
I will die soon, so I can really live…!”
The monkey bowed down in shame,” Guruji,
I will follow in your footsteps…”