Strength

Strength is not holding back tears.
Strength is acknowledging tears.
Courage is not being without fear.
Courage is being despite fear.

Sometimes words fail, and tears
speak very loud, and very clear.

Emotions are natural.
The shower of tears,
the thunder of laughter,
all simply natural.

Crying is okay; it is not at all wrong.
Don't think that those who never cry are strong.
And don't consider yourself a weakling if you cry.
Hold no fears; shed those tears; you will not die.

Sadness

Feeling very sad about a lot of things.
A gnawing sensaton, in my heart, rings.
Inexplicable, strange, making little sense.
Want of affection seems to be a penal offense!

Under the guise of praise, a verbal sarcasm.
Punished by Shadow, flung into the Chasm.
The depth that I love and, as my own, cherish.
Now estranged, I have fallen in to perish.

I bow to thee, O silent assassin.
Give me but one gamble to win.
I bow to thee, O Chasm, deep.
At least a hug before I sleep.

Chapter 1: Endless Chasm

In the beginning there was Shadow.
It was still, dark and obscure.
From Shadow sprouted desire;
the desire was for recognition.
Desire matured into ambition;
ambition had great strength.
Strength sustained Shadow,
and Shadow could act.

Shadow first created air;
then it made water and land;
then an assortment of life forms,
to govern each stratum.
Shadow sowed seeds,
seeds of desire, in all creatures;
desire to sustain, to procreate,
and to appreciate Shadow.

Then they acted, driven by desire.
Actions brought about effects;
effects transpired in pairs.
One of each pair fulfilled desire,
and the creatures called it Good;
The other defeated desire,
and the creatures called it Bad.
The kingdom was hence divided!

Good was rewarding; it was adored.
Bad, disappointing, was unwelcome.
And then a new ambition was born:
To acquire all that was good, and
to ward off all that was bad.
The renewed ambition had great strength;
Lust and fear shaped that strength.
And the creatures proceeded to slay!

And so it is that the very monarch,
the undeniable supreme veracity,
concealed by greed, fear and pride,
still remains dark and obscure.
Flanked by the twin kingdoms,
Shadow expands into a cavity;
into an endless chasm that
creates, sustains and consumes.

Chaper 2: Combat

The dome is all set;
the runners are on track.
The race is underway;
there is no looking back!

There’s an endless chasm yawning at them;
a callous reality towing them in!

Cannons rumble and hurl,
with relentless gravity!
Moral fiber under attack,
in a bottomless cavity!

Pennants of despair unfurl;
hearts lie shattered in shreds!

Breathless, the runners fall
at the finishing line!
At the portico of death,
the ultimate umpire looms...

...It’s a merciless void;
it’s the endless chasm!

Chapter 3: Attempt

Here are the signs of a dying age,
the clock chiming down to the last stage;
here are the grounds for the stupid rage,
ingeniously crafted on the crimson page!

Too very brainy, too very sharp.
Too many people played the same harp.
And, in the consequent conclusive din,
they hoped to obscure all their sin!

Concealing awareness from light,
trying to escape from its plight;
simply forgetting what is right,
they were all ready for the flight!

Decapitated, they walked the land,
with the severed bit in their hand;
in the other fist, a brush of logic.
That, they thought, would work the trick!

Well, they tried, but little did they know
that awareness could hide but only in Shadow.
And that once mature, an icy hand it would sway,
that none, not any one, could ever wish away!

Chapter 4: Defeat

Vibrant, a flower came alive;
a breeze of delightful scent.
With a flood of sparkling wine,
they were bathed in ecstasy!

Rejoicing thus, the mortals
misconstrued the Chasm;
judging the twin kingdoms apart,
they reveled in vanity!

“The sun has risen for us,” they yelled,
“Beneath our feet, Shadow is bent!”
“Dance not,” said the scholar,
“The flower is now not long to be!”

The flower smiled, but only once;
a parting gift for all of them!
The breeze carried the scent away,
leaving them a waterless sea!



(Just one look at the waterless sea
has taken the wind out of their sails!
Who could tell how they would be
if they looked straight into your heart!)

Chapter 5: Abrasion

Grinding down, grinding down…!

Values, possessed, are grinding them down;
dreadful shackles are binding them down.
Judgment has been sentenced until death,
to be tormented by a spiteful, masked clown!

Avarice and fright are grinding them down;
black and white, binding them down.
Enticing marvels have been put on offer,
in return for some sanity, and for a frown!

Excessive brightness is grinding them down;
miracle workers are binding them down.
And now that Shadow has been put to shame,
the highway to the chasm is grinding down!