General

Entrenched in self in harmful ways;
Consumed by lust, by fear, by doubt,
Please quench dark flames; in kindness shout!
Back to the root of things, I say.

Remember that heirs’ ripples pay
The price, do not your cruelty flout.
Set down the gender roles you ought.
Seek out the root of things, I say.

Please walk the walk, stop playing games!
Don’t train your kids to play a role!
(All parents understand just how.)
Back to the root of things, I say.

Continue them, continue shame;
Release them, let a New Age glow,
Where soul to soul our species grow.
Act from the root of things, I say!

Today’s offering is a kyrielle form poem.

Reena Saxena is the host of Reena’s Exploration Challenge.  Reena says:
The image and quotes are indicative, not restrictive. You have full freedom to write anything, as long as the central concept is…

Videos, social media accounts,

Likes that counts,

Information at fingertips,

News about places sans planning those fun filled trips,

Life now is made easy,

Without frills and fancies, then it was breezy,

Is that now we are gripped by fear,

Living our daily lives becoming unclear?

Leaving imprints isn’t hard,

Long after we are gone, we shall remain through recordings and lovely picture cards,

Leaving lasting impression on one another would be easy or not,

Would it be a long shot?

81 words.

Acknowledgements :- Thank you Reena Saxena for running the Reena’s Exploration Challenge # 124. For rules please refer here. Thank you all for stopping by and reading.

The bridge appears to be straight and smooth
but fear sloshes in my belly
turning my legs to jelly
trepidation makes my heart race
for it’s a jungle out there
hatred and violence roam free
baring their vicious fangs and growl in a stentorian roar
misplaced pride turns a snooty nose at reason
crazed look on every twisted face
blood on each hand and the smell of burning flesh
yet the call is so invidiously beguiling
I salivate at the mere thought of that power
tethering at the edge of insanity
lured by the promised bounty of righted wrongs
but I recover from the transient transgess
with sanity sharply knocking me down

Let there be storms of paranoia all around
I hope peace with its winsome ways will eventually win
human will not another human butcher
the arc of fear will not be allowed to persist
time will have to…

Reenais the host of Reena’s Exploration Challenge.

Welcome back to another week!

I had a tough time getting a pesky fly out of the house today. In the process, I came to admire her incorrigible optimism.

Here’s a poem by Lisel Mueller

IMMORTALITY
In Sleeping Beauty’s castle
the clock strikes one hundred years
and the girl in the tower returns to the world.
So do the servants in the kitchen,
who don’t even rub their eyes.
The cook’s right hand, lifted
an exact century ago,
completes its downward arc
to the kitchen boy’s left ear;
the boy’s tensed vocal cords
finally let go
the trapped, enduring whimper,
and the fly, arrested mid-plunge
above the strawberry pie,
fulfills its abiding mission
and dives into the sweet, red glaze.

As a child I had a book
with a picture of that scene.
I was too young to notice
how fear persists…

निखरा था छत पर चाँद नूरानी
आयी है याद फ़िर रात पुरानी ।१।

बिन सुलाए मुझे खुद सो गयी है
मेरे तकिये पर रात पुरानी ।२।

है क्या कोई सौदागर इसका
किस मोल बिकेगी रात पुरानी ।३।

बढ़ता जाता है ख़ुमार उतना ही
जितनी होती है रात पुरानी ।४।

क्यों नहीं भूल जाता अमित
गयी बात हुई रात पुरानी ।५।

In response to: Reena’s Exploration Challenge # 124

Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #124

Diogenes

fear-mongering from infancy
forcing acceptable behaviors
through mental scars

morals etched in deep
with vivid stories
petrifying children into submission

the fairy tales last forever
in the minds
of impressionable children

the morals passed on
lurid and shocking
mean to stifle and suppress

the stories
a warning
of unacceptability

it’s a wonder how we managed to grow up at all