Demons and Beasts

The demons stand towering over others
The regalia, the pomp, the arrogance of power
The ones who have partaken the wolf's milk
The forbidding look for those not of their ilk

In a spherical habitat, no boundaries, no permanence
They for sure defined their physical dominance
They made borders in all known directions
But that was the least of their machinations

And the beasts, they struggled for life with all their grit
However, they failed to see, the bottomless pit
Having walls of glass they could not scrape
Trapped they were, with no escape

They huffed and puffed and they did shove
These wretched creatures devoid of love
Snapping and growling to just declare
This is my territory watch out, beware

But obesience was never lost
The demons had planned this heavy cost
The beast would fight but always bow
Facing fear, their eyes would forever be low

The beast would grunt and they would bray
But before the concept they would pray
Thinking this alone will bring salvation
Not knowing, the concept was a virtual creation

The unseen, the unknown always creates fear
Keep ignorance alive, keep everyone in terror
The creator of fear holds all the keys
Let the beasts keep snarling, as the demons enjoy peace

Surronding themselves with menacing warriors
They create a cocoon of meritorius barriers
No beast could reach the demons so far
If any beast tried, they raised the bar

But yes, the clouds, they are clearing
The sun breaks free bright and shining
The strong looking statues look in a haze
As they melt and crumble in knowledge's gaze

The pipes used by the demons to suck the beasts' blood
Sent down info which soon became a flood
Armed with this brilliance, using all tact
The beasts looked up to see the fact

The demon was a mere caricature full of fear
Empty, powerless was what he called holy and dear
The beast had a difficult climb full of pain
Reading, knowing led to an inch of gain

They looked at the glass walls and what did they see
They were not beasts but innocents like you and me
The demons gazed in horror as the holy fell
Fragile false creators who could not even yell

The demons shot aiming low
The so called beasts deflected the blow
Twas a losing battle as is every fight 
No one wins however the might

The weapon of knowledge is the best one yet
It shows the futility of the lost bet
Life has to win, peace has to reign
That way humanity, not its creation, will gain

The saviours have arrived

The cynic in me is growing old
It is weak now, once it was so bold
The shrug of the shoulder, the helpless emotion
That smirk on the face, indicating my negation

The nostalgic look, of faraway times
Nothing is right, living has become a crime
Life it seems has gone from bad to worse
Living and moving as if under a curse

The stupid pride, see I know best
It was I who topped every test
What do you youngsters know about anything
Gone are the days, when I was the king

The daily news, full of misery and gore
Creating chasms, fighting and lure
Gladiators of both sides doing their ops
Blood dripping from their lips, they lick their chops

Then one day suddenly on me it dawned
As the sun came up shining in the morn
I saw them running with heavy perspiration
I was thrilled to see, this was a new generation

Not the oversized slobs I dreaded to see
But younger and much more fit and yes, free
They inspired confidence, rather than create despair
To be wonderstruck, the world has to prepare

Now here was something which spelled hope 
I felt my cynicism appearing like a joke
Wired and yet unwired, these rascals were
By Angstrom level devices, powered everywhere

Knowledge made them into sharp lancers
They knew from where to source all the answers
Gone are the days when the teacher taught
The only fountain from whom info was sought

My pride in my knowledge did get hurt
As they searched and gave replies curt
Faster than what my mind could recover
Faster than my own recalling power

That's unfair I did say then
For this much info I collected in ten
What takes you just a second to hunt
Took me hardwork of over a month

You're stupid, to meself I said
What good is knowledge if it cant be spread
Oh how great life has become
Kids are solving the mighty sum

The clouds they are clearing
Illumination is heavily bearing
Upon the unchanging unjust lords
Who have used others in the name of gods

I see the toddlers walking 
Barefoot towards the hall of learning 
Emaciated, hungry, in the run down construction
They share with dogs, as they swallow the concoction

A smile replaces what earlier was grim
My face explodes in a toothy grin
Soon my child very soon
Technology will take you to the moon

I am needed, yes indeed I am
Why like a fool I was so glum
Who else but me in this minefield of quarks
To guide these bright little twinkling sparks

Creating creators

Truth is never proved
For once proved it becomes a fact
Facts are outcomes of satisfaction
Of our Pentasensory perception

Waves they dance on different tunes
Some we observe and some we control
What makes our thinking ah so very blurred
Is that most are beyond our sensory world

Humans strive to convert everything
To comprehension which makes us comfortable
The quest is unending my friend
Yet we all try to buck the trend

We reach what we think is the ultimate truth
Only to realise that its only an illusion
We make rock solid idols dressed in finest livery
To see them shattered with every new discovery

Is there nothing which is our anchor
If everything moves how can we be steady
Forever and ever we seek stability
Cursing the drunkard for his disability

We create creators in our image
Bestowing powers as we perceive
Some harsh and some so loving a spectre
We bow before them and give them the sceptre

Our fear of the unknown, this gripping fear
We make creators who love us and are dear
Even if unwanted we put them in our locker
We say he loves us what otherwise we'd call a stalker

Illusions mere illusions these are my friend
You are the creator of all you survey
You not only created what you can perceive
But also that which your senses cant receive

Reverse order

Life passes through phases three
We move from joy to stress to an absence of glee
Is the journey in reverse I ask
Is becoming unhappy our only task?

Happily we begin with nothing at hand
Then accumulate sorrow feeling so grand
We strive and struggle and never relax
To move foolishly towards a sad climax

Should we not move from sorrow to joy
Why should we move towards a life sans a toy
Are we travelling faster than light
That events have reversed with all their might

Remember its not by taking or giving
Rather the joy in merely doing
Do things about which you have a passion
Not because its just a fashion

Touching others heart is just a start
Essential is to touch your own heart
Reverse the order my friend, do not fret
There is a chance and enough time as yet

Child's Play

Eyes wide in wonder
I gazed at the toys
Nose pressed on the show window
Jeeps, Tanks, Guns wow

His eyes were also wide in awe
As he saw the men in fatigues
The swiftness of their moves
As they combed his village

The Jeep with the Star on the bonnet
My tiny hands holding the dinky toy
It moved on the shop counter
As I stood on my toes driving it up and down

His mother clutched him tightly
No sound to be made, she said
Why cant I see mom, the big Tanks, the Jeeps
He was full of rage as he thought

I collected them
The fighters, the frigates, the missiles
Mine was the largest collection
In the entire colony

He couldnt have the small toys
But he saw the real ones
The guns were real, the tanks fired
The guys shot would actually die

I still love them
For they make me feel strong
Even though imaginary, I cant deny
The power of it all

His mother lay motionless
As he gazed in horror
The wonderful tank had fired
Silencing her forever

Oh the games we play
The vile shenanigans of our cunning
Selling these toys to both sides
After making them fight

He clutched at her body
Staring emptily at the blood and entrails
As we entered the Mall
To spend our hard earned blood money

Who Rules?

Who rules the world?
The hand that rocks the cradle?
The hand that holds the purse strings?
The one that holds the sceptre or the one that weilds the pen?

The question begets another
What pray do you mean by rule?
The power over others isn't it?
The glee one feels when the puppets dance

The desire to break free
The wish to fly
Unshackle the manacles
And just be myself

The grim reality
The sad realisation
That however much I try
I can never be free

Life depends on breath and food
It depends on give and take
My freedom surely is when I can take more than I give
So I need power, which will make it happen

So my wish to rule
To ride roughshod over others
To see them cringe
To see them bow

And yet freedom looms far away
The lure of the siren drives me crazy
Salivating, I run after the crown
I totter as if in spirits I drown

The summit yes it is in sight
Just that last heave and all is mine
Tarry a while what do I see
The summit eludes for it was supine

All along I was in the flat
The mirage of the challenge was just a trap
I try to see through the haze
So many like me trapped in the maze

Undecided to laugh or to have rage
I look around if anyone saw my chase
The fox going after his tail
In endless circles, efforts doomed to fail

So the conquest is like old wine
The more you drink, the more you shine
But it is mere drunken stupor
This chase for the elusive power

The chase was bad
For there was nothing to be had
Yet it was fun while it lasted
Even though it was all futile

So who rules the world, tell me my friend
The jester for he makes me smile
He hides his wickedness behind his jokes
And makes me dance in quests of the new

The jester, yes the jester sir
He makes you believe what he says is true
He plants those memes that make you think
Needless beliefs that make your head shrink

Freedom comes when you learn to give
Simply because you love yourself true
Chase not power, thinking it makes you secure
For security like power, is always within you

Two Kings

He sat on the tusker high above everyone
Gazing at all below him
He had heard of the challenger
The conqueror of the world they called him

He too sat above others
On a throne withered by time
The days of glory fading away
At the mercy of the invader white

The tusker paused beside the river
The rider surveyed the field
Across he saw the tents with pennants
Soldiers sharpening their swords

They rushed to him, seeking his lead
The gap they made had to be widened
He was frail, he was weak
Why did you rebel, was all he said

They made contact at the break of dawn
Macedonians thrust from the left flank
They stiffened seeing Tuskers for the first time
The Indian element of surprise

He lost the war before he began
For in his mind he had already lost
A poet at heart he loved pathos
Not the crown that he was forced to wear

The tides turned, the tuskers fled
Soon all was lost, as soldiers bled
The king was caught, shackled and tied
Stood proudly as all his nobles cried

His sons slaughtered, his kingdom lost
He was banished to a land he had only heard of
They took him on a cart on a painful journey
One from which he would never return

The conquerer looked long at the monarch
Taken aback at his steadfast gaze
His words rang clear in his mind
I am a king so treat me as one

He sat down hunched over by age
Wrote those lines which are remembered even now
Oh my misfortune that
Even two yards I was denied in my land

Two kings both mighty
One looked at the bright the other at the dark
One lost and really lost
One lost but actually won

Among Roman ruins

Look at the arena said he

The Romans had an auditorium here

Lovely plays, music, theater

All the visages of a glorius culture

But they soon got bored

Sick of their life of plenty

They turned this into an arena

To get their high on blood and gore

Gladiators replaced the actors

The drama became lifelike

The crowds roared in delight

Men and beast were slain alike

The decadence was a sign

For soon the empire fell

All the glory, all the pomp

Reduced to rubble, a worthless pile

I felt the pulse beating

I heard them baying for blood

I saw them show their thumbs down

A sign which said kill kill kill

As I turn the page of my daily dose

I hear them baying for blood

Every day a new villain is shown

For the crowds to tear apart

Is it a sign, an ominous one, that

Our auditoria have also become arenas

We seek to see blood spilt

Where once we had quiet ballerinas

Off with his head said the queen of hearts

Off with his head we all say

This one is dead, all bloody and mangled

Tomorrow we need another prey

The time has come to introspect

Reduce our speed and quietly reflect

Forgiveness has to replace revenge

For we need peace, not violence to survive

Security Check

We shuffle slowly in the endless queue
A horde of cattle waiting for our turn
Hawk like eyes look up and down
Am I the one who could slash and burn

My small possessions, my little memories
The hazy pair of glasses, the bits of paper
My fingers touch, as I seek to hide
The dull photo, the smell of laughter

I reach the altar
Slowly with utmost care
Touching the memories of the past
I lay them bare

They peep inside, their eyes wary
Glancing at whatever I proffer
Stern disapproval writ large
Their faces reminding me of lucipher

Why oh why do they have to strip me
Who is responsible for this mess
My toes dig into the ground
As they leer at my nakedness

Vile serpent you
I suffer 'cause of your offer
Your one action, only one
Has condemned me to always suffer

You came upon the scene unseen
You killed without the slightest remorse
Devoid of feelings that we call human
You were not just cruel, but an animal force

The pain, the cries have now subsided
Time can heal they always say
But what about the ignominy of being a suspect
That I have to suffer every day

Humour it

The playful pranks
The naughty tricks
The hide and seek
The fight and weep

The serious look
The world in peril
Worries writ all over
The face of the saviour

The pitter patter of feet
Running all over the place
The hiding of pieces
When the jar hits the floor

The stiffness of thoughts
The upright gait
The benevolent gaze
You look so mighty my friend

The innocent eyes
The forgiving nature
The holding of fingers
Revealing the trust

The harshness of decisions
The sceptre of punishment
The hardening of nature
Partaking the nectar of revenge

Friends everywhere ne'er seen a foe
Fights if any are just for a moment or so
Soon all is forgotten
As in its world, all is easily forgiven

They are both in you
Just look a little deep
Down the road you've travelled
Near a milestone you see it weep

Rush back and hold it
Play with the child within
Appreciate and Humour it
Fret not, for it shall forgive

Marching Ants

Standing on my balcony
I see the station behind bars
Multitudes emerge like ants every day
Each one cuffed and chained

Faceless faces they all look alike
Frowning, concerned, lost in thought
They rush by silently
Shifting, shuffling, all in a hurry

What do they think
Why do they worry
What is the hurry
I wonder if they really know

They march on like soldiers
As if to face a fight
Indoctrinated by words of passion
Decimating the fellow being

Just to uphold thoughts
They maim and kill their own
The wizard controls their lives
By turning the knob of fear

The answer he propounds
Is in upholding the law
Imprison all those who tresspass
Freedom lies in slavery

Some bow, some bend
Some pay obesience by prostrating
Be obliged, stay obliged
For your life is not yours, you are not you

They make you feel secure
These thoughts that they sell
The cost is very small
That useless thing you call freedom

Ashoka my dear, where art thou
What happened to the rule of Dhamma
Which entailed the enlightenment of individuals
The rule of law just entails their imprisonment.

You spread wisdom and knowledge
To take place of darkness and fear
Fear which makes us greedy and corrupt
Fear which creates doom

The focus has shifted to groups
The individual face is now faceless
Identities are lost in the storm of duties
The wizard laughs as we all toil

We have become alchemists of yore
Mining metals and turning them into gold
Extracting till the last drop
The blood of our mother

Accumulate, accumulate he yells
There is no tomorrow
Smiling benignly on those who say fun is sin
Work is preferable to humanly pursuits

We shrink from a touch
Cocooned in our shells
Love is now mobile
Soon babies will be made virtually