The Poetry Marathon

Hey, kid! Your mum and I are best friends
We used to talk about you a lot
She loved you even before you were here
telling me stories of what games she’ll play with you

I told her, I’ll teach your kid guitar
every kid needs a musical instrument
for when you need to vent your anger
because your mum said no to a party you wanna go

I told her, I’ll be the cool uncle
every kid needs a cool uncle to chill with
when your mum is tired and can’t play
to give her company and keep you entertained

I told her, I’ll be the amazing uncle
while she’ll be disciplining you
We can go on rides and play the guitar
sneaking from your house

You’re a really lucky kid, you know
Your mum is really really smart
and although, not the greatest at picking friends
she made an amazing choice – me

I told her that you and I will surprise her
In ways and times she wouldn’t expect
I told her that you’ll become an awesome kid
and no matter how old you grow, you’ll still be a kid to me

–Surya T

It was time, I could feel the chill in my bones
Death was approaching near
my time to say goodbye is here

It floated towards me, the mystical being of death
It was not like the depictions of the grim reaper
No scythe, no black dress, no skeleton behind the hood
Just a hoodie and the face was covered

“Shall we proceed?” it asked me, with a voice familiar
“Proceed where?” I asked. The voice was feminine
It took off the hoodie and my wife’s face appeared
“We are to leave the land of the living” came the reply

“You are still alive. I can see you crying beside me”
“Yes” the voice replied, “This is just a form”
“Why her?” I asked, “Why my wife?”
“Why not the regular grim reaper?”

“Because death is a misunderstood concept
The grim reaper is a scary sight, isn’t it?
I cannot take you scared to a place that is sacred
So, I take the form that comforts you”

That’s when I noticed how she looked
A grey hoodie with random letters scrambled on it
and navy blue pajamas with a fake Nike logo
my wife’s favorite clothes to laze around in

“What is this place we are going to?” I asked
“You shall see for I cannot describe it in full
Centuries of visiting it and I’m still not sure
Each to their own experience, I’m told”

“Are you death?” I asked her
She nodded in affirmative. “Are you scared?”
“I don’t feel anything. Not scared, not happy either”
“That’s good” she replied. “Helps when you reach the gates”

“What’s after this life on Earth?” I asked
“It’s an experience you need to experience for yourself”
She conjured a staff from the air and handed it to me
“I think you’ll find this useful”

“You said it’s a sacred place” I asked her
“Yes. Isn’t birth, rebirth and death sacred themselves?”
“I never thought of it that way” I confessed
“Yes, that is a misguided opinion among humans”

“Why is there a grim reaper then?”
“Isn’t that something you should ask another human?”
“Maybe they told you when they found out”
“The ones who see me do not live to tell the tale”

She smiled at me as she extended her hand
“Take it, our journey is long” she said
“I shall listen to the stories of your life”
“Okay” I replied, taking her hand and pulling myself up

I saw my body, now a corpse, lying on the bed
“That’s how I looked, you know” I pointed to her
I smiled a half-broken smile as my body went further
“My time here is really up, isn’t it?” I said

“Yes. It is” she replied, seeing my head hung
“But a new adventure awaits you”
I managed to keep my smile and took my first step
“I’ve been waiting so long to listen to your story” she said.

-Surya T

Can we get some sense of sanity?
The world seems to be breaking apart
Am I the only sane one?
Did everyone give up?
What has happened here?
Am I insane?
Anyone?
No one?
Damn!

–Surya T

The storefront was crowding
The market watchlist was in full boom
Despite it being a cafe, it was filled with traders
Trying to make a quick buck for a small move

I gaze upon them from behind the counter
To catch a glimpse of the things they do
Market, Bitcoin, Crypto, trading, cloud services
These are the only words in their vocabulary

Beat the market, this is the only goal they have
Beat the market, even if it is just 1%
Moving large amounts of money in transactions
Just for a change of one ten-thousandth

Their goals are in the sky
Making a ton of money is their only goal
A 2% return one day puts them on cloud 9
even though the next month is entirely losses

Beat the market, this is the only thing they know
They aren’t skilled at anything else
Even if they are given $100 to count the floors in a skyscraper
They’ll end up not even reaching to 1

Spread your skillset, trading isn’t enough
You wait for luck to move the needle
Your knowledge is almost nothing
and you are incompetent

Work hard, there’s no other alternative
beating the market happens after that
first learn to work on your ownself
Then start capitalizing on others’

–Surya T

Sankranti, the harvest festival of India, is celebrated in Mid-January. It has many names across the country but the purpose is the same. It is the time of harvest and each state has its own set of customs and traditions through which it celebrates this festival.

Mid-January, before the schools officially reopen
all the kids run into the yard
with broken wooden chairs and newspapers
to put in the Bhogi fire

The fire that cleanses the useless items
and reduces the deadwood in the home
A time to add new joy into our life
and celebrate the cleansing process

Winter is halfway done
in a few more weeks, it shall be flowers and sun
the world’s cold melts a little
and warmth spreads across

The sun is turning
and the kites are high up in the air
sky filled with many different patterns and colors
and the streets filled children’s excitement

It’s time for the harvest
and the arrival of Haridas
It’s time for the harvest
and the cleansing of our own lives

-Surya T

This too shall pass
it feels as if it wouldn’t
but that’s just temporary and momentary
This too shall pass
It may feel daunting, sad, and stressful
It may feel happy, elated, and blissful
everything has an end date
everything must die
there is nothing in this universe
that doesn’t face the eventual death
timely, or untimely
This too shall pass
Focus on the thing that matters
You’ll go a long way further
when you realize the power in 4 words
“This too shall pass”

-Surya T

Book – The Immortals of Meluha by Amish

[Spoiler Warning]

Running from the daily violence
in the snow-clad mountains to the North
Arriving in a land that is conflicted today
To find a secret legend and himself

Neelkanth, the one with the blue throat
suddenly finds himself at the altar
standing among gods of the past
and being treated like one everywhere

Embarrassed at a title undeserving
covering his neck in the name of religion
he travels to the capital to meet the king
and meets the lady of his life instead

“A dire evil threatens the Land of Meluha”, the king says
“The systems are perfect and the country in order”, Shiva replies
“You’re the only one to root out evil”, the king says
“Where the hell is evil here?”, Shiva wonders

He dances for Sati, the love of his life
After saving her from an attack in a village
He touches her hand to show a dance pose
When she’s aghast at the fate that might befall upon him

“Get a Shudhikaran done”, Sati exclaims, running away
“What the hell?” Shiva thinks, and gets it done anyway
“Vikarma’s touch is poison and can cause bad fate”
Shiva’s aghast at the superstition that still goes on

“Maybe this is evil” he wonders
But the world has another answer for him
“The Chandravanshis and the Nagas together”, the king proclaims
“They are our enemies”, Shiva decides

He meets the scientist and learns the secret
the fountain of youth and the formulation method
He meets a brother in Brihaspati
one who doesn’t devote his life because of a blue throat

Sati’s the princess, he later finds out
Sati’s husband died and child was stillborn
Sati’s life is extraordinarily honorable
Despite the ills that has befallen her

The Vasudevs appear across temples
Never revealing who they are until the end
“We are to help you, Mahadev”, they answer
While they give him the answers to questions he struggles with

The king announces the arrival of the Mahadev
he is paraded across the kingdom
A blind vikarma veteran shows up in one
and Shiva gets his blessings

Everyone is aghast at what the Mahadev has done
“Past life is not a reason to discriminate one”, he says
“I need to change this law and I will do it”, he proclaims
“Are you doing it for Sati, Mahadev?” a Vasudev asks him

Society needs balance and flexibility
The vikarma might destroy the world because of rage
hence the past life sins as a counterweight
to restore balance to society

“It is still wrong and I’ll change it” Shiva says
“Here’s where you sign, my lord”, the king replies
“The law is hereby banished” he says
“No Vikarma shall be discriminated against”

He wins Sati’s love, after giving her what she wants
Respect from the people she cares about
The union is announced eventually
and the couple tie the knot in a grand celebration

Brihaspati leaves for some work early
Despite Shiva’s pleas to stay for one more day
Shiva is woken up mid-sleep the next day
Brihaspati’s lab is being attacked

Brihaspati’s lab is attacked by soldiers
led by a Naga, the deformed and cursed ones
Shiva vows to avenge his brother
Even if his own soul is corrupted in the process

Shiva sends a message of war to Chandravanshis
A “NO” from them angers him even more
A war must be waged, he decides
And thus, he proceeds to Swadweep, the capital of the enemy

“You can direct the war from the viewing platform” the king says
“I belong to the battlefield and not the sidelines” Shiva says
He rushes into battle to kill the enemy
Leaving a pregnant Sati in the care of the doctor

“Har Har Mahadev” he yells a war chant
All of us are Gods
“Har Har Mahadev” the army repeats the chant
All of us are Gods

The war is won and the royalty imprisoned
The enemy king sees the Mahadev and is aghast
The princess comes and claims their Mahadev is yet to arrive
That’s when the truth dawns on him

The two kingdoms were enemies but not evil
Evil resides somewhere else, not here
“In a clouded state, I have killed innocents
What have I done?” Shiva cries

“You aren’t the first one to do so” a Vasudev pandit says
“You won’t be the last one too”
“But you realized it soon and now, your question begins”
“What is evil and where can you find it?”

“Your quest just started, my friend” the Vasudev pandit says
“We are here to help you on the way”
“But the path is yours to walk alone
and so is the responsibility of finding the truth”

–Surya T

“Come home” my dad told me
It wasn’t a request, it was a command
Within an hour, I was at home
Don’t think this would’ve been possible before

“Take care of mum while I’m away”
He said as he packed his bags
He was going on a trip he couldn’t say no to
And he was worried for his wife

Before the parasite changed the world
My mom would’ve been left alone
She can take care of herself
But my dad still worries for her

Today it is possible for him to worry less
The virus changed all of this
It wrecked lives and ruined plans
But it brought families closer

Normality in the days of old
consisted of the freedom of going out
living a life for the sake of Instagram likes
while secretly wishing for being left alone

Normality today is entirely different
While Instagram likes still exist for some reason
priorities have shifted for many among us
family time and me time became a must

Normality is often overrated
When people say I wish things were back
I hope they are not talking about being too busy
or the countless hours wasted in the commute

Normality is often overrated
When people say I wish things were back
I hope they are not talking about being unhealthy
due to not taking care of where our hands’ve been

Normality is often overrated
When people say I wish things were back
I hope they are talking about offline classes
and the memories made in a classroom

Normality is entirely destroyed
Online classes sucking the energy from students
No will to study or to learn anything
but just be a token for attendance

The new normal is different
Companies now find more time to work
Than engage in pointless meetings
Or micromanaging supervisors

The new normal is different
Students form bonds over the internet
Not fully open, neither fully reserved
But no real, deep connections made

Do I love the new normal?
It’s a hard question to answer
Well, who am I kidding – not really
But this is a normal that I am finding good stuff in

Soon, it will change and maybe even drastically
But it will be a change coming unexpectedly
Adaptation is the only way forward
For I cannot fight with the cycle of time

–Surya T

Shoes tied and socks pulled up
It was time for the early morning ritual
The sun was yet to make its appearance
There’s a long way to go before it does

Balance is key to the ritual
Too fast and I’ll break something
Too slow and no stimulation
Just the right amount of speed is important

The snores synced up to unison
breathing in… breathing out…
The birds and the bees slept in their nests
breathing in… breathing out…

The outside called to me
Strava’s reminders pushed me to take a step
And another step, and another step
Until I finished the goal I set for myself

Balance is key to the ritual
Too fast and I’ll definitely lose breath
Even without going out of the gate
The ritual will fail

Balance is key to the ritual
Too slow and it’ll take forever
to reach the goal I set for myself
The ritual will fail again

“You can do this” I reassured myself
“You can really do this” I reassured myself
Shoes tied and socks pulled up
I am ready to take on the day

–Surya T

“Come here” my friend called for me
pointing towards a box, covered with dirt
Dated 50 years ago, the box was
Still looked strong, not decomposed

We pulled the box out, it was heavy
“Does this contain rocks?” my friend asked me
“I hope not” I replied
The box was really heavy

We opened the box, it was unlocked
Inside were things that I couldn’t recognize
I never saw them in real life
Except for in pictures of history

There was an envelope inside
dated 50 years ago
it addressed to no one in particular
and from a Tommy boy

There was a picture, black and white
“Before going off to war” it read behind
“That is Tommy Boy” I told my friend
“Maybe 50 years ago, before the war”

A bullet, engraved with Tommy’s name
A medal of honor, awarded to him
Letters he wrote to a girl he liked
and a letter he wrote to us, the box openers

I opened the envelope and unfolded the paper
“Tommy boy to the future” it opened
“Tommy boy to the future” it started off the letter
My respect for this person went up immediately

“Time is the great undoer, children” it read
Even those who defeated Hitler can’t defeat it
“Time kills even the best of us”
“Make the best of this life”

“This box contains recordings of my life”
“Years and years spent in the war
to spend just days with the one I loved”
“May that not be your fate”

“Each day I spent in war, I thought of her
Her face, her words, her memories consumed me
Find someone like that in your life
To be entirely consumed with”

“Time is the great undoer, my children”
“I do not remember all the worries I had as a kid
I only remember the memories I made
and the fun I had making those”

“You get only one life
Live a life full of love, joy, and wonder
What’s the point in a life that’s not?
We get only one life to live, eh?”

My afternoon became packed now
Unpacking can wait, these stories needed attention
I shall give them what they seek
For I do not know the adventure I’m going to go on

–Surya T