Friday, 4 July 2014

An Endless Sea with a Broken Beginning

As a number left the midst of numbers many more than none
Midnight was a matter of question, relatively relating no tale but one
Of sorrow, not of love nor hate but of something worse still
Sadness leeches out of this tale if it can your heart fill
Beginning an end but not ending the beginning that was once so long ago
Yet the sad story has a voice of its own and is but anything other than mellow
This story is so stranger, well, It has a beginning but has no end
The end can't be seen but the beginning is broken beyond mend
Not physically nor otherwise, nor a crack nor knot,
No skirmish exists here yet a rift plays its rot
Hands are tied beyond compare and legs nailed to the floor
And yet you see no end nor beginning save but an invisible door
Of what use is this door that cannot you see nor feel
And worse still it is that no one can see a seal
binding on the feet and hands without amends or pain
But harder still it is to see that all the traps have been lain
To see no choice ahead is bad enough but to see no problem is the worst there is
And to find no farewell or ending note is something that's sorely amiss
No seal can bind again this rift today; nor a boon will tomorrow
And this one thing is that which chills many-a-hardened marrow
No eyes can express guilt for deeds, nor any unnecessary denial
And yet you know that no potion will mend, no matter how large the phial
Sands won't record this fate, but stones will narrate the tale
Yet no carver nor novice engraved, and the sands now face the gale
No king nor slight ever has a story such, and yet each man has a great story to tell
This is but a humble one, but what makes you think this is mine to reveal ?
Cry you may if the tears you find, but sob do not for its not over yet
See the water harden the sand and the magma embellish it and set
And that which was unintended now has indeed become a halo
But no pipe or lute nor any flute nor a viola nor cello
Will ever help compose a lay as this for it is a man's life
And what a life it is indeed, to lie unaided in the rock
Even no bard nor poet dared ever to openly it mock
No corpse you see nor spirit felt, no hero and no villain here,
But what a tale it is indeed, fear not, for it isn't so near
A meddler he wasn't nor a peddler, nor a Count nor King
And you wonder aloud, what makes me all this sing ?
And yet I won't tell you the secret for there is none at all
Make what you will of this story, still, it never does stall
Meanings many it seems to have, but a reason only one
A reason none knows about, however done or undone
Think what you will of this, none of which mind I'll a lot,
For knots there be and still many more, but they matter not
Nor of friends nor foes is this, nor of anything soft
Yet this narrative is held high aloft
By truth, faith and fervor oft sought
Hereby I end this lay, this sorry tale of no man that lived
Lived he did but not the way you think he did
But further I shan't say anymore
As listeners and readers alike find the meaning evermore....

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

The Facts In Fiction

"Live in the moment."  This age old wisdom has cautioned so many generations, made them aware of the dangers of getting lost in fantasies and worlds that trap us inside them, when in reality, it’s those worlds that are trapped between our neurons. That's hard to wrap your head around.
Then again, many of us know there are characters who have taught us more than real people have. I for one look up to Gandalf, Dumbledore, Oromis and so many other wise characters, with greater respect than I look up to the grand old men that left their mark on history. I admire Frodo, Harry and Eddard more than I admire Alexander The Great.
Their deeds, though not real, have guided me through life far too often.
I have read the lives of so many visionaries, martyrs and influential figures. The stuff they did is wonderful, exemplary and every bit worth the fame and respect they are given. But let’s face it, rarely are their experiences relatable. No, I know we're never gonna have to face renegade Jedi's and tyrannic rulers that live off dragons' hearts. We don't have to worry about curses and prophecies, Dark Lords and executions. More or less, we lead ordinary lives.
But we know these characters, perhaps better than we know ourselves. There's a level of closeness we don't share even in our admiration for real heroes. Most of us grew up with these characters, progressing through their stories in their worlds even as we marched through our own lives. Through the chapters we acquainted ourselves with their darkest secrets, their joys, their fears. We might read a lot about mighty deeds by brave commanders in the wars gone by, we might read about difficult decisions that men of steel took as they walked ahead in their lives. But we never got to know them. We only know about them, but don't entirely understand them.
Would you take advice more seriously from some stranger or someone you know well, like your mom? (Okay, apart from when you've not really screwed up.)

I know the struggles of my heroes. I know them so well, I often identify with them. And I learn from them. I try not to repeat any mistakes they made because I felt the pain they felt in the aftermath. I try to take in the good about them. Hey, I'm not saying you can't learn from the great of the past. But think about it, the Mahatma ate meat and lied/hid the truth about it and repented deeply. I read it, resolved to always be truthful and soon forgot. I admit it, this is my experience. On the other hand, I learnt many lessons about lies, friendship, trust and also the difference between right and wrong from what I've read, from what I've seen in those many worlds where I roam when I feel lost.

I've roamed The Shire, trekked up Amon Amarth, marched through Du Weldenvarden, experienced life on Berk. Hell, I even witnessed the greatest wizards' duel of all time. Small secret, I've also been to the Hundred-Acre-Wood.  All with the characters who I accompanied, who help me from their locked realms of fantasy and dreams, when I'm lost in my reality.