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Politics of the Airplane Toy: Inspired by Barthes and a Bit of my Childhood

Ever since a kid starts to see around him, the peculiar gift of flight in nature that only a few species possess, he would've dreamed of flying like them. And when he figures out, to his great dismay, that he and many others like him are not cut out for the job, it is at that juncture where his mother would let him know, so as to alleviate the despair, what the Wright brothers had accomplished for him. Finally, by chance, when he gets to see the real spectacle taking place several thousand feet above him, that is ignition enough for his most important childhood dream: to fly, or technically speaking, to become a pilot. All parents want their children to make it to the top, and by top they mean above everyone else. From grade one to day one at work, they nag in front of their kids to make them more competent so that they can brag in front of everyone else. The airplane toy is a tool, in that sense. The kid who is not old enough to know what ambition is, is being initiated into th...
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SONNET 15: AWAY, AWAY YOU TRIFLER...

Isn't this but a paltry bit of honest thought, That my poor soul will once be solemnly sought, By those felic fluttering wings, fragile and fair, Fully bearing the stench of my filthy canine air? Was it not naive and far from prudence to confide In souls forged of disparate mettles, who guide Us through perils that only their hide can defy, And give counsels the poor soul can hardly buy? Was it not a folly reckoning that we'll be fully seen And taken in by those, for whom we've kept keen And diligent watch, but still hold presence dwarfish In their spacious hearts that our banishment wish? Knowing so that we haven't the licence to question, Must we quit or mask ourselves in forced oblivion?

SONNET 14: RETREAT...

O damned fate! How I wish I had not been born, To be so pestered and irked with whips of scorn. Shut, Shut thy ears to this boisterous world, Lest its cries of revelry will turn you cold. O how I detest those in merriment spurn The truth of life, and are bashful to learn. But they thrive and top this bogus life ladder, And I, cursed I, nag, wail and is torn asunder. O those junky bastards with their reason preach, Wreck faith, imbue fear and ebb as we screech. Daring indeed to search truth and pretend wise, Whilst they keep masked faces forged in lies. To die is not to be as tranquil as we sleep, Or else we would buy it at a price so steep.

SONNET 13: CIVIL WAR

Oh prick me not, you sickly rose, Your charms are all but woes. Festered psyche screams in angst, Dreading recurrence of times past. This blessed tantrum of lusty love, A malediction of Immortals above. And this vast lore of carnal 'dirges', Urges upon the eunuch soul twinges. Juices flow unthreatened, fueling hunger, I would yield had I been younger. Now flesh is all that stands erect, The frail soul does nil but deject. Sweet honey we devour in haste, Is but disguised venom holy in taste.

CALL IT WHAT YOU MAY...

Hold that thought. It just might topple your mind palace. Mind you, when your worst enemy wants instant gratification, Stop there, then think twice (this time, using your brain). You can't always have what It wants. Relish your reveries, write poetry out of it (but don't rush it). Try living it and you might never 'reverie' again. Stay in control of your worst enemy. Your actual life is just a small window between Your gaining control over It and then loosing It at the end. Reveries are like curtains, Thin curtains that'll let you see the Outside in a shadowy hue. Still there is that fear of the unknown. But that moment the door opens, and the Outside attains vividness, Your worst enemy is set loose. You are now in constant struggle just to contain It. Believe me, all the vessels in the world wouldn't suffice. Great men have tried, Known are the stories of failure, unknown are those who won. Still there is that question of pleasure, ...

Search for the Shade #2 : Far Beyond Repair...

It's all dark and cloudy up there. But down comes a few drops. Now things are far beyond repair. Up the stream all plastics and stuff. Stagnation, stink and contempt pops. It's all dark and cloudy up there. Trees? I plant one if I cut one, you bluff. Seeing soil nowhere but concrete and tiles, it stops. Now things are far beyond repair. Every puff makes you cough. Look, smoke-spit-pipes far above the hilltops. It's all dark and cloudy up there. Impassivity is ended, now She's got rough. Dare not to hold Her with your ropes. Now things are far beyond repair. It broadens and pain deepens, you say enough. But as you look inside, to mend, in high hopes, It's all dark and cloudy up there. Now things are far beyond repair.

ASSAM LABOURERS...

My translation of Vyllopilli Sreedhara Menon's Poem 'Assam Panikkar'  We, who are back from Assam, From the laborious toil away from home. Our thoughts flee faster  Than the bolting train. Sweet delight for our eyes, our land, From which we were long estranged. Fields where storks flutter like bullets, Meadows where nature rings her bells in rhythm, Loose haired, dancing coconut trees, In between, houses exchanging sweet grins, Pathways decorating the landscape, When cities dream of villages. Hurry Old friends, come and Dance around us. Away, even a lonesome coconut tree could summon Memories of our motherland. Their white garbs instilled in us  Memories of Malabar, our home. We know, we know, those wight fleas Who make this land a hell. Let the vengeful Time-ahead Take revenge upon these ingrates. We have returned, to write in this ancient soil, The story of the rest of our lives. To dampen the fire of hunger we l...