Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Victim of time

(OK .... people I know I have been a lazy bumbitch.... and frankly speaking I wasn't even busy.....well…..I was a little bit ...planning a trip though.... So I already posted this poem on my poetry blog, but still I am posting it here: Hopefully I should be back in a week’s time unless some pilot decides to take a nap in the cockpit. Million other things can happen to a plane... but then I get scared anyways....always.....)

I think dying in a plane crash is really the worst kindda death….. but I think I am going to quote the closing monologue of American Beauty:

I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches forever, like an ocean of time....for me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout Camp, watching falling stars...and yellow leaves, from the maple trees that lined our street...Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper...and the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird. And Janie...and Janie. ..And…..Carolyn…. I guess I could be really pissed off about what happened to me...but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... You will someday.

How it passes

And what it does

To people

Once kids

Then boys and girls

Then men and women

The core

And the shell,

Question?

And silently answer, repel

Run and cry

Vision and then the eyes

It is named time

A futile power

A living dead

And a deceitful truth

They say

No point in holding on to it

Repeat and memorize

Daily once, twice, thrice

But Oh! The beauty

That passed by

Still blinks in my wet eyes

People named friends

Those days and trends

That garden and those benches

Still….. still….

A few certificates

Remind me of my victory

And their defeat

Prize money is all spent

That time is dead

Not even a year old

In this new world

Everybody inquires

Of my past life

And secretly laugh

When I turn my eyes

These photographs

Are deep

An ocean of time

Like two Samosa’s

Dipped in coconut chutney

Or a bottle of soft drink

That passed till last sip

See them

A lot more

Is beneath them

A tranquil layer of vodka,

Lime, ice and a pinch of salt,

The froth of beer,

Aroma of the coffee,

In million card houses.

Sound of music,

Debates on feminism,

Chains of smoke,

Libraries and their ambiance

Hugs and kisses,

Diary entries and dope,

Rushing to the college

To show what you wrote.

A car accident,

When we were broke.

Losing control, after 8 P.M

Sleeping in the girls’ room.

Rain in the desert,

Full moon in the bathtub,

The kurta with the shloks

The teachers who became friends,

That bonfire and the holy smoke

Ashes and dew drops

Think about them

So….. many

So many moments

Make these photographs

Always remember

It’s just me

Another victim of time



P.S: About the tags....I will do them once I am back....happy holidays to me ...so much tequila is waiting for me...

26 comments:

ranjana said...

hey akshay i hope your pilot won't sleep off n even f he does i hope the auto pilot system works well for ya :)
enjoy you vacation...shop well and fulfill all fetishes :)
I have known u long enough to know that u r obsessed with american beauty....for once i know that he dialoge from the movie you have written is not copy paste...u remember it by heart.
and you have known me long enough to know that this poem of yours is my favourite and will always hold a special place in my heart ( zyada cheesy ho gaya kya ?)

Anindita said...

Very nice poem!

And be positive. No shit is gonna happen and you will have a very good vacation! All the tequila rem'r??!!!

No one is gonna be sleeping when they shouldn't be and everything is going to be awesome! Happy Holidays! :)

Tairebabs said...

Hey Akshay, do have a wonderful vacation. Not to worry, am sure your pilot won't sleep off. lol and like rajana said if he does, there is always the auto pilot to rely on.

broca's area said...

that movie was really good:)...

good poem:)

Cinderella said...

Juat one word for this - beautiful !!

I never knew you were into poetry ! Nice !

Anonymous said...

Hi ,

I was reading ur blog posts and found some of them to be wow.. u write well.. Why don't you popularize it more.. ur posts on ur blog ‘all that jazz’ and others took my particular attention as some of them are interesting topics of mine too;

BTW I help out some ex-IIMA guys who with another batch mate run www.rambhai.com where you can post links to your most loved blog-posts. Rambhai was the chaiwala at IIMA and it is a site where users can themselves share links to blog posts etc and other can find and vote on them. The best make it to the homepage!

This way you can reach out to rambhai readers some of whom could become your ardent fans.. who knows.. :)

Cheers,

rantravereflect/ jane said...

WHOAAAAA.. i really likey tat... kinda made ma eyes wet.. 2 samosas dipped in coconut chutney.. that line just stood out even though sandwiched....
another victim of time.. man tat sounds eerie n creepy... n scary.. but yehh, i guess ya always see the best lines in darkness annd light in nostalgic lines..

bonfire /holy smoke..
ashes n drops..
diary entries n dope,...

loved the anti-elements there..
loved it!
cum back soon!

Unknown said...

Enchanting :)

Mulling Over My Thoughts said...

hmmm...photographs.
instead of my whole life flashing past my eyes whence i die, i wish i might be able to view them as photographs. i like all the old albums...

and "american beauty" still is by far the best movie i have seen.

and this dialogue, i think is what won the movie the oscar.

Anonymous said...

i've been a little absent as well xD i like to call it "the blogging rut", happens to the best of us haha

Akshay said...

Ranju: If my book of poetry ever makes it on the stands... u get the first copy...poets are novelists poor cousins...

You know we will never forget our college days.... all these incidents : Jaipur trip, car accident and likes have been so important in our lives.... these are our moments ...

Akshay said...

Anindita : amazing trip....I have traveled so much but I still get scared of traveling in plane...especially flying over the ocean...no logic indeed...

Akshay said...

Tairebabs : Thanks ... I am back safe and sound...trip rocked...

Akshay said...

brocasarea : yeah.. Sam Mendes is GOD!! and so is Alan Ball...

Thanks for your words of appreciation...

Akshay said...

Cinderella: Thanks, I am more of a poet actually... I have a separate poetry blog too.

Akshay said...

Ray... thanks... sure thing!!

Akshay said...

rantravereflect/ jane: Yeah... u know like in my college canteen we had samosas with coconut chutney....it was amazing.... glad u liked...

Akshay said...

enigma : Thanks

Akshay said...

Mulling Over My Thoughts : It's a great movie indeed...

Akshay said...

noelia ~ : U are right.... for me its creative menopause... only temporary ...

Anindita said...

Arre thats nice!! Now, write a long post about your trip! :P

Missed ya!

crasiezt said...

Tequila! Cheers to that!
And cheers to the lovely poem...

U back from your trip yet?

Akshay said...

Anindita: yeah I can write so much about that place .... It's a fun place .... missed ya too!!

Akshay said...

crasiezt : I love Tequila... and I can make so many cocktails with it too...

Thanks for your comments.... Yup I am back... check the Thailand pics...

Express said...

:-)

ok, I know I am late, but man, whatta poem!

I don wanna die when I know tht the very nxt second I am gonna die. It must be a very scary feeling, and I don wanna die scared...

and as I said already, welcome back. :-)

Akshay said...

Express... thank you hai ji!!