Das Leben ist schön!

This one was part of German class (level D3 at Max Planck) wherein we had a poem template and some lines to fill in. Let’s see how creative we can be with a limited vocabulary!

Das Leben ist schön
Es geht mir gut.

Warum?
Ganz einfach.

Es geht mir gut,
weil die Volgeln singen
weil das Wetter schön ist, die Bäume grün sind und der Himmel blau ist,
weil alle Leute tanzen,
weil in der Nacht tausend Sternen scheinen,
weil nichts sehr wichtig ist.
Und morgen?
Morgen werde ich sicherlich wieder tausend Gründe finden, warum das Leben schön ist!

The Haunted House

I do not understand them
Why they ostracize my home
The house that I live in
And been living for quite sometime

Friends I have few (But who has friends in the city anyways?!)
Was a loner as long as I can recollect
All day I sit on my desk and scribble
At nights on life I retrospect

They called the house haunted
This very house that I live in
(Maybe they saw the cobwebs in the basement
Little realising the art within!)
I do not hear them, let alone see
The spirits that supposedly reside with me

But one night on the attic while I was scribbling
A story about a lonely writer
I heard a slight sound – a knock
Of the door closing, creaking tighter

I climbed down the stairs
Carefully tip-toed
Saw a woman in a white gown
Blonde locks hanging down
Yes, she has to be the one
The ghost at last I found!

Terrified at first, I was stuck in painless silence
Unending, unforgiving, my feet were numb
Crouched on the stairs, heart in mouth, knowing not
Whether to run, or scream aloud!

Then came a second knock
Who could it be now?
It’s been long since I had a visitor
Were there more of them now?

The saintly spirit answered the door
And in came a man from the other world
Together they seemed to smilingly whisper
“There is no-one, we are alone…”

Shocked out of my wits
My life was at stake
Moving back I stumbled on the vase
A shattering sound it did make

They shrieked, and shouted “Who’s there?”
And that was when I rose up in fright
The woman screamed, the man grabbed her
They both bolted out of sight

As they ran, Jon cried out loud
And Matilda nodded in too
“What they said was true, my dear
…what they said was true!”

Love is in the air!

There was a hill far away
On top of which a meadow lay
A lonesome flower bloomed at sight
Toughodil was her name
Amidst strong winds and pouring rain at night
She shone like a handsome jewel, bright

There was a happy honey-bee
From where he came, no one could see
He sung his worries away all day
They called him little Wanderbee
Seeing things, going places
With buzzing wings and endless glee

It was early spring one day
Wanderbee flew up the hill
Rested in the shade of Toughodil
Her fragrance was so enticing
Her honey was so sweet!
All day long with great relish he passed
When he was set to leave she said:
“Do you remember my name, Wander bee??..
I told you last time you came..”
“I do not remember anything..
not even this taste of honey
but may I know your name please
if you so persist?”

“‘Tis Toughodil, from far away hill
I hope you come again..”

Like the hearts of joyous souls ring
Like the happiness ocean tides bring
Love is in the air they sing
Love is in the air ~ ~ ~

And it was soon summer
And Toughodil’s shade still softer
Out of the worldly worries
Away from the heat
Wanderbee closed his eyes
While smiling in his dreams.
When he was set to leave she said:
“Do you remember my name, Wander bee??..
I told you last time you came..”
“I do not remember anything..
not even this taste of honey
but may I know your name please
if you so persist?”

“‘Tis Toughodil, from far away hill
I hope you come again..”

Suddenly there was autumn
Leaves started to fade
But Toughodil as tough can be
Continued to bloom away
As Wanderbee entered his safe refuge
Her honey was life, her fragrance hope
Thought he, no matter what time of the year
I could live in this place forever!
When it was time to leave she said:
“Do you remember my name, Wander bee??..
I told you last time you came..”
“I do not remember anything..
not even this taste of honey
but may I know your name please
if you so persist?”

“‘Tis Toughodil, from far away hill
I hope you come again..”

All this time, every day
Wanderbee in his comfy home
Thought about Toughodil
To his fellow bee-friends
he narrated his story:
“There is a flower on far away hill
Goes by the name of Toughodil
Her sight is like a hallowed angel
Her taste a fountain of life!
For ages I have loved her
But am too scared to confess
I do not know how she feels for me
What if I lose all I have!”

Like the hearts of joyous souls ring
Like the happiness ocean tides bring
Love is in the air they sing
Love is in the air ~ ~ ~

And along came the torrid winter
Animals ran here and there for shelter
Everything was white and on snowy hold
And Wanderbee was freezing cold
In his way up far away hill

There he was shocked in nothingness
Toughodil seemed not as tough anymore
Faded and colourless she lied
The cold was too strong for her might!
There was no fragrance anymore
The honey had dried!
Wanderbee could not believe his life
Had taken quite a turn
Feeble and weak he lied on the snow
And closed his eyes again
The wind seemed to whisper
He understood what it meant:

“You do not remember my name, Wander bee..
Though I told you last time you came..
There is something else which I needed to say
But it is now too late

I adored your little flapping wings
The simple songs you sung
Your smile (while you slept) was everything to me
Your love, I longed for so long!”

Wanderbee now smiled as he faded
Being buried in snow he slowly said:
“Death took you away dear Toughodil
I was late, I was wrong in my ways
But there is something which I can do (even now)
I’ll lie here and wait for you..

My love.. I’ll lie here and wait for y-o-u…”

Like the hearts of joyous souls ring
Like the happiness ocean tides bring
Love is in the air they sing
Love is in the air ~ ~ ~

My Life!

This one was written in the workspace one night.. it was half past midnight and I was alone.. actually I wasn’t alone.. Raj was there, but he was sleeping (on three chairs), snoring away, so, technically I was alone. There was perfect silence. And no opponent to play Tekken with 😦 Anyways it was half past 12 and the canteen normally closes at 2. I had one and a half hour to kill… hence the poem.

—————————————————————-

I was born a hard metal
I was a sight to behold
They flattened, twisted and curved me up
Till my skin shined like gold
My head was sharp
My body slim
Maybe they put all their sweat
While carefully all my edges trim
In admiration they saw me rise
I could see my destiny in their eyes

I am a happy little soul
I am glad that I am here
The world seems so beautiful
Forever at all the sights I could stare

I slid down the tunnels
And rolled on the corrugated sheets
Life seemed to move so fast
But now I had company
Of other happy souls like me
They did not talk, nor did they smile
Maybe they were plain emotionless
Or maybe just too shy
But deep inside I somehow knew
They were glad to be here too

I am a happy little soul
I have found others like me
I guess we all share a purpose
To live up to our destiny

Once out of the factory
I travelled far and wide to distant places
Some of us, rusted and broken, named ‘invalid’ and dead
Ended up being discarded
Slowly the truth dawned on me
That the world had place for only the fittest
And I was proud to be amongst the best,
Being a part of the chosen few
Having no color, no race, no religion
Just the faith to do what was due

I am a happy little soul
Grown up, been lucky too
By air, water and land I travelled
To know what I needed to do..

It was long before we stopped
When me and my friends saw light
Sold to strangers who looked down on us
Dropped us down to the ground from a height
We rolled, here and there, amidst thousands of us
It was a congregation of happy souls!
All shapes and sizes these people bought
Picked up, stuffed into barrel holes
To stay tight and firm, we fought
My heart pounded, my mind had a thought
“This is the time (for so long) I sought!”

I am a happy little soul
Finally I found my chance for fame
In a strange smoky barrel
Kalashnikov was its name

As I waited patiently
Time seemed like eternity
Constant sounds of blasts and screams
And trickling blood
Filled the same air I breathe
“The world is not as happy as I thought..”
The dreams shattered, the aura gone!
Suddenly I hoped, not knowing why
Scared for the first time in my life
I wished I had.. never came by

I am a confused little soul
Scared of the truth which hurts
I wish life was faster now
I don’t want this pain to last!

And ‘Boom’ it did sound!
I flew out of the small hole
Making my way through thickets and trees
Breathless, blind and bold
In exact silence I sped through
Stopped for a moment before rushing in
Slipped through blood and to a standstill
Finally realizing my true purpose
The meaning of my existence!
Piercing a human heart, shot from a gun..
I lay dumb and motionless, shocked at what I had done

I am a sad little soul
Lived my life, served my time
All my pride was for nothing
My purpose – to kill a child!

Shameful of my creation, guilt is all I gain
I wish to run away, to be burnt, and never felt again..

—————————————————————-

Friends!

This poem by Sudipta always managed to put a smile on my face 🙂 And being the great poet that he is (leading newspapers recognise his talent too!) it’s always nice to see encouraging words, asking me to keep writing, I’m also posting the one I wrote for him. This one’s dedicated to all my friends who have been with me sharing the good and bad times life has to offer, and made living all the more worthwhile.. Thanks a lot!

I know your secrets and you know mine
When you need me, I’ll help you anytime

And if you agree to never fight,
It wouldn’t matter who’s wrong or right

If a broken heart needs a mend,
I’ll be right there until the end.

If your cheeks are wet from drops of tears,
don’t worry and let go of your fears

Together here we go again,
We’ll be friends until the end

——————–

And I drifted away in thy words,
If only I could find the meaning,
Uncountable poems thou wrote,
Accounted for ceaseless yearning..

Intelligence always thou hath,
Emotions largely concealed,
But then as I discovered deep,
Romance oozed from words thy wield!

And when in troubled times,
I sought for the comfort of a friend;
Thy shoulder was there to lean on,
The most priceless thing one could lend..

Amongst thy passions lie the vehicle,
And technicality remains thy forte,
Does make one seem to wonder..
How does one man do them all?!

In our motherland we are all proud of,
But idleness grapples it’s sons;
Atleast there’s one light still shining..
SKG is the beacon for the dunce!!!

Joi Aai Axom!!

A Face In The Dark

This was one story which had always enthralled me as a kid, to put it into poetry wasn’t that difficult. I hope it still preserves a part of Ruskin Bond’s magic with storytelling 🙂

I was a teacher in a small town
I was kind and giving
Spent my time with simple children
Teaching virtue and truthful living
“Always believe what is seen by your eyes
Or heard by your own ears
‘Cause a rumour spreads faster than light
And confusion is all it smears..”

Villagers there were many
Part of a superstitious lot
No matter what reasoning provided
Fear still lurked in their hearts
The children simple beings they were
Feared the paranormal too
Scared of the graveyard that lied on the outskirts
Made a point to avoid that route
That led right through to school
And was haunted by spirits and ghouls

One day the sun went down sooner
And it had grown quite dark
I had to walk my way back home
All the way down the long path
But there was this route through the graveyard
That was ‘haunted’ yet was short
Ghosts and spirits are all in our minds
Thinking to myself I laughed
While starting to walk that path
Firmly my beliefs I held.

As it grew spookier
Strange sounds seemed to howl
In the darkness lurking shadows
Seem to move and prowl
My heart was pumping hard
A strange feeling surrounded the air
As if someone’s creeping up from behind
Or was it just my mind?
Daringly I walked on
Every step in two minds I took,
Hoping to find my way, with limbs that shook
Telling myself every moment
Not once behind must I look

Suddenly a voice was heard
It grew distinct slowly
A voice seemed to wince
And seemed to weep
It was a girl behind a tree
Face hidden in her knees
An enormous pain seemed to shroud her
Knowing not what it was
I walked right upto her and asked
“What happened, little girl?”

She would not lift her head up for me
No matter how I persist
At length when I bended down to see
A horrifying sight awaited me
There was no face
No eyes, no nose, no lips
A face as blank and pale
As a sheet of paper
Gleaming in the moonlight
Staring fixedly at me..

I took to my heels
As fast as I could
I let my legs run free
In disbelief of what I’d seen

Everything was hazy to me
As I was running out of breath
A glimmer of light came as hope
At the deep end of the road I could see
Someone holding a lantern low
As I neared and stopped to breathe
The man came close to be
“What happened Sir, how come you’re here?”
He inquired in a tone of strange monotony

I huffed and puffed and cried out loud
“There’s a girl without a face..”
“She had no eyes, no nose nor lips..”
“She ought to be a ghost..!”
Calmed down the chowkidar at my story
And came closer still
Held up the lantern high enough
And said these words slowly
“Do you mean it was like this…. Sir?”
And I stared in disbelief
A man without a face.. again
Seemed smiling straight at me..

A gutsy stroke of wind came down
Someone heard a shout
As silence took over everything
And blew the lantern out…

— Adapted from Ruskin Bond’s short story by the same name.