Born, Troubled, Died

Born yesterday a bright and bubbly baby,

A quiver full of arrows and hope for tomorrow,

Grew up today but quickly turned grey,

Troubled, dejected and trodden upon,

Soon to die tomorrow and more to follow,

That’s another one gone with unrealized dreams.

Invisible

I woke up one day with a renewed sense of purpose,

Walking up tall, chin up, arms akimbo; a bright face

Facing up my challenges head on, and never turning back,

I suppose this is the ingredient I have been missing all my life,

I retire to bed with a deserved sense of accomplishment.

I look up in the mirror on the morrow, a dawn of horrors,

I reason that my lenses had expired since I couldn't see me,

I hope my senses hadn't also expired, I begun to question my sanity,

If it was a dream, I had never had it in such vivid and clear resolution,

I then resolve to take a walk up the road, since the sun was up.

The tall grass I stepped on didn’t even acknowledge my existence,

Remained upright and undisturbed as if a ghost was moving over it,

The people I passed, the neighbours and the pets follow suit,

Had I suddenly turned invisible to all there is in this world?

This dream, illusion, demon, whatever it was, was refusing to go.

Only I could see me, feel me, acknowledge me and respect me,

I wondered if life was worth living, when all there was is me,

Do I ignore those whose world I am not and can't be part of?

Isn't life meant to be lived, defined and made sense of individually?

If this was a test, I was obviously failing as I couldn't make sense of it.

I had become a faceless bunch of nothing, only real to my own nothingness,

A self conscious illusion, so desperate to leave a foot print on the sand,

Did I even have an identity, finger prints or even a past to speak of?

Do I resign from life? But which life do I have to speak of?

Who am I? What am I? What purpose do I serve? Whose purpose?

I appeal to all those who feel invisible in this life we live,

Those who are made to feel they are irrelevant in the making of history,

Those whose feet can't leave a foot print on the sands of time,

Whose fingers have been burnt in the flames of life erasing all fingerprints,

Whose voice can't leave their own throats or their minds.

I appeal to those who feel they are alone in this creepy dream,

So they can come forward and we form our own invisible society,

In which we can be visible in our invisibility, relevant in our irrelevance,

So we can decide who we are, whose we are and what we are,

And escape from this curse of invisibility whilst we still live.

When I am gone

I can hardly fathom a world I am not part of,

A sense of responsibility torments my conscience,

The fear of leaving everything to the irresponsible,

But others have been caught by surprise,

The net drops seemingly out of nowhere,

And it takes you to a place far, far away.

When I am gone ponder no more,

Just remember the net is hovering unseen,

Waiting to descend on whom the cloak has ticked,

Perhaps it's now over your own head,

Make use of the moments you have on hand.

When I am gone, go to a solitary place,

Number your days and apply wisdom,

So don't waste time worrying about the net,

For when it comes you would have finished,

And you would be happy to go far, far away.

When I am gone mourn but for a moment,

Mourn indeed for those who live in ignorance,

Those whose eyes can't go beyond the spotlight,

That shines and reveals what's in the moment,

Remind them of the net that takes us far, far away.

The perimeter of ignorance

It's often the loudest voice in the crowd,

And often comes first in the marathon race,

Its dominance is certain in any discipline,

 Often bullish & seeks to silence other voices,

There is neither tact nor gentleness in its conduct. 

 Ignorance is often clad in such elegance,

 Seeks self praise & approval in everything,

Self congratulatory pomp accompanies idiocy,

 Never seeks nor waits for independent opinions,

A difference in opinion is treated as an attack.  

Ignorance resides in a palace as white as snow,

It rests between two monuments they call ears,

 Ignorance never falters nor fails but triumphs,

It yearns for worship and praise from everyone,

It's the most celebrated form of a cult.  

Ignorance is the most widespread religion,

 It's the most expensive lifestyle one can choose,

 It's the most inefficient institution ever established,

Ignorance has been taught for centuries in academia,

 So as to populate the earth with learned idiots. 

 Ignorance has neither shame nor regrets,

It mounts the tallest peak to announce its existence,

 Masters in ignorance are honoured with doctorates,

 They take pride in creepy robes and square hats,

And scoff at those who pursue that which really matters.