Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

This is one of my all time favorite poems. The one here is the song version of the same, written by Steve Harris of Iron Maiden for their 1984 album, POWERSLAVE. In my opinion this song is a fitting tribute to one of the finest pieces of literature. Aptly supported by the powerful guitars Maiden has been famous for, the galloping bass and the thundering drums, combined with the powerful, operatic voice of Bruce Dickinson, this is a must hear song for everyone.

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner,

See his eye as he stops one of three 
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests 
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea. 

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by 
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale. 

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice 
To a place where nobody's been 
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross 
Hailed in god's name, hoping good luck it brings. 

And the ship sails on, back to the north 
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on. 

The mariner kills the bird of good omen 
His shipmates cry against what he's done 
But when the fog clears, they justify him 
And make themselves a part of the crime. 

Sailing on and on and north across the sea 
Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm. 

The albatross begins with it's vengeance 
A terrible curse a thirst has begun 
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner 
About his neck, the dead bird is hung. 

And the curse goes on and on at sea 
And the curse goes on and on for them and me. 

'Day after day, day after day, 
we stuck nor breath nor motion 
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean 
Water, water everywhere and 
all the boards did shrink 
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.' 

There calls the mariner 
There comes a ship over the line 
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide. 

See... onward she comes 
Onward she nears out of the sun 
See, she has no crew 
She has no life, wait but here's two. 

Death and she life in death, 
They throw their dice for the crew 
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now. 
Then... crew one by one 
They drop down dead, two hundred men 
She... she, life in death. 
She lets him live, her chosen one. 

'One after one by the star dogged moon, 
Too quick for groan or sigh 
Each turned his facce with a ghastly pang 
And cursed me with his eye 
Four times fifty living men 
(And I heard nor sigh nor groan) 
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, 
They dropped down one by one.' 

The curse it lives on in their eyes 
The mariner wished he'd die 
Along with the sea creatures 
But they lived on, so did he. 

And by the light of the moon 
He prays for their beauty not doom 
With heart he blesses them 
God's creatures all of them too. 

Then the spell starts to break 
The albatross falls from his neck 
Sinks down like lead into the sea 
Then down in falls comes the rain. 

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen 
See them stir and they start to rise 
Bodies lifted by good spirits 
None of them speak and they're lifelesss in their eyes 

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again 
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on. 

Now the curse is finally lifted 
And the mariner sights his home 
Spirits go fromhe long dead bodies 
Form their own light and the mariner's left alone. 

And then a boat came sailing towards him 
It was a joy he could not believe 
The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit, 
Penance of life will fall onto him. 

And the ship sinks like lead into the sea 
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins. 

The mariner's bound to tell of his story 
To tell this tale wherever he goes 
To teach god's word by his own example 
That we must love all things that God made. 

And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man 
And the tale goes on and on and on.

What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of the quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle’s flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then god combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so,

He called it… Dad.

Happy birthday dad. :)

The Rise Of The Indian Phoenix

We are at the threshold of a mighty change. The whispering that has been there ever since the glorious day of 15th August, 1947 is now becoming a might roar.  Gone are the days where we used to suffer in silence. We are no longer meek, we are ready to fight fire with fire if necessary. Gone are the days when we used to obey without questioning and now that we have started questioning everything, we are at a fork, one which goes back to how things were before, and one where we the change we all desperately need. The future of the nation depends on us, the Gen X. We have the youth and the boundless energy within us, roaring to get in action. All we need is a beacon, to point us the right way and then sit back as you see the country becoming the mighty, unstoppable force it is. We are the future, we are the cells of the mighty, dormant Phoenix called India. A phoenix  because can rise up from the ashes, rise when all hope seems to be lost. 

The time for a change is upon us, all that remains is what we make of it. Do we rise up to it? Or do we just shrug it way? That's the choice we have to make.To quote the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri,

"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."

We all have our own dreams, our own visions about the future of the country. Some may be optimistic, some may not be so bright. An individual may not make a great change, but collectively we can move mountains. 

There is another quote I read in on the cover of a Classmate notebook:

"The world needs dreamers.

 The world needs doers.

 But most importantly, the world needs dreamers who do."

The future is what we make of it, so lets RISE UP and Touch the sky.

The Will To Win

If you want a thing bad enough
To go out and fight for it,
Work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and
your sleep for it

If only desire of it
Makes you quite mad enough
Never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other things tawdry
and cheap for it

If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,

If gladly you'll sweat for it,
Fret for it, Plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,

If you'll simply go after that thing that you want.
With all your capacity,
Strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,

If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain
Of body or brain
Can turn you away from the thing that you want,

If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You'll get it!