Life = Death - volume 7 - Poems on Life , Death

by Nikhil Parekh

  The greatest noise existing; is the deafening roar of the fulminating volcano,

  The greatest scent existing; is the one emanating profoundly from the redolent rose,

  The greatest taste existing; is in the succulent cluster of ravishing plums,

  The greatest length existing; is the colossal expanse of crystal blue sky,

  The greatest dirt existing; is the massacre of the innocent and the deprived,

  The greatest voice existing; is the enchanting sound of the nightingale,

  The greatest hand existing; is the one that philanthropically helps others in times of distress,

  The greatest color existing; is the one circumventing the resplendent rainbow,

  The greatest water existing; is the one trapped delectably inside the hard skull of coconut,

  The greatest language existing; is the one symbolizing humanity,

  The greatest mirror existing; is the one intricately lining your soul,

  The greatest perspiration existing; is the one that dribbled profusely after a hard days work,

  The greatest joke existing; is that life is a bed of roses,

  The greatest bye existing; was one executed by a dying soldier,

  The greatest lie existing; is that man can live forever; and never die,

  And the greatest truth existing; is unbiased love; the entity you solely continue

  living for

 

 

  8. THE LAST DAY OF HIS LIFE 

  He smiled as the milkman dropped milk; when usually he would swap his fingers menacingly at him; for arriving even a minute late,

  He hoisted the dirty urchin high in his hands; when usually he would shoo all stray children running helter-skelter in the streets; with his stick,

  He gave a handsome tip to the waiter; when usually he would scream at the top of his lungs for not being served properly,

  He strolled bare chested in the sun-lit balcony; when usually he would adorn himself in the tightest of suit and glossy pant,

  He danced rampantly in the rain outside; when usually he would stringently admonish all servants to shut the windows airtight; as soon as the first patch of black cloud lingered in the sky,

  He ate the most piquant of chili; when usually he refrained from tasting even small pinches of common salt,

  He talked loquaciously all day in a host of languages; when usually his moved his lips sternly; only when required,

  He sat for hours on the bed of squalid grass; when usually he never transgressed on anything except shimmering slabs of pure marble,

  He sipped chilled champagne with gay abandon; when usually he didn’t touch anything except Herbal tea,

  He laughed thunderously at the slightest of joke; when usually he was far too stingy even on smiles,

  He drove his car himself at lightening speeds; when usually he incorrigibly refused to leave the house ever; without his driver,

  He left his wrists bare; gauging the time from position of the Sun; when usually he even slept the entire night with his watch strapped tightly,

  He viewed television incessantly at strident volumes; when usually he preferred to brood desolately in solitude,

  He sang romantic tunes from contemporary songs; when usually he always condemned and rebuked the advent of pop music,

  He masticated at raw slices of poignant cucumber; when usually he commanded the cooks to boil his food to unprecedented limits,

  He shook hands magnanimously with the peons; when usually he held a handkerchief stuffed snugly to his nose; to superficially avoid their odor while confronting them,

  He let his hair descend down in wild streaks; when usually he made sure every morning that each follicle was combed and oiled; till its last root projecting from

  his scalp,

  He wore a loose and threadbare ragamuffin shirt; when usually he was embellished in silken fabric; with the most omnipotent of scent inundating every pore of his skin,

  He even winked at witnessing lovers in the park; blessing them for their future lives to unfurl; when usually he put such trespassers behind iron bars of custody,

  And today he forgave everyone he interacted with; lived life the way he did when he was just born; as he knew it that this was the last time he would ever see this marvelous earth; the last day of his life.

 

  9. A SINGLE GROWL 

  The inconspicuous little tadpoles kept fluttering their fins; hardly able to make any impact on the violent swirl of water,

  While it was only the preposterously huge Blue Whale which gobbled all marine

  life in vicinity; over-toppled the gargantuan ship; the instant it opened its jaw.

  The diminutive stalks of grass swayed pretentiously; being mocked by the wind

  every unfurling second; as they belted miserably under pressure,

  While it was only the thick rooted tree; which not only bore the onslaught of

  treacherous storm; but also granted loads of compassionate reprieve to the

  frigid follicles.

  The flames of the grandiloquent wax candle appeared insipid and weak; abysmally diminishing with the slightest draught of breeze leaking from the window,

  While it was only the blistering fire that leapt high and handsome towards the

  sky; charring everything that intermingled with its flow; blazing brilliantly in the darkness of the night.

  The paltry spray of fountain was delectable to witness; although it subsided

  completely when the tap was tightly shut,

  While it was only the gigantic ocean with undulating waves that swelled and

  rose; thunderously clashing with the uncouth chain of shining rocks.

  The chirp of the sparrow was weak and fragile; hardly making an impact on

  animate life prevailing in proximity,

  While it was only the deafening roar of the majestic lion; that sent an everlasting echo through the entire jungle; put a standstill to all commotion; terrorizing philandering pranksters to the last bone of their spine.

  The superficial string of bombs emitted clouds of frigid smoke after exploding; although they pathetically floundered in making any impact on the colossal structure,

  While it was only the earthquake that devastated the entire city; sent mighty

  buildings tumbling on the ground like a pack of plastic cards.

  The fairy tale was embodied with a blend of flowery and disdainful spellings;

  which were futile as they proved too frugal in tickling the mental imagery,

  While it was only the comprehensive dictionary which encapsulated every word

  spoken on the planet; that instantly triggered imagination and put the mind to

  immediate work.

  The effeminate whispers of the teachers; could hardly pacify the bustling

  pandemonium in the classroom,

  While it was only the stringent shout of the Principal that silenced them in

  one shot; fomented infinite goose-bumps to creep up their skin.

  And the Goldsmith banged his hammer thousands of times; but wasn’t able to

  produce the most minuscule of indentation on the slab of frozen water,

  While it was only when the rustic Barbarian thrashed the chunk with his heavy

  axe; that the ice split into boundless splinters; and crystal water started

  to painstakingly dribble down. 

 

 

  10. LIFELESS COMMODITY 

  When I stood on the earth and stared at the sky; I wasn’t the least ruffled by what I saw; continuing to stroll at a leisurely pace humming a mystical tune,

  While it was only when I peered down from the helicopter amidst the clouds;

  that I felt an uncanny wave of fear grip my mind; the mind-boggling distance;

  scaring the daylights out of my breath.

  When I stood on the stony ground and sighted the building; I profoundly ridiculed the clothes flapping astray; with every draug
ht of weak wind,

  While it was only when I lowered my eyes down; kneeling my elbow against the

  balcony of the 100th floor; that I almost did nature's call in my trousers; simply flabbergasted by the boundless depth separating me and the mud.

  When I was born blind since birth; I could hardly perceive the benefits of vision; infact made a mockery of those who walked without a stick,

  While it was only when I had a perfect pair of glistening eyes; witnessing the

  ravishing beauty of Globe at close quarters; that I felt petrified to the last bone down my spine; everytime I envisaged of life without sight.

  When I was as black as charcoal; the blistering rays of afternoon hardly having any producing effect on my ungainly complexion; I chortled loudly at people applying make-up creams to protect their skin,

  While it was only when I was a snobbish alien; embodied with the color of a

  white powdered angel; that I dreaded the aftermath of even taking a single step in Sunlight.

  When I was transgressing on ground for several years without feet; I sympathized with people having bulging legs; infact quite happy to crawl delectably all

  around using my hands,

  While it was only when I was a robust man; adorned in bombastic garment; that

  I trembled at the tiniest mention of meeting with an accident; having to bear the tyranny of walking with crippled ankles life long.

  When I was illiterate; signing every document with my back of my thumb; I was at blissful peace; unaware and miles away from the intricacies of this

  manipulative world,

  While it was only when I had accomplished the most stupendous of education;

  had my wardrobe inundated with degrees from all corners of the world; that I

  had nerve-wrecking dreams every night; of the consequences which would stab

  me; if at all I lost my memory.

  When I was philandering in the dark lanes; I slept like a demon on the park

  benches; adapting the open cover of sky as my sole companion,

  While it was only when I was snuggled comfortably under silken sheets; the glimmering lights of the palace; sequestering me from the outside dark and

  chill; that I hiccupped incessantly; the instant I imagined my body bare chested; enveloped by the freezing winds of the Himalayas.

  When I was overwhelmingly sad; struck by hysterical grief since my childhood;

  I contemplated people pretentiously smiling around me to be the greatest of fools; unperturbed by the jokes they occasionally cracked,

  While it was only when I was gifted with all the felicity; bounced in sheer

  euphoria every unfurling second of the day; that I shivered uncontrollably;

  when I thought of my existence without my beloved; plunging forever into the

  corridors of gloom.

  And when I was poor; endeavoring hard each day to fight for my bread; I was

  the happiest man on this universe; as I had the capacity to fantasize about

  the most greatest of riches; and was yet contented with the meager means I had

  for survival,

  While it was only when I was exorbitantly wealthy; having a battalion of cars

  following me wherever I went; that I felt like I was dying every moment; with

  the thought of all this affluence deserting me some day; and bathing my scalp

  with raw shrubs of grass instead of perfumed shampoo; transforming me from a

  Human into a lifeless commodity.

 

  11. I WANTED THE WORLD TO RECOGNIZE 

  I wanted people to recognize me as a poet penning down volumes of mystical verse; not as a mundane businessman,

  I wanted people to recognize me as true perspiration trickling in the Sun; not as the sleazy bottle of artificial scent,

  I wanted people to recognize me as bare skin battling all seasons; not as gaudy cloth camouflaging every part of my demeanor,

  I wanted people to recognize me as crystalline water cascading down the pristine slopes; not as obnoxious whisky bubbling gently in the barrels,

  I wanted people to recognize me as raw power of muscle; not as radiating boxing gloves fitted snugly to my palms,

  I wanted people to recognize me as milk naturally oozing from the cow; not as chunks of pallid ice-cream stored in the refrigerator,

  I wanted people to recognize me as a ray of sun in the cosmos; not as bombastic gleam of the bulb piercing effeminately through the night,

  I wanted people to recognize me as original hoarse voice; not as shrill tunes diffusing over the silver coated mike,

  I wanted people to recognize me as impeccable eyes; not as slinky tint of Sunglasses blended with a myriad of beastly designs,

  I wanted people to recognize me as a soldier; not as a parasitic leech suckling fodder from the rosy tree,

  I wanted people to recognize me as a dreamy yawn fantasizing unrelentingly; not as matchbox steps leading to the corporate office,

  I wanted people to recognize me as a stalk of grass with glistening dew drops; not as ghastly spray of fertilizer causing animate to perish in vicinity,

  I wanted people to recognize me as wild undergrowths of the valley; not as the glittering castle carved out of polished sandstone,

  I wanted people to recognize me as choppy waves of the ocean; not as disdainful ringing of the alarm clock at dawn,

  I wanted people to recognize me as a nostalgic philanderer; not as the broker manipulating intricacies of the stock market,

  I wanted people to recognize me as a vivacious rainbow draping the velvety sky; not as flickering lights of the modern disco,

  I wanted people to recognize me a scarlet cluster of sensuous grapes; not as the meticulous array of white spoons and forks,

  I wanted people to recognize me as my mothers son; not as a towering

  entity garlanded with flowers,

  And I wanted the world to recognize me as individual burning every second in

  the blazing inferno of love; not as a cupid arranging marriages for couples

  based on their horoscopes, caste and creed.

 

  12. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE ? 

  You may have washed your hands; cleaning them scrupulously of the most invisible of stain,

  But what about the blood adhering to your heart; the several innocent whom you had beheaded without any rhyme or reason?

  You may have eaten stupendously sizzling slices of mutton; masticating the morsels after blending them with handsome salt,

  But what about the goat mother who bleated incessantly; after losing her only son, the only flesh she had delivered facing the grueling agony of long months?

  You may have laughed the loudest in the crowd; propagating the same infectiously

  in pedestrians around you,

  But what about the old man; who had to trip his footing in a slush of dirty sewage water; in order to cause you to smile?

  You may have dressed in the most glamorous of coat and trousers; sprinkling your entire demeanor with an ocean of passionate scent,

  But what about those tyrannized sheep who were left shivering in bizarre cold; after you uncouthly stripped their skins of their natural protection?

  You may have spoken the most flowery speech on the mike; drawing loads of adulation from all those who were mesmerized by the beautiful essence in the lines,

  But what about the writer whom you had incarcerated in the dungeons; after stealing his writing to stand tall and domineering?

  You may have driven in the most contemporary of car; with its golden wheels traversing the meandering lanes of the hill like a galloping panther,

  But what about the infinite stalks of fresh grass; the innocuous infants wandering around; whom you had trampled indiscriminately in your insatiable march towards victory?