Castle of Cards

The castle of cards standing all up straight,

Amidst the battle of four kings, so naïve.

Each with a wife uglier than the other,

But shrewd are the Jacks that turn the game over.

Wilting cards, all one by one,

Sacrificed for their masters’ sheer fun.

But only a winner and only one king

Shall reign the realm, like forever they sing.

The mighty kings niche their aces

Just in time to triumph the crusade, when -

The spade plunges deep in the heart, O Red!

The clubs crush pride of the diamond so dread.

The black air thickens with the crimson galore,

All serving them for to see the other fall,

But little do they see the imp sneaking in -

O the Joker, let the havoc begin!

The castle of cards, trying hard to stand -

Lining up in pyramids tall for their kings;

Just then the Joker slips down its position,

 The castle crumbles down and then there were none.

Vaisakhi Mishra

P.S. - Image source - google...:)

Wave Of Despair

The chords of grief reverberating deep,
The rendition of sorrow, to which the Fates sway.
My frozen stone heart is now melancholy’s keep
As a wave of blue washed my life away.

The castle of memories is now ruins of past;
Home, a family, kins - now none remain.
A never fading gloom is now my sinking ship’s mast.
Austerity of nature left me under the unknown’s reign.

Pulverized future, all that breathes around is dark,
But it’s not just me; many have fallen in this trap.
Everywhere my eyes see the terror of death – stark!
Mocked are we now, by sympathy’s knife - edgy and sharp.

Like a phoenix from ash, I may rise again or may never;
But now on to the end, despair will be my pal forever.

- Vaisakhi Mishra

P.S. - The thought behind this poem was of 'a person who has lost everything in a tsunami.'

The Skittles' Lesson

Little bright skittles all packed in a room

With lights flooding white, switch on to a bloom

But little do they care for the sun’s tears of neglect,

Till Mrs. Skittle comes in and the Sun she selects.

Little bright skittles all washing their hands

One after the other lined, while the flowing tap chants

But little do they care for the thirsty dying crowd,

Till Mrs. Skittle stops the pour – ‘value water you cannot live without’.

Little bright skittles all huddle in an A.C. car

Happily turning up the internal wind that their closed windows bar.

But little do they care for the holes drilled above,

Till Mrs. Skittle opens windows and says – ‘Feel the Windy Adobe’.

Little bright skittles all litter the ground

Throwing chocolate and ice - cream wrapper all around.

But little do they know of the piling garbage hill on Earth,

Till Mrs. Skittle picks them up to limit the living land dearth.

Mrs. Skittle is the role model for all the bright young skittles

And shows the need to save the Earth, we dwell on,

And teaches them the right way of life;

Same like my mother did everyday all the time!

-Vaisakhi Mishra

I am sharing what 'I Saw and I Learnt' at BlogAdda.com in association with DoRight.in.

Nothing

Disclaimer:

This poem was written for IBL (Indian Bloggers League), organised by Write-Up Cafe. I represent Westerlies- Winds of Change, which is the West Zone side. This poem was selected as one of the best entries under the given theme by West Zone and hence has been submitted for contention at national level.

Heat, shine, all piercing bright

Fires engulfing, my world alight;

A building a road a playful ground

All I can see is strewn ashes around.

It's all an ordeal I wake to now

My life is in shambles, I know not how.

What have I done, where have I come?

Lost! I stumble upon the ruins of my home

People say anger steals all the light

But wrath of a woman – how do I fight?

Not one or two, but seven slay me.

Suspiring pleasure, leads me to a peccadillo spree,

Buried is my existence under spiders of sins

Just not small, but like a tornado spins.

The Satan tempted and blurred my sight,

Like a fool I followed, oblivious to the awaiting plight.

A sepulcher I carved for all I held dear;

The new wine in a bottle old, was more than I could bear.

The heat, the shine, the glamour, the wine

Pulled me into the darkness that no one could define

A life that shimmered in the galore of pride

Is now in dust on the path millions have to stride.

All who abandoned their indulgence free life,

Family and friends with some haughty strife -

The millions who crashed into the abyss of loathing

And now, like me, all are reduced to nothing.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

P.S.:  the theme was--> There are 10 ingredients given below. Each team has to come up with 3 writeups (Short story or poem). Each writeup should contain any 3 of the total 10 ingredients available. Each of the ingredients should play an important role in the story. Please note the same ingredient cannot be used in more than one writeup.

Ingredients:
1. An orphan
2. A building on fire
3. An old metal box
4. A wine bottle
5. A reclusive billionaire-vigilante
6. An angry woman
7. A Superhero
8. A dead tiger
9. A recurring memory
10. The final minute ( of my life )

I selected 

elements 2 - A building on fire, 4 - A Wine Bottle, 6 - An angry woman

The Homing Pigeons : Review

Title: The Homing Pigeons

Author: Sid Bahri

ISBN: 9380349912

Cost: INR 150/-

Pages: 318

Rating: 3.5/5

A Part from the Book

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

A book someone asked me to read, a book sent to me by Readers Cosmos and a book I was dying to read since last week but was unable to as I was travelling. But no matter what I finally did manage to scoop out sometime this weekend to finally pick up the book and feel it. ‘Feel’ because this book is about relationships and relationships need to be felt and not just read. The complications, friction, complexities and need of relationship, all narrated so well in the book ‘The Homing Pigeons’, by Sid Bahri, that once you pick the book maybe you won’t feel like putting it down till the very end.

The story revolves around the complicated lives of Aditya and Radhika. Their stories move parallel to each other in the book but their life gets entwined aptly to give the phrase – the homing pigeons the perfect meaning.  A distraught victim of recent recession, Aditya – fired from his job, living off his wife’s job and money and living with the unwavering support of alcohol, meets a girl named Divya on one of his ‘date with alcohol’ nights. And she topples the entire structure of his present life in bizarre way. In some close by part of the world, Radhika, a wealthy widow, marries off her estranged step-daughter Meera, and is finally anticipating the power of freedom she always craved for and maybe has it finally, but does she? Saying more about the story would be like giving you a lot of the story and many would accuse me of being a spoiler, so I rest my share of the story sharing here. To know more Pick Up A Copy of this compelling tale.

The story is about love. And many would agree with me when I say ‘Love’ has always been a archetypal theme in the world of fiction and all kinds of love stories have already been narrated in various forms around the globe. What makes a love story stand out is the way it is narrated and this is where Sid Bahri wins his first points. Even though in the beginning I wasn’t very impressed with the way the story went, half way through the book I could connect all dots and see an amazing picture being sketched. The end of the book undoubtedly is kind of over the top, and inclines on the plain of Unrealistic Bollywood stereotypical drama but the way that leads there is pretty convincing. And as its always said most of the time the journey is better than the destination, follow this line and you won’t be disappointed.

Pros:

•   The narrative of the book is fresh and compelling and easy to relate to. Don’t give up on it after skimming through the first few pages.
•    Language used is simple and hence can be a good book to start with even for non readers.
•  Characters are simple and staring out of our world.

Cons:

•  The end seems unrealistic and a lot inspired from Bollywood stories.
•  The climax lacked the strength and impact it needed to have.
•  The plot has a tinge of over the top track to it and may not be accepted positively by many avid readers.

Overall the book is a quick read and makes you believe in Love after everything. And mature readers and people who hunt for a reason and philosophy behind life would fall in love with the book instantly. Since this was my first read of any book by Sid Bahri I would like to rate the book as a 3.5 on 5 as there is always scope for more.

This book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on tothereaderscosmos.blogspot.com.