The Last Challenge

Way ahead lost in mire-

Way behind thorn-strewn,

Ups and downs that form life

Upside down have turned.

Yet, for one more voyage heart yearns,

Last quest beyond what's known,

To dwindling strength and meager means

One final challenge thrown.

Victory not a target now,

No sorrow, should we fail,

Striving well with heart and soul

Through Gates of Death we'll sail.

Not for glory, our last thrust,

Not for name, nor fame,

They are but tinsel and dust,

To yoke of life pertain.

Beyond this realm, where finite rules,

In pure land of joy and light,

Where thrones for brave hearts wait

We'll claim them as our right.

March On

Soldier, your comrades fall,

Yon battle ground grows bloody;

Soldier, march on, there's no time

To mourn your fallen buddy.

What though you fought side by side?

What though you lived entwined?

'Tis time to take divergent paths

Two different hills to climb.

One day you'll meet and sing anew

Your songs of camaraderie,

You'll march once more, hand in hand

From toils of world set free.

Letting Go

I held the string, I tugged, I tugged,

But the Kite had caught the wind,

It would sail, it would soar

Far away, far away.

A paper kite, on twig stretched tight,

As flimsy as a thought,

Where did you find the will to fly?

To stand against my strength?

Unequal fight, unseen force,

My efforts vain, my battle lost,

I let go, I let go

But oh the pain, oh the pain!

Love Don't Walk away

Love, don't turn away

Please don't leave my side

No, don't walk away,

Let me hold on to you.

When you go away

I stare with helpless eyes

A lamb of sacrifice

Watching killer's knife;

Let me hold on to you

Like a miser hording wealth,

Like a hanged man's last breathe

Let me cling on to life.

The Deepest Cut

Brutus stabbed deepest,

Caesar's valiant heart

Cried in anguish

While love over flowed from wound-

A river of wails for friendship betrayed.

Not envy, nor hate,

But falsehood's smiling face

Stopped that life.

In days far distant from that age

Caesars die in agony, again:

No snake so venomous,

No death so ominous,

No Hell so torturous

As trust gone astray

Lost Soul

Somewhere in bewildering mazes,

Somewhere on unending ways,

Somewhere 'twix waking and sleeping

Lives a lost soul.

Twisting and turning,

Uphill and downhill,

On a plateau, alone,

Lives a lost soul.

In twinkling lights,

In beckoning hearths,

In shrouding warmth,

Lives a lost soul.

Beyond shimmering

Vision or delusion

Blindfolded, trussed

Walking on, a lost soul.

Dead Leaves

Dead leaves

Lying on the ground

Drying and rotting,

No nurture, nor care,

In utter despair

Sans strength to move:

A gentle breeze

A gust of life

Instant awakening

Breath blown back from nowhere

A stirring, a fluttering,

Lo! death departs!

A forest fire

Rapid and wild

Blazing its fiery trail,

Melting and burning

Casting out dross,

A golden heart remains.