poetry

Happy New Year to the Working Class

2012-01-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

If revenge was what we are after
There is not enough blood left
In the phlegmatic veins of the capitalist class
To shed for all their historic crimes

Against my blood brothers and sisters
Who die in their killing fields
Lose limbs in their factories
And finger nails in their torture chambers

No Sir!

If revenge was what we are after
There are not enough heads to roll
Not enough nails to pull
Nor ribs to crack

Ask the 19 year old girl who pines for
The soldier they killed
As clear as if they held the trigger
Puppeteers of history with the shaking fingers

That shake so much that their
Predatory Drones scatter its repugnant seed
The shrapnel on my shoulder is
'A particle of fate of mankind'

Now, my brothers harken!
The rich pigs that pull these strings
Do so with many a helping hand
What is their biggest weapon - it is not them Drones!

No Sir!

The standing of reality on its head
And feeding it to us, through their organs
Of deception - now that is their Method
Far worse than their violence

If not for their Great Papers like the New York Times
Why, we would not think that the Rich is entitled
To keep stealin' killin' and maimin'
While we be grinnin' and compainin'

No Sir!

The young shoots of a new future
Are being prepared on this scorched Earth
They prepare it - and we harvest it
And that is how this road will run

If revenge was what we were after
The outpouring of love, empathy and humility
That our working class possess would surely
Prove a hindrance

To the road that history opens for us
'Here - here take it, own it' - she sings, whispers and sometimes Screams!
Did you hear her in Egypt, Tunisia and perhaps in Wisconsin?
Louder than the empty tin cans of the Capitalist Press!

Happy X'Mas to the Working Class

2011-12-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

Happy X'Mas to us - the Working Class

To the sales girl at the liquor store
Who will lose her job to the Retail Giant - Costco
And the homeless man with the dog
I see at the corner of 108th and the gas station

Happy X'Mas to you all
That make all these goods for us
The little trinkets going on the tree
And the wrapping paper

Happy X'Mas in the name of Jesus
And that of a lesser known - Frank Little
That the rich overlords dragged through town
And lynched in August of 1917

The man in the drab grey shorts
Rushing harried from door to FedEx truck
So that the rich can add Half a Billion
To their over-stretched bank books

The woman pushing the cart of half-eaten food
Struggling against the load and trying to
Prevent brushing against the fine clothes
of Ladies and Gentlemen at the Bellagio

The girl at the checkout counter at Safeway
Who stands on her feet all day
With no rest, and few breaks
But a ready smile to all she sees

To the man who watched as his fellow worker
Got entangled in wires on a ladder
And got fired to a crisp - causing a momentary break
In the profit machine, that unrelenting beast

And you at Verizon who struck, for a better life
And have that scab run trucks over your foot
While your fat cat union heads "reached a compromise"
To you too, my brother, a Happy X'Mas

The grunts at Microsoft, Google and Amazon
Stooped over terminals, wracking their brains on
How to make Billions of dollars more for the rich
Who then demand more - how to deal with this?

And to the man in the Appalachian coal mines
Who pays with his three L's : Lungs, Limbs and Life
So the bourgeoise can have Heat and Security
And add another lock to their gate

The soldier who is forced to
Hold a gun against his own class
That weeps for one who took his own life
Happy X'Mas to you too

X'Mas is made by you - the poor, the starved, the virtuous and Godly
And enjoyed by the Ungodly, filthy, bloated Scum aka the 1 percent
That measure their ill-gotten time on this Bloody Earth
By bare seconds, let them have their cake - for now.

Oil In the Dessert

2011-04-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

The man paces the expansive hall
Patent leather shoes on plush carpet
Scotch on the rocks lieing untouched
On the dark mahogany desk

He reaches for the phone
And instructions to move a Billion
coins of gold is sent
Like a speeding bullet

Across the continent
And it hits, finding its mark
And death rains on the villagers
As they scatter in the dessert

Under its scorched ground
Gurgling, whispering flows this Oil
That the bullet is supposed to uproot
into the bank books

Of New Yorkers and Londoners that pace
Those stately rooms with the marble halls
And lush carpet and deep soft couches
Where you sink in and disappear

And swoon in debauchery
From too much and an inability to
Keep it for yourself
Having to entrust it all

To scum bag executives
And sleazy accountants
The disloyal rotting lot who would
As likely cut your throat

If they could
If the mob would come
And help expropriate
The expropriators

Silence

2011-04-02T00:31:00.000-07:00

A squeal of tyres
Loud and angry honking
Curses
Mixing with the latest music
From a record bar

Scraping chairs
Clattering of plates and dishes
Piled high on the waiter's arms
The drum beat of the Kottu

The weary souls burdened
By mounting hardship
Spoke spearingly
In silence.

The Rich Man's World

2010-09-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

The whispers of the tired, wafts in the cold breeze of September
In the violence of the twin towers crashing home below
As the dust bowl of 2001 spreads across the sky line of the rich
And the white workers with blackened faces dig out the rubble

Somewhere in a secret prison beats the heart of a man
Considered an enemy of civilization that championed the waterboard
He lies accountable for the rich man's folly, a system of rot
As the steel boot of capital breaks open his jaw

In the oval offices of Washington DC, there speaks the learned
Those who make the laws and methods that subject the working class
To the glorious dignities of labor - if they are so chosen
As the owners of society relax in the sunny beaches of conquered natives

A little Palestinian girl is shot straying into the fire zone
Seventeen times and pronounced dead, murderers acquitted of all charges
Combat troops withdraw from Iraq, nothing changes in policies on ground
Drones bleed the life out of poverty in Afghanistan

In the streets of America, in the metro bus, in the trains and store-fronts
People wait, muted, talking shop, talking rubbish to pass the time
While in the background sounds menacingly - the "steel of our ship"
The boots of the armed fascists with machetes and kalashnikovs

A young man, fresh out of college scans the "jobs" section of the paper
That tabloid of dis-information that he still has to consult
To find his value - if it exists - as measured in the market of sweat
Or blood, as he finds in the full page ad to "Join The Army"

2009-12-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

A few words spoken
Out of a million
Ages ago
has stuck in memory lane

A look, a certain tone of voice
A question, a doubt
A cautious venture
Into uncertanity

The loss, what was missed
In those million words
And the few that stuck
Haunt me as I see

The landscape of my child hood
changed with the passing time
Even unchanged things look vague
As time exacts its price
Where progress missed.

2009-12-05T01:17:00.000-08:00

I glance up at the night sky
And see the millions of jewels
In the sky, vieing for their place
Twinkling in the grand expanse
Of the milky way

A galaxy of maidens
Rooted in time, their dance muted
But still captivating us
Drawing us in, our questioning minds
That wonder what stopped their dance

My mind wanders
To bath-sheba, to the north point
In that Carribean island of idle
Youth savored on
Rum, tequila with salt
Gazing up at the night sky
As we traced the contours of nightingales
With the Atlantic rushing in our ears

Laughter, at the Ship-in
Alison Hinds and Square One
The first night club I saw on the beach
The waves, the rocks, the puddles
Long nights and short days

A moment wrenched
From history
Treasured, savored, remembered
For eternity..

The Bourgeoise

2009-11-21T17:58:00.000-08:00

I traveled to the edge
of the world
peered beyond
to a place that glistened and sparkled
with the finest of wares

and as i jumped
and the sparkling lace
wound around my limbs
damming my fall

the sharp edges of diamonds
cutting my skin
past hungry children
and women who sold
all they held dear

they reached for me
and the sparkling chains
i recoiled in shock
trying to scramble up
the chute of wonders

American Pie parody to reflect the Health care crisis

2009-09-24T10:46:00.001-07:00

Long long time ago
I still remember
How those stories used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make my mama dance
And may be she'd be happy for a while

But September gives me shivers
In every speech he delivers
Bad news on Capitol Hill
I couldn't read one more bill

I can't remember if I cried
When I really saw his dark side
Something touched me deep inside
The day health care died

So bye, bye Hope and Change oh my
Cast my vote at the booth but t'was all a big lie
Chicago boys drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this will be the day that you die
This will be the day that you die

Do you remember waiting in that line
With no insurance, you got that fine
If Cigna tells you so?
Do you believe in the corporate role
Can profits save your mortal soul
I've no more to give after all they stole

I knew they worked you to the bone
In the night I heard you softly moan
But you never really let me on
Always smiling when you woke me up at dawn

I was a lonely kid trying to make a buck
Cos my mama, she died on that pick-up truck
And I knew I was out of luck
The day healthcare died

I started singing... Bye bye Hope and Change oh my
Cast my vote at the booth but t'was all a big lie
Chicago boys drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this will be the day that you die
This will be the day that you die

Now for eight years we got nothing but pain
And we waited for some healing rain
But that's not how it came to be...
When the House caved in to Wall Street
Homes lay rotting on Main Street
Bail outs for some, pink slips for you an me...

And while the left lay beaten down
The right wing took their thorny crown
The Congress was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And while Moore read a book of Marx
The House knocked that right out of the park
The homeless shivered in the dark
The day health care died

And we were singing... Bye bye Hope and Change oh my
Cast my vote at the booth but t'was all a big lie
Chicago boys drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this will be the day that you die
This will be the day that you die

Cuts to Medicare won't pass muster
Unmanned drones better take shelter
Was high on hope now falling fast
Politics as usual, it's come to pass
Voters protesting in a mass
Cops with batons from a distant past

Post-election air was sweet perfume
While the bankers played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance!
'Cos the voters tried to take the field
And the corporations refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day health care died

And there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
No time left to start again
So Barack be nimble, Barack be quick
Don't go for that half-way fix
Those are lies you won't ever mend

Oh, as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No statesman born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night
Teddy looked down upon our plight
Rush Limbaugh was shrieking in delight
The day health care died

He was singing... Bye bye Hope and Change oh my
Cast my vote at the booth but t'was all a big lie
Chicago boys drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this will be the day that you die
This will be the day that you die

I met a girl who lost her sight
Thanks in part to the insurer's might
She smiled and sent me on my way...
I hobbled along to the old drug store
An armed guard stopped me at the door
Asked me if I had insurance, if I could pay...

In the iphone, the apps got banned
Single Payer - not on this land
But not a word was spoken, People's will was broken
And the three men I admire the most
Marx, Engels and Trotsky's Ghost
They took the last train to the coast
The day healthcare died

Our hands are gentle (to the tune of Victor Jara by Christy Moore)

2009-08-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

Lay down your burden for a while
And join me as I sing
Play your flute made of bamboo sticks
With calloused hands, join in

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

Machinist, with great skill and strength
Make me a drum so fine
Let us beat on it with our bare hands
And make this metal shine

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

Let us walk the long roads we all built
Confront our economists
Ask them to explain all their lies
Without raising our fists

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

A journalist writes to the New York Times
Says the world will be all right
We play a song on his revered name
Say 'No' with all our might

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

As a thousand voices rise and ebb
Singing songs of our own
We see the politicians tremble and snigger
In their rightful sniveling tone

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

As we open closed factories
And make what people need
And seize the ships that take this food
To a million mouths to feed

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

Our hands are gentle
Our hands are strong

Faceless Foe

2009-07-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

I battle this faceless foe
All pervasive and virtually invisible
I'm a blind man swimming
Among a million jelly fish

An insidious foe that limits my choice
Of food to a hot dog, of philosophy to poverty
But screams from its ideological roof tops
As to how it increases the same

Within the belly of the beast
I play my violin, wrapped in bloody rags
To mute its pitch, but not its base
Come join me with your flute

Let us play a muted tune
Compensating for the rags, by our bloodied fingers
Building up this song to a crescendo so mighty
A million chords joined in united pain and hope

As the beast turns its ugly head - finds the orchestra within it
And hence roars its impotent sighs - joining in the chorus
As we shed our rags - healing hands playing, the beast dancing
Victory at last at the end of our struggles - Rejoice, we are one!

Shame

2009-07-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

The streaks of red on the evening sky after sun-set
Wrap thy long fingers around the body of the child
Lieing with the broken bodies of collateral damage
And save him from the drones, cluster bombs and humanitarian aid

The low flying geese with silvery wings
Take word from the child to the woman waiting
Behind the barbed wire fence and lift those
Clouds of despair off a fast aging face

The sun that dissolves it's fiery red
In the vast expanse of dark waters
As you rise on the side of the world that rejoice
Pray, tell them of this other half, dissolve our tears in their wine

The clouds that fly low, with your burden of tears
From the agony of people who have lost all hope
Come down and shower the economists, journalists and politicians
Wash away their shame and the lies they speak

all is well with the world i leave

2009-06-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

I run up the steep cliff and look down in awe
at the panorama of twinkling lights on
dark blue waters of the bay, and the muted sounds
of the waves

my breath catches and the heart - it stops
for a moment all is well with the world
i inhale the sweet aroma of the night
of the city and its people - and their daily struggles

coloring the night and its many forms
touching the edge of the wave caressing the sands
painting it milky white with the tears
of a working mom that denies its new-born

adding music to the still night air
the sighs of the receding waves that speak
of the pain of the jobless, and the homeless
as they wait - hoping for that change

scenting the breeze with lavender
from the bosom of a woman forced upon
down the dark under-belly where the unspeakable
stays hidden from view of the unwary

as i track down the path of fresh grass
and home closes in every minute
i leave the city behind, and again
all is well with the world i leave

Losing roots

2009-05-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

I fondly trace the curved shapes
Letters and punctuations flashing across
The YouTube screen
Memories ache for lost roots

The musical notes of yesterday
engulf me in low pitched misery
Carrying me to a place that is lost
To me as well as to you -

You who live with a physical ache
a numbing hopelessness as the
senseless mob rises around you
like the circling vultures

As the axe comes down
Another notch, another number
On the capitalist machine
Grinding away on its senseless way

Paradise Lost

2009-05-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

He touched the sand and noted the coppery
Hue on his palm, and called it 'Thambapanni'
The 'land of the copper sands'
Many moons ago, a prince from the North

A land ruled by a queen it was
With people who lived in the forest
The foreign prince took the queen's hand
And tiny foot-steps soon ran
On that copper colored sand

Boredom in a paradise of peace
Unnatural to the prince of conquest
It was a blessing when the ships came
With men from the North and a princess so regal

The queen banished to the forest
Tiny feet retraced their foot steps
On the sand that would be colored
in red, from that curse many moons ago

And today, the boots of the capitalist
Scrunches skulls and bone
On that blood-soaked sand as he ponders
how to resurrect paradise

It is just a tape

2009-04-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

(I wrote this after watching David Lynch's Mulholland Drive - the scene from club Silencio)

"It is just a tape"
screams he the orchestrator
the puppeteer
the know-it-all
deriding. mocking.

both the producer
and the consumer

the capitalist that expropriates
slave labor
and the slave oh the slave...

she sings
oh she sings
standing on unsteady legs
a used up wretch
but oh the beauty

those haunting eyes
the mascara of spilled blood
that voice, deep and resonant
not from a tape
as you tell me
your deepest pains
as you're dragged through
the contraption
of that puppeteer's tape...

that knowledge

slides into me
like a knife slices butter (note: simile from Arundati Roy's God of Small Things)
as you fall you fall
and the music - the tape
looses all its allure

i weep silently
it is just a tape...

Justice

2009-04-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

The sunlight glinted off the silver arc
Blinding my blue yes speckled with red
As I gazed at the snow-capped mountains
That gazed back with a serenity divine

At the market place of chatter and screams
Laughter, little boys pointing and grinning
At the silver arcs swishing
Adding a refrain to the rustle of the
Early morning breeze

Women hoisting children up on shoulders
Scantily clad with torn and mended garb
Willing the young to witness this moment
Of truth and justice bleeding into the wind

As I wiped the red off my eyes
For no avail as ten feet in front
They were hacking my brother to death

They wanted a Name

2009-04-25T01:39:00.000-07:00

How much is a name worth?
In silver, gold and the lost ruble
In the view of a blue sky
And the smell of fresh earth?

They wanted a name
A name, any name actually
A name that would travel
Across the Atlantic

From blood stained paper
To halls of power
Lined with walls of marble
Sculpted by slave labor

A reduction to a mere statistic
In this war against a nameless foe
That Name
A security to one with much to spare
From one with none

With dignity stripped to the bare flesh
And reality torn to mere shreds
Whose tattered lips now utter

Listen...

A Name
That will securitize me
Like a Collateral Debt Obligation

Screaming

2009-04-17T00:52:00.001-07:00

I hear the screams of the children
Their bare feet thundering
Galloping horses inside my head
Pressing my hands against my ears
Willing it to stop

Make the children go away
To the land where they are free
Oh, Pied Piper come save them
Kill those rats that roam inside my head
Giving form to memories best forgotten

Make the footsteps tinkle
With anklets gifted by
The Fairy God Mother
And their screams be that of joy
Playing sonatas inside my mind...

The Banker and the Machinist

2009-04-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

The banker passed the machinist
At a busy intersection
With faded crossings
And broken asphalt

One in worn denims
The other in custom-tailored suit
One with much to do
One with nothing
Not even a hope

One that made
Real things
You and I could touch
And go 'ah, I see'
One that made things
somehow not so real

And they said it was too hard
For ordinary folks
To see
What that one did

Now that one still
has lots to do
and it is still too hard
for you and me to see

And the other one
walks the streets
with its pot holes
and fading paint
with nothing really
to do

amen...

Art

2009-04-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Words come easy
sometimes
there are days when
the thoughts
raw and gritty

- Like sand
on a bowl of rice -

juxtapose
against each other
jarring the intellect
and loosening
the words within

and sometimes
out of a million shades
of emotion and thought
i cull a few dozen
into my artist's canvass

- I pan for the gold of art
In the incoherent silt of thought -

To fall or not to fall

2009-04-03T14:33:00.001-07:00

I'm one step away
From falling
down this hole
that is way too deep

way too dark
with too many horrors
that is yet unknown

Or is this Alice's rabbit hole
the door to happiness
that i'm guarding
as i justify
the very real horrors
Of my present?

Lost Inncocence

2009-04-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

I remember ....
Drops of water
congealing into ice
around my heart
gripping it like
a red hot vice
on burning metal

Since then
the ice has melted
Leaving me with
an aching dryness
As I try in vain
to recall
Your lost Innocence

To Feel Again

2009-04-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

To feel again
That numbing pain
As you spoke to me
In that measured tone

Calculating
Judging
Scorning
Measuring my pain

Reducing me to
Nothing, yet making me
Everything

To be burned by
the hot coals of
your words
spoken in haste, yet
wise in there ways

To be shrunk
In spirit and hope
In the hard cold stare
Of your beautiful eyes
Of lost innocence

To know that horrible feeling
Of in-determinate states
When one contemplates
Diving off a cliff
Before and After

To feel the shock
Of your pain
As you spoke those words
Spearing my heart

I long for ...

And I pray
For the strength
To take in your pain
And make you free
Ending this tale ...

Memories

2009-03-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Memories come haunt me
Like the cold rays of the winter sun
Leaking through the canopy of time
Leaving cold chills on my aging bones

Memories come haunt me
Like lightning on scorched land
Jolting me awake from my stupor
Of barren idleness

Memories come haunt me
Like warm water on the cusp of a wave
Propelling me upwards in spirit
Guiding me backwards in time

Memories come haunt me
Of beautiful words spoken
Of hopes and ideals once cherished
Like snowflakes scattering
over maple leaves

Memories come haunt me
Of youth and anguish
Of immaturity and despair
Of best intentions gone awry
Like the scathing winds
Across desert sands
Re-shaping the contours of life

I am sorry

2009-02-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

I am sorry that you left
without a good bye
Did I hurt you so badly
When all I wanted was
To love you

If so, I'm sorry
I wish things were different
I hope you are happy
and at peace with the past

I often think about you
your innocence, the care
you showed to a stranger
and my eyes mist at the memories

one day i hope you see
what you meant to me
and why you couldn't see it
in an imperfect world

Flies

2009-02-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

Amid the broken bodies
I lie
Water seeping through
mud soaked boots
Blood dripping from
a thousand cuts

Flies buzzing around me
In the fetid heat
Gorging in on the
feast of the dead

Gun fire in the distance
Thunder
Lightning
Screams of the innocent
Gives me the two seconds
I need

To rise
And reach
The soldier
Lighting a cigarette
That drops to the swamp
As the long curved blade
Travels the distance
Exacting a vengeance
From each drop of blood
That is spilled
For a brother killed
And a sister violated
A mother burnt
And a father impaled

Flies, flies everywhere

The snow

2008-12-29T11:29:00.001-08:00

The snow melts slowly
In my back yard
Like the anguish of
Lovers parted

Tear drops falling off
the eves
Off brittle hard icicles
Of broken hearts

Clumps of snow tossed
To the side of the street
By the merciless boots
Of passersby cursing

Angry retorts and
Barbed insults
Reducing love to a painful memory
Severing the bonds that bind
Two people
Like the separated snow balls
That hugged each other
Only last Friday.

The Song

2008-12-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

The song
sang itself
lifting me up
In its many tuned
splendor

The cello breathed
And the wood cried
The fingers snagged on the edge of string
Bleeding life to the wood
Soaring now the pitch
As the drums beat
Inside my head

Millions of memories
Trauma, tragedy, love and despair
Bleeding from my voice
To the song
Now owning it all
With a mind of its own
Commands the orchestra

And we obey...

To Be

2008-11-01T16:30:00.001-07:00

Oh to leave all this behind
to toss it all out
in one fluid moment
Become a vagabond
And be free

How i long for
To smell the earth
the sweat and blood
Of those that die
Every day

Just so the rest
Like me
can live and ponder
philosophize
and write poetry

How i long to
know you
your pain
as you shed your tears
And sweat and go on
Every single day

to hold you
and tell you
I'm sorry

It wasn't that I chose
Any of this for you

Amid my
tears of impotence
Would you believe me
or would you
Hate me more?

Yearning

2008-11-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

There's a spring bubbling
Inside this great black rock
Where a million winds
and waves had left their mark

It gurgles and chortles
Inside the dark and cavernous
Hollow of the
great black rock

Its eagerness unabated
In a million years
Waiting for that moment
When the giant rock
Will part
And let the warm white water
Gush out in streams and rivulets

To wash the faces lovingly of
beautiful maidens
Taking care not to wet
their long black hair
Adorned with the finest petals

To splash joyfully against
The soft supple limbs
Of children
As they dance around
On a beautiful summer day

To quench the thirst
Of a weary traveler
And his horse
Crossing the long roads
And deserts

To be a monument of tranquility
To the monk as he
Calms raging thoughts
And chases daemons

There's a spring
Bubbling inside
A Great Black Rock...

Warmth

2008-11-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hard to find
some warmth
To hear a whispered word
Of comfort
the silence that deadens my soul
screams at me in the night

Uttering vulgar epithets
Barbs of hatred mixed
with the thorns of despair utmost
I am taking a downward plunge

Is it possible the way is there?
To the land of compassion
And love that mends hearts
Is this what it takes to find it?
Is this the path strewn with
the vilest stench of the dead
and the artificial fragrance
they wear
that I must cross?

For how long
must i continue?
When my hate has already turned
To tears of impotence
which is even worse...

Forgiveness

2008-10-27T13:22:00.001-07:00

Long after I'm gone
And you look at my imperfect canvas
Know that the little smudges
And the smears
Were caused by the tears
I could not hold back

When I thought of you
And all you could have had
With the caring of somone more
capable

Know that they were tears of despair
For the lack of courage
To go back to my rapist
And let them plunder anew
My work, my ethics and my character

Know that they were tears
Held back under heavy eye-lids
For countless nights
As I bled into my canvas
As I toiled to make a better world
A better future
For you my love

Know that they were tears
Of doubt, not knowing
If I could impart to you
A life's lesson when I couldn't give you
The foundation of warmth and security
The 'sorcerer's blanket'

Try to find in those imperfections
A heart that failed
But not because it loved you
Any less ...

Casualty

2008-10-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

The glass crinkles into a million pieces
Stretching her face taught
The metal sings as it touches skin
Leaves tiny red roses on white crepe

In a strange time warp, life rewinds
We see her in her white dress
Tending to a child without arms
Who hadn't quite learnt to use them yet

Heavy metal intrudes
Unwelcome guests into the van
Packed with life fleeing from itself
Spares the child, takes his arms

The chopping sound of helicopter blades
The sound of the butcher's knife
Silenced by the wailing below it
Fading amid the animal's screams

She smiles at him as they toast
Through the raised glass
We see her face crinkling
Into a million pieces

Silent Night

2008-10-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

I sail
In these tranquil waters
On my makeshift raft
And watch the white clouds
Chasing the moon

Whose silver light
Catches on my oar
And seeps into the dark-blue waters
Disappearing in a
Splash

That disturbs the fish
Resting below
Over her nest eggs
Of her still un-born
Eager to try their luck
In the murky depths
Of the Great River

Soon, soon
Hurry not
Says the gentle winds
Rustling the bamboo trees
By the river bed

But hurry I must
With sweat pouring down my back
Making the least amount of noise
I am rowing, with bloodied arms
For life
In this beautiful night

Hurry not, little fish
Sleep well.

To Ipek

2008-10-03T15:22:00.001-07:00

I long for your nearness
To share those moments
I go through
Some painful
Some incredibly beautiful

As I forge a life
Away from you
Missing you
Those words of tenderness
When I fall
The encouragement
As I stumble
In this unfamiliar terrain

My heart aches
For you

And when I'm away from
All these children
I love
And I'm with you
Unbelievable happiness
Tenderness
Tears soothed
Aches mended

Though the eyes of the children
Their love and mischief
And all that innocence
Haunts me
Reminding me
Where I belong

War

2008-10-02T22:29:00.001-07:00

As the night is clouded
With hawks in flight
The flock of doves scatter beneath
A wreath of white
Shields the pregnant darkness

A million feathers provide
Ground Cover
As lead rains fall and golden arrows
Poison the sky
Fluffs of white tinged crimson
Fall on her face

Blotting the tears
Caressing the scars
Muting the screams

The silver arc moves
With surgical precision
And yanks life
From Life
A momentary silence is broken
By Laughter

Time

2008-10-01T09:58:00.001-07:00

Time heals all Wounds
They say,
But let it not heal mine
Those wounds that make me
Human

The ones that pierced a heart
And brought out all its old
Wounds
Reminding me of myself
And my journey through
The often barren sands of
Life

Those that make me weep
At a loss of a stranger
That binds me to the plight
Of the girl at Alki beach
With red-rimmed eyes
Staring at the Seattle sky-line
As a hundred passers-by
Jog, run, roller-blade
And walk their dogs

Which in turn reminds me
Of you I saw in the middle
Of a thousand students
In a mass-market tuition class
A look of silent despair
On your beautiful face
Twenty years ago ...

Time, please remind me
Of the beautiful sweet
Humanity
That hides within these
Agonizing Moments
And binds us together
Forever.

The Magic Wand

2008-09-12T09:32:00.001-07:00

In my dream you gave me
A wand
Of magic that if you touched me
With it,
It would take away all my pain
And make me whole

I held your arm and told you
"No" - gently
I asked you to gift me the magic wand
And we would go to the far corners
Of this Earth
Sometimes you were with me
Other times I was alone

And I'd meet people of all shades
And hues
Tall and short, weak and strong
They all had a story
Of hurt and anguish
That lay buried deep
And they let me touch them
With my - your - magic wand
And then they were free

I traveled the distance
To snow capped mountains
Where the Tibetian farmer
Told me his tale of tears
And the arid desert where
I met a mother who lost
Three children in
A War of Gods

With every being I healed
My heart would fill
With such sorrow
And I didn't know where I found
The strength to go on
Specially now as you don't
Accompany me
In these journeys of the heart

I wouldn't touch myself
With the magic wand
Because it would take away
The gift
Of healing and caring
The magic wand
Comes with a curse
And where-ever you may be
I know you know it too.

Response to Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love

2008-09-10T10:29:00.001-07:00

The vein that bleeds in you
Is tied to mine
And I bleed too
Because you are so far away
In your hurt and pain
I find no place

For me

As you're trying to close
Your vein
I feel your pain
And want to touch you
And make it all ok
But I'm afraid
Will I hurt you more
Will I loose myself

[Chorus]
Oh your vein that is open
Is tied to mine
And I'm bleeding too my love
And I feel your pain

I wish I could stop
Your bleeding
Make your love live again
Bring back your smile
Your laughter that I miss
So much

[Chorus]
Oh your vein that is open
Is tied to mine
And I'm bleeding too my love
And I feel your pain

The voices in your head
Keep me away
I can't cut through
The charade
There are just too many
I'm weak, my heart is bleeding

[Chorus]
Oh your vein that is open
Is tied to mine
And I'm bleeding too my love
And I feel your pain

The Heart of Darkness

2008-09-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

From where did you come
And find your way
Into my heart
This darkness?

Like the sludge that washes ashore
And hugs the river-bed
Refusing to let go

Who showed you the way
And what made you find
Your resting place
Inside my heart
This darkness?

Like the black soot
At the bottom of
The heavy iron pan
That my mother used
To boil rice in

What makes you content
That you find
Inside my heart
This darkness?

Like the diesel fumes
Invading my lungs
In the streets of Colombo
Leaving a rasping cough

What is it that I offer to you
so precious that
you will not depart

Like the nightingale
That lost its voice
This darkness?

The Tears

2008-09-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

She cries to him
for him
an ocean of tears
weeping
for his love

He has no tears left
for the ocean
As on his way
from the tops of hills
and arid deserts

He shed his tears
All of it
For a brook
that had run dry
And held no tears
For him

The Distance

2008-09-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

an embrace across vast spaces
separated by oceans
and lands foreign

a warm word uttered
across an impersonal medium
that has no room
for the display of
the finer shades of emotion

a thought that is borne
together
as aching memories
are brought up
and soothed over

over keystrokes typed
backspaces
pauses
emoticons
and so much unknowns

blissfully

a nearness that is felt
defying convention
as hearts reach out
across a jungle of silicon
and fiber optics

I am Home

2008-08-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

i'm running
past buildings and trees
blue berry patches and
giant billboards
living side by side
in relative peace

screeching horns
sound of rubber on asphalt
on the freeway below the ramp
criss-crossing lanes
muting the flapping wings
trivializing the journeys of
seagulls in flight

that carry my pain
to a far away place
the blood of those that died
with me and by me
forming a mist around my eyes
as i reach out to you
your open arms
embracing me

making red patches on your bosom
forgive me

as the mist turns to a river
that finds sanctuary
in your womb of acceptance
where there is no place
for questions

as i close my eyes
with the seagulls still
screeching in my ears
i know
i am home.

The Pain

2008-08-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Let the rain pour down
buckets of water
flowing on the streets
muddied from the soles
of boots
bloodied from the remains
of men on the side of the road

Let this rain pour down
Cleansing the earth and its sinners
Let it bury the sound of agony
Uttered in dark corners
Of earth
in whispers

For fear of reprisal

Let the skies light up
And the lightning bolts strike
the scorched ground
burning the rice crop
And gray hairs
Of the man working the field

Let the howling wind
bring walls of mud
tinged with blood
to strike me with a force
that awakens my spirit

making me free...

I See You

2008-08-27T23:53:00.000-07:00

when i walk out in the rain
against the mist in the mountains
in the shade under the trees
i see you

in the dead heat
as i run the last mile
on the scorched earth
and the hard asphalt
i see you

in the silent night
when the whole world sleeps
and the moon casts its silver sheath
on the green grass
and the wandering owl
i see you

in the waking hours of dawn
with the sound of birds
and the hum of the north wind
and the crescendo building
inside my heart
in a million shades of emotions
that strive to find its place
in each and every one

i see you.

The Trap

2008-08-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

As a thousand cars ebb along the highway

Like digesting pieces of meat

In the belly of a giant serpent

Tapped in my Corolla, I listen to the rain

Tapping on the windshield

With the winter chill

A loneliness accompanies me today

I turn on the volume to shut out the rain

And try to sing along with Kapuge

"Ula Leno", the words haunting

I suddenly realize

like a flash in the overcast sky

That an artist turns her tears into creation

And gifts the tears to someone else

Off the highway, the smaller roads

Are much like tentacles of the same beast

Winding down, taking me away from

its heated underbelly

to my haven, an escape for a few hours

The signs by the road remind me

I shouldn't hurry

The inexorable pull back to the center

is the reality

Enslaving of the mind

Like the migrating salmon who has

no further choice

I must surrender

To the external force transpired

by myself, my mind

The Waiting

2008-08-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

out in the wilderness
you find it in a dark corner
where the jackal creeps
with bloody gaping jaws
and watery eyes

it is battered and it is weak
yet resilient and so strong
as it waits for the light
to come coursing through the
canopy of tress and shrubs so tall
you could not see its top

it waits for the dawn
the day-break and the sound
of bird songs
for rays of light to touch its
bruised veins and heal its wounds
that run so deep

it is your heart
and it is mine too...