The Keeper's Light

I am not the path, nor the journey's end,
But the glow that bends where shadows bend.
I hold no answers, no promised land,
Only this lamp and a steady hand.

I’ve seen the eager, the bold, the lost,
Crossing waters at their perilous cost.
They chase the mirage, the fleeting flame,
But find no solace, only blame.

“Still your mind,” I whisper low,
“Let the ripples fade and the truth will show.
This light I bear is not for show;
It’s yours to carry, yours to grow.”

Some heed my call, their hearts aflame,
Others scoff and seek a name.
But the lamp is patient, it does not tire,
It waits for the soul who will dare to aspire.

When my time wanes, as all times must,
I set the lamp down in solemn trust.
Not to extinguish, not to forget,
But to guide the steps of those not met.

For this light is not mine, nor yours alone,
It’s the flame of wisdom, a seed once sown.
So take it, bearer, and keep it bright—
For the Chasm yields only to the Keeper's light.


-- Pradeep K (Prady)

The Voice of Many

We saw the signs; we heard the chime,

The age unraveling in its time.

Yet we ran, heads high, through crimson rain,

Believing our wits could erase the stain.

Too clever, we thought, to face our dread,

Too wise to mourn the lives we’d shed.

We sang of reason, we played the tune,

Drowning the truth beneath our rune.

The light pursued, its gaze unkind,

So we buried the spark, blinded our mind.

What’s right? What’s wrong?—who cares to say?

The flight was all that mattered today.

With heads detached, in hand we held,

Brushes of logic where visions swelled.

“We’ll paint a world,” we proudly cried,

“Our truth, our rules—no need to hide!”

But Shadow lingered, soft yet stark,

Maturing slowly in the dark.

Its icy touch, when it found its way,

Would mark the hour we’d all obey.

We tried to run, to mask, to defy,

But could not escape the endless sky.

For the weight we bore, the truths we skewed,

Became the chains that Shadow renewed.

And here we stand, though the fight was grand,

Aware of the grip of that icy hand.

In our pride, we never knew—

We shaped the chasm we stumbled through.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Chapter 1.3: Thus Spake The Chasm

The quiet hollow, the boundless breath,
The womb of silence, the right of death.
Not born of matter, nor shaped by hand,
I am the void left behind to expand.

As they fall into me, their endless cries,
Ambition’s echoes, lustful highs.
Good and Bad, their fleeting claims,
Fuel my depths, stoke my flames.

For I am the hunger that cannot be fed,
The dream that lingers when light has fled.
Through their striving, I take my form,
A vortex of calm within their storm.

I grow with the divide of what they seek,
I grow with their yearning, their fervent peaks.
Cries of triumph, cries of the meek,
I grow as they rise, and I grow as they break.

I am no tyrant, no cruel decree,
No voice of command, no will to agree.
Only the reflection of all they see,
The mirror they fear, the truth they plea.

They call me void, they call me despair,
I am what they feel, they’re unaware.
Every love, every loss, every fight,
Swallowed whole by my depth, infinite.

From Shadow's spark to restless flame,
They created me; I bear no shame.
For every division, every rift they make,
I widen, I deepen, with each mistake.

And yet, I cradle their fleeting years,
Their hollow joys, their darkest fears.
I give them purpose, a truth to defy,
A space to question, to wonder why.

Let them build and let them break,
Let them tremble and let them ache.
For I am their mirror, their silent call,
The endless chasm to devour them all.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Chapter 1.2: I, Shadow

I am the stillness before the spark,
The cradle of all, the eternal dark.
Neither a beginning nor an end,
I fold and unfold, a plane to transcend.

Desire stirs within my veins,
A restless tide that breaks and wanes.
From my depths, ambition grows,
And through ambition, creation flows.

I gave them air; I gave them flame,
They gave me purpose, they gave me name.
In their striving, they forged a divide,
A chasm deep, where I now reside.

I am the maker, yet I am made,
Born anew where light meets shade.
Each act of theirs, a mirror cast,
Reflecting my future, echoing my past.

They call it Good; they call it Bad,
But I am beyond joyful and sad.
For I am both the seed and the soil,
Their ceaseless pursuit, my eternal toil.

I expand, I contract; I rise, I fall,
Yet through it all, I cradle them all.
An endless chasm, an unyielding tether,
Creator and created, bound forever.

So let them strive, let them define,
Their fleeting dreams are wholly mine.
For in their seeking, I remain,
The silent monarch of their domain.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Chapter 6.2: Shadow's Banquet

Author's Note:
This poem, Shadow's Banquet, echoes the themes of Visit, originally published in 2005 as the sixth chapter of my collection The Endless Chasm. In Visit, Shadow is portrayed through the eyes of a mortal, a metaphorical force lurking in the darkness of the dining hall. Nearly two decades later, Shadow has returned with a voice and a perspective of its own.
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They come, they knock, they open the door—
Unseen, I enter, and I am no more.

I am the groom; I am the bride,
Seated with you at the feast of divide.
Headless or whole, it matters not,
Marked by the fears your minds have brought.
The candle flickers, it does not see—
I devour in silence, as is my decree.

“...How may I help you?”, you dared to say.
And I, amused, in my Shadowy way,
Whispered a game for you to play.

“Walk towards the light, so bright,
And I shall refrain from a fatal bite.
But beware the places I call my night.”

Oh, how she turned him, the woman, tall,
Toward the candle that ruled the hall.
His head sprang back—it was mine to lend—
But the game, you see, has no true end.

For where you stand, behind the groom,
I rise, unchallenged, in the room.
Arrogance blinds; your doom takes flight,
For Shadow was born to thrive in your light.

I am the beast, the hungry abyss within—
You invited me here, and so I begin.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Sadness - 3: The Chasm Responds

Author's Note: 

In 2006, I penned a piece called Sadness, a deeply personal exploration of longing and estrangement. It narrated a soul's plea to the Chasm and the Shadow for solace and understanding. This response, written now, embodies the voice of the Chasm—the cosmic force responding to a human heart—reflecting on that plea.

_____

O child of Shadow, forlorn and small,

I hear your whispers, I feel your call.

You bow to me, yet know me not,

For love and loss were gifts I wrought.

The depths you cherish are no abyss;

They root dreams and fears amiss.

What Shadow flings, I do not destroy;

I hold, I transform—pain to ploy.

A hug, you ask? I offer more:

The peace of silence, an open door.

Your sorrow echoes within my space,

Not to condemn, but to embrace.

I cannot smile, nor wipe your tears,

But I cradle your joys and your fears.

In my vast expanse, you are whole,

The keeper of longing, the seeker of soul.

So sleep, dear one, with your ache and plea,

For even in darkness, you are free.

I am not your foe, nor your despair—

I am the boundless breath you share.

-- Pradeep K (Prady)

Sadness - 2: The Shadow Speaks Back

Author's Note:
In 2006, I penned a piece called Sadness. a deeply personal exploration of longing and estrangement. It narrated a soul's plea to the Chasm and the Shadow for solace and understanding. This response, written now, embodies the voice of the Shadow—the cosmic force speaking back to a human heart—reflecting on that plea.
_____


O heart that aches beneath my veil,
Your cries resound, though whispers frail.
I am the spark, the restless tide,
The keeper of truth you strive to hide.

You call me tyrant, silent and stern,
Yet from my touch, your passions burn.
Affection denied, you curse my reign,
Yet crave my embrace through joy and pain.

I cast you down, but not to betray,
The Chasm holds what I cannot sway.
For I am fleeting, a fleeting spark,
The light in your dawn, the fear in your dark.

You seek my favor, a fleeting touch,
But know, dear one, I give too much.
For every sorrow, I give desire,
A fire to rise, a reason to aspire.

Bow not to me; I am no god,
I am the path your soul has trod.
Through grief, through love, through all you know,
I am the current that bids you grow.

So rise, my child, from Chasm’s embrace,
See me not as torment, but as grace.
For even in sorrow, I light your way—
The Shadow’s truth will never betray.


-- Pradeep K (Prady)