DISTANCE

A bark in the sea

With no one to guide

Lashed by the waves

Drifting far far away

The bark is not aware

How far it has fared

Nor do the waves care

Which carries it away

When the waves of time

Takes the minds far away

Distance becomes unreal

And our minds become elusive

Maybe a crack can fall in the bark

Only for the waves to surge in

With no guide to seal the crack

I’ve never felt so abandoned

I WAS

The glory lies in stories untold
Behold, when unto you I unfold
A rigid mind in a graceful shell
This is me, Oh Yes! This is me.

I have ruled the world
But I could not rule myself
I am immortal, but I exist
Only in words and a stone

I wandered where I never wanted to be
I fought battles with a blade in my hand
And compassion in my heart
I realized, I had failed to be me

Not a scar was revealed
Though it was too many
All the blood was drained
But not a drop was spilled

I unlearnt the mysterious me
Becoming more of a Queen
I learnt to live as my shadow
But I wanted to die as me

A lost soul with a golden sword
I was. But I never will be.
In a moment of wisdom I realized
I had prayed to a stranger called God

As an immortal spirit I say
Pray to yourself and
Let the divinity in you rise
And perform miracles for yourself

© Achu

My Shadows Bleed

I see a flame far far away
Swaying and playing with the wind
It had so vibrant rays and grace
I felt it was just happy that day

But the dancing flame got me so scared
That moving towards it became a pain
But the beauty of the flame drew me in
Ever so slowly and painfully I closed in

Suddenly the flame steadied and stared
With blinding brightness into my eyes
My shadows bleed and I realize
That’s my soul I was searching for

Was I happy? Was I sad?
Was I angry? Was I touched?
But I was sure I was not scared
For the light shone bright from within me

The source of the light I could not find
And a new journey starts; a new search begins
Now, as I close my eyes I know in my heart
It’s the last light that I will ever see
© Achu

Li'l One

When tears run down her cheeks
She needs a soft hand to wipe it off
A lap to lay down her worries
A smile soaked in love to lift her spirits

Her little shoulders are weary
Carrying the burden of life
Her little hands are scarred
Together with her mind.

Her dreams are shattered
Her soul is burning
She seeks someone, in vain
Who would hush her cries.

Save her soul O’ God,
Give her a childhood
Let her little feet dance in joy
Let her innocent smile light up the world
© Achu

TEARS OF BLOOD
Daddy,
Why is there blood on the streets
What are those scary sounds outside
Who are those strangers in funny dress
Who took mama away

Daddy,
There is smoke outside
And I can’t find my friends
Please take me in your arms
I am feeling so scared.

Daddy,
Please open your eyes
Tell me who they are
Don’t just lie there
As if you don’t care.

Hey soldier,
Listen to her innocent cry
She doesn’t even know what she’s lost
The least you could do to help her
Was to spare a bullet for her too

Hey soldier,
Tell me who you are killing for
Is it to satisfy the thirst of backdoor schemers
Or to satiate the power hungry vultures
You are just a puppet with strings attached

War O’ world, war
Let your children be orphans
Let the humans perish
Let your conscience bleed in anguish
© Achu

The mind is a cemetery. Dreams are buried deep under. Hopes have been burnt to ashes. And I’m afraid what remains also have to die one day an unfulfilled death.
© Achu

Tranquil Flame
Who lit you O’ tranquil flame?
Burning silently, ever so slowly,
Yet so bright and cheerful
Forever fading to eternal glory

It’s the same hand that lit yours, my friend
Protecting you for sometime, with cupped hands
Then leaving you suddenly in the wind and storm,
To light others just like us.

Still the tranquil flame of life
Shines bright shedding light in darkness
But with light comes shadows and
With shadows comes again darkness.

Like the unlucky flower
Which could not fall at His feet,
Like the unfortunate grains of Kumkum
Which could never adorn her forehead

Like the lamp that was never lit
Like the stone deprived of a statue
Like colours which never found a canvas
Like the eyes that missed the beautiful world

Like a tree which could bear no fruits
Like the clouds which never rained
Like the birds which never sang
Like the waves that never touched the sand

I feel I am moving away from my destiny,
For, I see my destiny in your eyes.

So, do you know why you dream? It is God’s way of telling us, “This is where I want you to be. I have made you to do what you have seen in your dreams. Maybe you’ll only get half way through. The rest I’ll pull you through”!

A DIFFERENT BREED

This flower never blooms
Unless on a bed of fire,
On a bush cramped with thorns
Caressed by the strong hands of storm

This flower never stoops
Its stem is strong and hard
Yet see how beautiful it stands
Head held high with dignity of a bard

O’ Lovely flower
Your spirit inspire
To live, to feel the world
To unleash the passion within

Let go the chains that bind
Let go the fears that restrain
Fly high my friend, where
The joy of life fills the heart.
© Achu

Let the spirit be free. Let it roam wild. Let your heart leap into your eyes. And see the difference. Your vision clears from the blur of dogma to that of humanity. When the physique is free, but the mind chained freedom becomes an illusion. Think like a child. Think like a man. Think like a woman. Think like a eunuch. Think like a lion. Think like a rat. Think like an animal. Think like a human. Understand. Empathise. And you’ll burn with the flame of the fire. You’ll swim with the fish in the water. You’ll fly with the bird in the sky. Real Freedom. To think and to do.
© Achu

AN ODE TO ‘YOU’ The flowers of the garden as they see you go by Is ashamed of their beauty. The deer of the wild as she see your eyes Is ashamed off her life. The night as it sees your lustrous hair Is ashamed of its darkness. The stars want to take you down as they see The brightness in your eyes. Tell me how can I stop loving you When you are in front of me, When you are inside of me, When you are in my dreams. The sea is ashamed as it touch your mind For the vastness and depth it feels. The breeze acts cold as it sees you care For the souls lost in a dream. The dew drops lose themselves in the air Ashamed by the purity of your heart. And my love for you make me feel the painOf being unworthy of you. © Achu She She had the brightest smile And that twinkle in her eyes She is my friend, my life Why isn’t she here with me now? The moon is shining bright The gentle breeze caress my cheeks On the grass I layback light Why isn’t she here with me now? She’s the flame of my heart She’s the rhythm of my life She’s the music of my soul Why isn’t she here with me now? Somebody blew off the flame And the rhythm goes off beat The music flows without a frame And Lo! She’s away from me now. But I can see her in me I can see her in you And I try to keep going on Escaping the reality of truth. © Achu FORGIVE When silence reigned the heart And music left the soul From the heaven they sent me an Angel To play the strings of my heart She brought back my lost dreams She brought back my hopes And her support in my solitude told I got someone to hold We exchanged our troubles For some love and care We exchanged our tears For some laughter and joy It’s the moments that we shared It’s the trust that we bear For each other how we care Is what binds us together. I just wanted to make you smile I just wanted to stop you cry I just wanted to caress your hair And say how much I care But my dear, I don’t know Whether I failed or not But I love you from deep inside And forever I’ll be there for you, in all your trials Forgive me if I’ve hurt you Forgive me for all my mistakes I believe only my beloved Can forgive what I do. © Achu

The journey is on. None knows when it started. None knows when it will end. But the destination is clear. As I tread deeper into the swirl of time I realise once I will also be timeless. Doomed are they who don’t realise this. For, never can they experience the tranquillity that would have come their way. The knowledge that you can defy the ever mobile hands of time. The base of hour, the day, the month, year, eternity. To be massless, & timeless, shattering the chains of obligation. To be you, the single you.
© Achu

LOST CITY There on the top of the mountain I see a sight worth seeing For the mind to be racing ahead to there You need to be Ah! Living You can see it with your eyes You can feel it in your mind The dreams that’s lost in the remains Lost city, it can only be that Lost city, I wanna be there Lost city, I’m gonna be there Think about the people who walked this way Think about the feelings they had on those days Ask the stones how they loved and played Ask the stones how they warred and slayed They loved with their hearts They warred with their hands It was not just like today The souls, they still linger there Lost in time they stayed For the Heaven could not lure them Nor the hell could scare them They exist in the silence there! © Achu NIGHT Listen to the night You’ll feel the pain inside Feel it in your mind You’ll be pure as the tears from your eyes. Listen to your heart To be the man you are Mask it from the world You’ll tread the path alone. Look into your soul To feel the sense of life Let in a little darkness And into deep the cancer creeps. © Achu TOUCH When a touch can do wonders When a smile can soothe under A kiss can change the way You will live forever. Let me have it oh girl Please let me have it oh girl ‘cause I’m lying on the floor For a helping hand from above. If a dream can get you there If a flame can show the way Love can extend its arms To put you on the cloud. © Achu Completely out of this world. Where? Don’t know. But the body is here. Like a corpse that rot deep under. But the soul. You don’t know where. Like that the mind. The mind. It is high, high above the sky. Flying free like an eagle. But alone. With none to care, and no one who cares. But it is searching. Searching for a place to rest. Because it’s wings are aching. But where? Nowhere it can see a tree. A rock? No. Even the earth is too hot to put the feet on. The eagle is tired. With aching wings it tries to pull up. But in vain HE slowly starts descending. Slowly, slowly, ever too slowly. Spreading its wings. As it descends the science proves itself once more. Its speed increases. Down and down and down he crashes to the molten earth. Now there is no eagle. Only clouds. Black clouds without the silver lining. The thunder is yet to come. © Achu The mind is racing. But the destination? Do you need one? It is a galloping wild horse with flowing mane. He goes wherever he wants to. But he shies away form his own shadow. He is afraid of it. Afraid of his own shadow. Yes, I’m afraid of self-realisation. ‘cause I am a prisoner in myself. Or rather, the society made me a prisoner within myself. The dos and don’ts of the parents, the hell and Heaven of the religion, the good and bad of society, the obligations, the education, everything, everything chains me down. But the mind wants to break free. I can’t. Because I cannot escape from my beliefs. They are the extension of my past which would decide my future. Without my past I am nothing. © Achu