The Middle is the Toughest Part

- in Milibhagat with Mradul

The dusk falls lightly on the king
and doesn't care for the peasant
perhaps it has always been just that.
only dusk. and nothing that obscures things.

The evening is a mellow time
to kill slowly, savouring the morsels
i want to ask you so much
but i just cant .

My name doesnt mean a thing
and my mind slowly withers away
dreams are strolling on the night beach.
they dont want to be a part of me

The middle is the toughest part
and it doesnt go away easily
why is it that we have to work so hard
for the simplest things

Each creation is meant to break down
deconstructed back to mud and water
perhaps thats why sometimes when we wake up
dying quietly is the only thing that makes sense

The Four Horsemen

Three horsemen at the end of time
Are friends that I have left behind
The fourth horseman rides forth
For other prey and absent friends

The four horsemen at the dawn of time
Herald the beginning of the world
They are thoughts and ideas that don't die
While other horses wait to fly

The four horsemen at the end of time
Ride away in search of glory
They gallop across the universe
And are part of every story

Three horsement I leave behind
They go in their own directions
They ride north, east, and west
The horsemen ride without rest

The four horsemen in the middle
Are friends you can never replace
These horsemen will stay with you
And they'd never change their face

Uneasy Love

in milibhagat with Mradul

Tonight, the mist creeped into my room,

smelling sweetly of dark winter nights.

and i wondered what is it about you,

that makes me want to stop forever.

Tonight, the moon climbs silently up the sky,

and it reminds me of the time that wont return.

of the time that wont be

however i might yearn.

This night if it ends would steal,

all the things i wanted to feel.

All the things that talk to me will stay behind

just like you.

This dawn when it breaks will take,

all my dreams that would never complete.

Why has the night in all its beauty

grown so heartless?

The song that swims uneasily inside,

leaves a destructive path that wakes me.

and i find that nothing has changed,

except. I have a memory more.

The Slowness of Summer

in Milibhagat with Mradul


A warm unforgiving rain falls upon us all
Agitated fingers rest on a crumbling wall
A singular light bulb on the lonely terrace
and a cupboard filled with talking mothballs.

Last year I saw some fireflies in a dream
Pregnant with moonlight
Only an unheeded light bulb knows
The unbearable being-ness of light

Staring at the slowness of summer
And deciphering it's colour
Fingers slowly turn into a fist
And weary feet move subconsciously

Mincing dreams carefully
To accommodate them in paltry pockets
I turn my eyes to the dark sky
And fill them with rain water

The Water Bottle And The Candle In The Darkness

in milibhagat with mradul

for the orange on my table
and the water bottle beside it
for the evening in my head
and no strength to fight it

for the rock song in the dead
and the urgency to ride it
for the candle in the darkness
and no desire to light it

is it about us anymore
or the dreams that went by
is it about the empty street
or no reason left to die

is it about the muddy river
and the kites above that fly
is it about sleepless eyes
and no tears left to dry

Departure

-Mradul and self

I need life like a ton of bricks
A beggar's bag of magic tricks
Where a simple sigh would suffice
I look forward to a tragic flick

A flick with an orange autumn bridge
Atop a forest, quiet and thick
and watch the birds return again
to the place they sleep, and talk and sit

I'll make a house with leaves and sticks
I never liked the smell of bricks
When I'm needed to move ahead
I'll settle down in the place I pick

In an open field i long to die
Beside some tree and maybe you
wherever i go whatever i do
this is one dream that wont get big

Hope

Trickling from a flower
An early morning rain
A spray of light mist
That makes you live again

The last thing you look for
The last place you see
A long night without rest
To a day that can't be

Sifting through the debris
Promising another chance
Forgotten adventures
A lingering romance

Aim without a target
And gather what you make
Hope is all-conquering
It'll never let you break

The Comedian Soliloquy

He struggled weakly with his opening lines
And smiled as he saw the time pass by
He counted the seconds to take his cue
His counted the audience, they were too few

He told a joke that no one laughed at
He turned to look where that girl had sat
He took a sip from his hip flask
And went on with his thankless task

He searched his pockets for lost papers
And turned to tell another comic caper
He realized he played to an empty hall
His voice reflected by bare walls

He returned home without being paid
He didn't curse or put it to fate
The Comedian for all purposes was broke
He laughed and worked it in a joke

The Last Night Of Nine

-In Milibhagat with Mradul

Where is everyone ?
When I am on the edge of time

Running in circles

Standing at the end of nine

Is it dark or has it always been like this?

Like the promise of a secret kiss

On a big red zeppelin
In a cloud I wouldn't miss

I m going to fly away tomorrow
Somewhere I don't need to go
And then come back here
Where the grass still grows

The pink reservoir is leaking
And I haven't planned an escape
Are you listening anymore?
Or have you closed your drapes

A Crayon Coloured World

She picks out her favourite blue dress
And the pink that goes on her nails
Leaves a half-read book on the table
And a collection of unread mail

The sky is a shade grey to perfection
Green life passes by her window pane
There's a tree dancing in the wind
Rejuvenated after the rain

He flips up a silver coin
On a dusty brown table it lands
He chases ephemeral worlds
The last member of a music band

He picks up a yellow piece of paper
With a tale written in black ink
He had left her a thank you note
And the poem was a tenuous link

She rides into an orange sunset
A night of violet feelings awaits
He closes the door behind him
He is already an year late

He lives in a crayon coloured world
And the outlines are all in a haze
He waits for the end of the present
It's sadly not a passing phase

Temporary Loss

I have no memory of the day that's passed
No recollection of what happened last
Each day floats away in a cloud of dust
As I idle myself in a field of rust

It's a serious flaw for someone like me
Used to living in a memory
Images floating in suspended animation
No more a cause for lost celebration

In the fight between yesterday and tomorrow
Today has lost all its meaning
The past has packed its bags and left
On an invisible wall I am leaning

I have no memory of a moment ago
Time has ceased to become slow
Another year ends full of sorrow
But leaves the hint of a better tomorrow

Transition

The line between sleep and wakefulness
Is the best hallucinogen one can get
It creates a dreary colourful world
In a time of everlasting regret

The disease comes to you for free
And stays until you go away
It hunts until the waking hours
Remorselessly searching for a pray

The value of sleep is often lost
In a world populated with weary men
It's a cost everyone willfully pays
And their eyes are left broken

Anxiously inching towards dawn
Rest comes even to wretched souls
But what of those without a chance
To fill the void, the gaping hole

The memory depends on perception
Too often it cannot work alone
A sight, a smell, a forgotten touch
Ancient pains in creaking bones

And when it partially arrives at last
It doesn't serve to wash the pain
In the world of dazed insomniacs
Only the sleeping man is insane

Brando In The Taxi Scene

I'm the Tiger in Corbett
I'm the greatest song by Jet
I'm Yossarian in mid-flight
I'm the dream in midsummer night
I'm the boat in the Life of Pi
I'm the thief who never lies
I'm the ring in The Lord of The Rings
I'm the sand that the Sandman brings

I'm the sounds of The Edge's guitar
I'm the spy of The Cold War
I'm the owner of Jurassic Park
I'm the fear in Fear of The Dark
I'm Mick Jagger of The Stones
I'm the 'i' in the iPhone
I'm Hoyt in Training Day
I'm the field of human clay

I'm Kumble's ten wicket haul
I'm the fall of the Berlin wall
I'm the answer in the wind
I'm the drummer of the drum of tin
I'm the nose of Midnight's Child
I'm McCandless into the wild
I'm a play by Badal Sircar
I'm the last film by Gulzar

I'm the hare who is late for tea
I'm the old man at the sea
I'm the hand of the Doomsday Clock
I'm the son of The Ghost who walks
I'm the man from bakers street
I'm the ground beneath her feet
I'm Samson without long hair
I'm the coin for the boatman's fare

I'm the Motel run by Bates
I'm the Piper at the gates
I'm Wooster without Jeeves
I'm the Oscar that Hanks received
I'm the boy from Neverland
I'm the first book sold at Strand
I'm the Yellow Submarine
I'm Brando in the taxi scene


PS-I am just picking up from where the guys of Divine Comedy left. The above rhyme can be sung to the tune of Gin Soaked Boy and is heavily inspired/ripped off the same song.

PPS-Prizes for listing down all the cultural references.

The Hotel At The End Of The World

(Dedicated to Douglas Adams and Neil Gaiman)

Stories fly, fashion in the sky
Colours dive, drown your brown eyes
Check out time, luggage's good to go
You don't know, you have to leave soon

Oh, but you have just arrived
Too late

Your dinner's cold, over cooked
And you sold your soul, to a crook
Running fast, make this night last
The world it ends, It depends

On you, but you just arrived
Too late

Explosive rain, it won't come again
Your room is booked, air-conditioning
The guest's are ready, for the end
You turn to leave, to pretend

Oh, but you have just arrived
Too late

Take this ship, crash it in the sun
Take this sand, make your dreams fun
Take this key, cash paid upfront
Take this life, there isn't another one

I know you've just arrived but
Too late

(A Different Perception)

I fast forwarded to a time when i am already great
And it flies away quickly . like a purple butterfly
i am standing under a crisp cotton flyover
and I dream a little dream of you

Amazed to see this is the place i live
Its so silent, i tend to think of myself as a dream
I had thought it more to be a panorama of the sea
I lie on a bed in an otherwise empty room

The river however was a strange hue
The sky,the night, or even just you
Independent of the sky and midnight restlessness
I wished I could hold on to something

I proceeded to walk across it, bare feet
And felt myself sinking in the sand below me
With expensive earphones stuffed into my head
I looked at the shooting stars dancing above

I Say

-In milibhagat with Mradul

I fast forwarded to a time when i am already great
And i am standing under a crisp cotton flyover
Amazed to see this is the place i live
I had thought it more to be a panorama of the sea

The river however was a strange hue
Independent of the sky and midnight restlessness
I proceeded to walk across it, bare feet
With expensive earphones stuffed into my head

I looked at the shooting stars dancing above
And felt myself sinking in the sand below me
I wished I could hold on to something
The sky,the night, or even just you

I lie on a bed in an otherwise empty room
Its so silent, i tend to think of myself as a dream
I dream a little dream of you
And it flies away quickly . like a purple butterfly

Catharsis

S Died a simple death
He has finished the war
He waits for the next step
He has lived for hours

He came to shut the lights
Years after everyone else left
He is the first to go
They did not say goodbye

He thinks he knows it all
All the clothes he's worn
He will live a long life
S is about to be born

Exemplary Students

They took pride in their group
And the things that they did
They were supported by Strange Gods
And their believers made numbers

And most of us mostly condoned
Each act of brutality that they did
Until they crossed all limits
And ironically they still got away

'Oh but learn to look inside
Each one has a heart of Gold
And when they aren't fighting
You wouldn't find a gentler soul'

And even when they were wrong
(They were never wrong)
It must have been the victim's mistake
How dare he challenge their might

I have seen their true faces
And what they are capable of
And the thing that irks me most
The blessed people always get away

Strange Gods

I was the dot outside the circle
Still they gave me a tour of the temple
And I claim some moments of frenzy
When I revered their strange Gods

Each one of them claimed to be different
But they were all amazingly alike
The same expressions, and catch phrases
Even the same walking, talking style

They all took a dip in the fountain
which claimed to make them all different
But when they surfaced they were the same
It was hard to tell them apart

And the God that they prayed to
I confess, I too once was in awe of
And in the end I saw a difference
Their Gods too were humans

I never found anything special
Except perhaps extra-ordinary will
And a desire to be different
I could never join the ilk

I was too much of myself
I couldn't sustain on their Gods
I still tip my hat to them But I
Don't think I would enter the temple

Breaking Point

-In milibhagat with Mradul

I'll learn to drive a car
And drive at 150 per hour
Then I'll crash into a wall
Or over a bridge I would fall

I'll make the night go red
And then count from A to Z
I'll run into your head
And turn it into a brawl

I'll throw away my phone
And everything else that I own
I'll break all my bones
And there will be no one to call

The world will dazzle in my light
Without a cause I'll fight
I'll lay down and die every night
And that would end it all