ANAKLUSMOS

Immortality

That was what he wanted.

Fighting at the foot of a temple dedicated to Apollo

Alongside his comrades,

He slayed all

With his Anaklusmos.

Victory was his

And he knew it.

 

His people went in to raid the temple

While he stood next to the statue of Apollo

T’was made of pure gold.

‘Fools’

He thought to himself,

Slashing at the head

It topled and clancked down the steps.

 

Looking up ahead,

His enemies still poured in,

The horses raced towards his direction.

A moving target was always difficult

But that was what people proclaimed.

For him,

Nothing was a challenge.

Life was a game

And he stood at the centre of that battlefield

As war raged around him.

 

His throw was going to be next to impossible…

But the javeline was in his hand,

His target a mile away.

With precise aim

The javeline flew through the air,

Piercing the heart of the second leader.

The troop faultered,

But did not stop.

 

He stood with pride

On the highest step.

A look of arrogance displayed on his face,

Watching them close in.

 

He lured them into the temple,

An empty temple was what they saw.

When suddenly they were attacked.

The leader,

little bothering

Fought his way towards the warrior.

 

He stood there

In wait for the leader.

He did not want to fight him

It was too early in the morning to kill Royal Blood

 

The leader

Hector

Prince of Troy

Was on his own.

His people were dead at the hands of the warrior,

The warrior who was showing mercy to him.

‘Leave this land’

He told the warrior.

‘A war over love if foolish’

 

‘I do not fight this war for love,

Love is for mortals.

I want immortality.’

With those words,

The prince was spared.

 

‘His name is Achilles’

Hector told his father,

The king.

‘One of the greatest warriors man has ever laid eyes upon’

 

-TM

Spectacular

The first rays of the sun illuminates the sky

Shades of red fill the vastness

The ocean reflecting the beauty

Slowly the colour changes

And in seconds everything seems different

Highlights of orange are all that’s left

Yellow dominating as the sun is first seen emerging at the horizon

The clear blue water now sparkling like embedded diamonds

A ship in the distance casts a shadow

A flock of early birds flying by

In a moment the scene again takes a turn

The artist splashing blue paint onto his canvas of creation

White blobs called clouds are then seen along with the spherical sun in the sky

The minimum amount of colour is added

And the masterpiece then left the way it is

For a whole day the artist contemplates about that single painting

Then by twilight another idea strikes

The canvas is once again worked upon

Paint flying hither tither

The azure now disappearing is being replaced with strokes of orange, pink, violet and indigo

The sun, a ball of red is hidden partially behind the clouds that are no longer white

Everything changes at a drastic rate

The flock of birds appearing a second time

But now at the other end of the canvas

The ship closer to the shore

And suddenly

Splayed on the canvas is black

And darkness is all there is left

The Cresent moon then takes the place of the sun reflecting it’s light

White dots the sky while the water reflects the constillations of stars

The painter finally satisfied hangs the canvas on the wall in the only spot devoid of any art

His last painting in place.

He stands in the centre of his masterpiece

The passion aflame in his eyes as he takes in the view

Every inch of the space covered with his art

While each canvas tells it’s own story

They could only be understood superficially when viewed individually

But together they summed up his life in a word

And that was spectacular

 

-TM

 

Treasures you’ve left

You keep showing up in my dreams
Every night I think of you before I sleep,
Like a wave rolling into shore
Bringing me treasures.
My eyes glisten with joy
As you sparkle in the night sky,
Reflecting the stars high above
Caressing the sand in passing.
Your wake brought doom
Erasing the art I had traced
Erasing the story we had made,
And you roll back into the vastness
Withdrawing your love.
I can barely comprehend it all
For I know not what waves are
The meaning nor sensations,
Still learning
Still grasping at straws
Wounded
Alone,
My heart cries out for you
My body aches for you.
I scream in silence
I look up into the darkness,
Laying there in wait for the sun
Among the treasures you’ve left,
Memories of us…

-TM

Unfair

You know what’s unfair
How you made me think there was something,
Something in the way you looked at me
Something in the way you smiled,
Our hands intertwined
You held me so close
Laying your chin in the nook of my neck,
You made me think
You made me fantasize.
And now… there’s nothing.
Nothing from your side.
I don’t want to ruin the ‘what if’
I don’t want to tarnish the image,
Yet I need to keep reminding myself
That the something only existed in my head.
It’s not fair
For I have these feelings,
Feelings of something that I can do nothing about
Feelings that make me want to pull you close,
Feelings that want your lips on mine
Feelings that wish for your hands under my shirt,
Feelings that are running wild the more you pull away.
Eyes closed, on my knees I pray,
I pray you you feel the same
For I don’t want to shatter, So, I play it safe…

-TM

Everything

Can I kiss you?

My heart stopped

But you felt it beat faster,

My eyes closed

But you saw my lips part.

I couldn’t form words

My mind drew a blank

Emotions haywire

Coherence left far behind

I was trying to process the fact you liked me.

Hold on!

Throughout December

When my thoughts about you did not stop,

When I had feelings

You did too?

You liked me?

Liked…

Ain’t that funny,

Ain’t that sad.

But you did

And my brain was happy,

Eletaed,

Euphoric,

My heart was still confused.

Those words

I have fantasized it so many times,

Wondered what it would be like

Whispered,

Raw

Intense…

It was everything and more.

My lips were unsure,

Yours, pure,

Butterflies in my body

Hands on my body,

Contrasting

Engaging.

Sensations leaving me overwhelmed

Adding to my short-circuited thoughts,

Unable to make head or toe of the situation.

Hiding my face,

Smiling in my hand

Was it all real?

That bite though…

Still clear in my head.

Your stare…

Intimidating in my dreams.

Because I keep going back to it

Feeling you again in my thoughts,

Unsatisfied,

Lost.

Did the good time, have to be so good?

Did my first time, have to leave me this shook?

I bargain

Almost every night,

You lurk in my dreams

Waking me up with hope.

Do you have to be so stubborn?

Can’t you give this a chance?

Are you really that shattered?

Can’t I lend you a hand?

Needs

Unfulfilled

piece by piece I fall apart,

Because I think of you

Ever so vividly…

Will these memories dim?

Would I want to let them go?

No.

But I want to let you go…

-TM

Broken Heart

And when you’ve lost hope
You know it is all pointless
Because nothing matters now
Yet,
A light flickers on
Casting mocking shadows
Leaving you unsure.
What exactly does life want?
Why dangle such ideas in front of your tired eyes?
It all happened in another life
So why can’t you get over it?
Take a step away,
Move on with your life
And smile…
Why the overthinking then?
Where you can’t help but wonder
Is this all a sign perhaps?
Like lightening and thunder?
Constant hints of care and love
The flame filling you with warmth
But just as subtle and sweet
To never lead you on.
So is it all a hoax
Cooked up in your mind
Because your heart would not believe
There’s nothing in between the lines?
So you play the fool
To console your heart
And convince yourself
To play the part.
You yearn for that comfort
You aren’t even sure you will get,
Thirsty for the love
You think he’s reserved for someone else.
So then;
Why the hope,
The fluttering of the heart?
Why the pain, of a broken heart?
You know it is never to be
This is not a love story,
Yet you want to believe
That things are different
And just maybe…
For how long can you do this though?
Hours, days, weeks?
Because you’re breaking from within
Don’t you see?
Let it go
Finally
You’re almost free,
And just when you’ve lost hope
A light flickers on…

 

-TM

Clueless

What is it called
When you’re supposed to explain something
But you’re speechless
Without an answer?
They think you should know
I mean
How else would your behaviour be justified?
But what if
You don’t know?
Have no idea!
You’re reaction, yet a puzzle…
Why should they expect?
When even you
You, yourself are lost
The confusion within you not helping
But still pressured to give an answer?
What is it called?
Because I’m clueless
And someone is waiting for an answer…

Beat

Dim the lights
Soften the mood
In the darkness
Listen.
Beat…
You hear it?
Only your heart
Beating
Slowly,
Steadily.
The sound fills your ears
In the deafening silence
Beat…
One after the other
Sustaining your being.

Dim the lights please
All of them
Blind
Suddenly
All you see is black
Black outside,
Black within?
Fear.
A cold shiver.
Does it beat faster?
Your heart?
Do you feel it now?
Increasing tempo…
Each passing second
Waiting in anticipation
Thinking
Again
And again.
Is it really an option though?
Life is wonderful.
Will you give it up so easily?

Dim the lights
Better yet
Shut them off
Let the darkness seep in
Slowly
Filling up every nook every corner
The hollow within you
Let it rejoice
Let it overflow with this darkness
Feeding on it.
Hold on though
Don’t loose yourself yet
Giving up is not an option.
See that ray?
That ray within you?
Keep it close.

Have you shut the lights?
Now stand alone.
Wait.
Do nothing
Just feel,
Your heart
Your breath
Your life
You.
Don’t you see?
You are important to us
You matter to us
You are worth a lot to us.
That heartbeat of yours is music to your parent’s ears
Those eyes of yours reflect the beauty within your soul
That radiant smile of yours lights up the day of strangers
The kind and caring personality of yours warms the hearts of many.
See?
We’re talking about you.
You,
My love
Are all that this world needs.
So feel that spark within you,
Let it crack through the darkness
Like lightening,
Let it spring out
Breaking through your shell.
Blind the world with your light,
Your energy
Let it only spread love and happiness
This world might become a better place.

 

 

-TM

Golden hues

Golden hues and swirling emotions

Don’t know if the wave reflects the sky or my soul
Deep and powerful with the ever changing shades of blue
The light bouncing off, dispersing within the water
As shadows play in the darkness, brooding away from the luminescence
Warmth spreads through the ocean as the day comes to an end
The ball of fire seemingly drowning within it
Like magic, it disappears at the horizon leaving behind the moon to dominate the sky.
The stars now reflecting off the surface and time passes till another day has come and gone
Looking now for a ray of hope,
The emergence of dawn.
The sky suddenly bursts into azure
Pink, red and golden hues encase the Earth
Blessed with yet another day
Taken for granted yet another time.
Golden hues and swirling emotions
The waves reflect the sky
Me, a bystander appreciating nature once in a while
Projecting my emotions to make meaning of this life…

-TM

Heaven: A place on Earth

The silent lake, stood quite still,
Observing the tourists pass by
The mountains high above, kissing the sky,
The birds resting nearby.

I climbed out of the vehicle
After that long, tiring journey
The breeze gently blowing in my hair,
My eyes captivated by the miracle that lay in front of me!

Standing completely mesmerised,
I walked towards the lake
That was surrounded by shabby, brown mountains,
But stood elegant in its place.

“It is a speechless sight”, I had heard
“And colourful in a different way”,
But to actually see the different shades of blue, green, red, made me then believe,
That it was the most wonderful lake!

As I strolled the edge, contemplating
The gifts of God to mankind,
It heard someone, call my name
And I realised it was getting late.

The sun’s last rays
Turned the water to gold,
And the Lake watched,
As yet another tourist
Turned their back on her.

-TM

Jump

Life hit us like a freight train and we weren’t fast enough to jump out of the way.

 

-TM

Adapt

You know how they say evolution came about
Three theories are considered
One, everything existed from the start and that one type became extinct
Two, suddenly a grand change occurred in DNA forming a new species
Third and the most well known one, adaptation.
All species have adapted to their habitats which help them survive
Survive the heat of the Sahara
Survive the cold of the North Pole
Because everything ultimately comes to survival…
Look at humans,
One goes through a break up, a roller coaster of emotions and yet, somehow learn to live life
Talk about death, the loss of a close one, altogether it is the worst kind of feeling because after a point you become numb. Numb to more pain for you know there couldn’t be anything worse that could happen. You just survive, barely, but you do and try to live life without them.
We survive through such situations because we learn to adapt, adapt to those emotions, adapt to those feelings that consume us.
We survive through such situations because we know that succumbing to them will make us go mad, bonkers!
We survive through such situations because, unfortunately our survival instinct kicks in and life pushes us forward in another direction making our hearts heavy and at the same time light enough to go on…

 

-TM