Beyond the ages

There they stand unshakable and tall,
Having seen men rise and fall!
Stories told and those untold,
They mutely watched them all unfold!

And after all these eons have passed,
I walk through the same old paths!
I press my ears on the tall red walls,
And peer down the depths of the dark corridors!

I urge them to tell me the forgotten tales,
Of valor, of conspiracy, yet the mystery prevails!
Was that a whisper from centuries beyond?
Was that a wisp of a figure long gone?

As I walk on through the enormous corridors,
The mystery and lore swirl and engulf!
The walls whisper to me their muted secrets,
And the paintings show me a window to the past!

I am torn and let the stories swirl..
I am torn, do I return to today's world?

The Miracle called Taj!

In the labyrinths of a city so warm,
Finally some breeze rises hither;
The colors of brick and mortar left far behind,
The cool green of the trees rushes to welcome!

As we traverse the bushes, down the pebbled path,
The urchins look at us in wonder;
And we at them, for they own this gorgeous place!
Their eyes ask, who are these camera laden nomads,
Trespassing our blissful haven?

And lo behold the miracle in white...
The surroundings have now been forgotten!
There she stands gleaming a creamy hue now..
As the sun gently lights her while it prepares for bed!

My eyes refuse to blink for fear,
lest the vision where to (even momentarily) disappear!
We linger long and cant take our eyes away...
But the night begins to engulf the less trodden paths...

With a sorry heart and a heavy tread..
We slowly turn and leave her there!
For we leave a part of us behind!
But we can rest assured, that when we go back;
she will stand tall and beckon us in her splendor!

The view of Taj from Mehtab Bagh is one that will stay in my mind's eye forever.. it is a must see in Agra.. At dusk this view is so much better and gorgeous than even seeing Taj up close!

Dear Son

(http://www.photoshopnerds.com/)

The day has come much awaited
And amidst the pain I hear your cry
Rising louder as the time goes by
And my heart fills with immeasurable joy!

Crawling along on all fours
There you are on the floor
And as the table looms near
You hold on and rise up without fear
The pride in my eyes shining through
I watch as you take the first step and two.

Oh there you are running in circles
As you talk on, I can almost hear
Your brain going whirr whirr whirr
And then in your hurry to get to me, you fall
And even as I reach out, you rise up again
Brushing off the dust in nonchalance!

No time for me I can see
You are now off chasing your destiny
To rise high up the ladder is your goal
And in this race I am but a blur

Go my boy rise up high, stand up straight
And reach new heights
And as I look on with a heart full of pride
Let me see you conquer your destiny!
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This week's writers island prompt is Rising and Destiny. Read other islanders and their lovely takes on the topic.

My time capsule

For Writers Island prompt Empowered - go here

(pict courtesyhttp://www.cherishedweddingfavors.com)

I carried the step stool, held it close
And stacked it up on the chair
I climbed up on my precarious perch
And into the heights I did reach

To peer into the oblivion of the dark dark loft
And find the treasures of the past untold
As I was rummaging through, Down it fell to the floor
As it lay there open to see, I let out a shriek of glee

There she stood in her innocent beauty,
While he sat the young majesty!
Newly embarking on wedded bliss
Looking at their smile a beat my heart did miss!

And as I turned the pages, there were three
One in her arm and another in his lap
While the third stood there fumbling with his cap!
And still further the family grew and grew
Till there were seven little faces smiling through.

The little faces grew bigger and bigger
And soon there were more little faces to admire
The lady still stood plump and grayed
While the man sat still majestic and frayed.
But their faces were a sight to see
For the happiness shone through oh so brightly.

And then there was one with the same wedded bliss
I was the one who shot it so I remember this!
It was the 60th year of the marital bliss
And there they gathered family and friends amidst.

I fly to see them soon oh so soon.
The lovely couple who I love to bits!!
My grandparents as they walk
into the 68th year hand in hand, heart to heart!!

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The prompt at Sunday Scribblings was time machine.. but decided to paint a time capsule here!

Empowered

Talk of empowered woman today?
But thats no surprise is there.
Here is a woman of yester years
Who was the true liberator

Married at 14 to the King of Jhansi
She was renamed to be known as Lakshmi Bai
The greatest revolutionary that ever was
The bravest queen that she was!

To the courts in London she ran
When her adopted son wouldn't be considered heir (to the throne)
Banned from her kingdom was the ruling
But that did not work to deter!

She assembled an army of men and women
Trained them to fight and win!
And sitting on a horse in all her valor
She led them in a rebellion battle of honor

The personification of empowered women
The start of a big revolution
And when she breathed her last still at war
The words she uttered "Jai Hind!" (Jai Hind means Long live India)

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This week's topic at Writer's Island was Empowered. Today empowered woman are no wonder. But this tale happened in 1857. Rani Lakshmibai as she is called and worshipped now, led the revolution of men and women to fight against the British. All she asked for was the right to rule her kingdom Jhansi! Read more at wikipedia
I know the poem is not very rhythmic as I like poems to be! I think this story is so close to my heart there is no rhyme or rhythm there just the naked truth!!

I live on...

We roamed the world where mammoths tread
The ice age left us undeterred!
We flew around where dinosaurs loomed
And to buzz around their ears we knew no fear!
We went along to the unicorn land,
And as they flew we flew beside...
When Dumbo flew with his big floppy ears
We were there buzzing sing song in the air
We went to the land of the terrible tigers
In the marshy plains of the Sunder bans
And to the land of desert storms
Amidst the tall camels.
We hopped along with the Kangaroos
And did a dance on the elephant backs
We flew across the river Nile
And beyond the Rockies we passed.
Far along the forests of the Amazon
And the colors of Hong Kong
To the land of the ancestors
In the ancient Greek land.
Wonder who I am don't you?
I am your house guest cockroach,
Who torments you every day!
And today I have come here to say...
I have traveled far and beyond,
To places man never tread on!
And as we flew through the ages
Time has traveled on!

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This is in response to Writer's Island prompt Time Travel!
There are more than 4000 species of roaches in the world and it has lived on for the past 320 Million years... They have seen the world like none of us ever have and they live on without evolving .. they are perfect as they are!
{Edited to add.. I feel like I have to apologize for the final let down... many have commented on how after all the beauty comes the revelation of the disgusting cockroach... sorry about that.. but thats the fun of it.. and the twist in the tale!!}

The Treasure

Not so long ago, On a warm and sunny day
My father took me aside and told me a tale
What a tale it was, of a long lost treasure
Listening to it made me tingle with pleasure

He said: In the depth of the forests
Beyond the bushes and the tall trees
Covered in sand, beneath the Pipal (Bodhi) Tree,
Is a treasure chest as shiny as can be
And when the sun sets it shines through the leaves
On the ground where the chest lies beneath.

With a bit of fear and lot of thrill, I set to venture
On a journey to uncover the coveted treasure
I walked beneath bushes and bore the scar(s)
The reptiles lurked but did not (me) deter

I searched far and near, I searched high and low ,
Beneath each rock and below every bough..
Rivulets ran down my face and spine
My back did ache but never did I whine

As dusk set in, I saw the gleam so near
And tripped and fell as I rushed to the clear (ing)
And there I beheld the Giant Pipal Tree
Beneath which the promised treasure would be

I dug with the shovel and with my arms bare
My eyes lighting up at the sight of the chest so dear
I opened in a hurry and was surprised to see
A palm leaf scroll with words wise as can be!

" Things not your own will yield no good, however you guard with pain;
Your own, however you scatter them abroad, will yours remain."
-Thirukural (Chapter 38, Verse 376) (Source - Wikipedia)

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The last couple of lines are that of the famous tamil poet Saint Thiruvaluvar. Tirukural was written 2200 years ago and consists of 1330 couplets divided into 133 chapters. They teach you the philosophy of life.. an attempt at translation has been made on Wikipedia The tamil kurals can be found at Tamilzone
In those days , in India the scribes were recorded on the readily available medium of smoke-treated palm leaves (olai in tamil)
The reference to the Bodhi/Pipal tree is intentional. Buddha got his enlightenment under a Bodhi tree.
This poem (cum short story) is in response to the prompt from Writers Island this week, I had fun writing it... hope you enjoyed reading it!!
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