OSI : Connoisseur (2)

How he wanted to be a famous painter
But the contemporaries killed the competition
He was asked to judge , made connoisseur...

( If you haven't , do visit the earlier post for this prompt.)

OSI Prompt : connoisseur

Painting of My Life

Oh, it took me
Thousands of hours to
Make a painting
Of my life
Splashing black and white
On the canvass
Redoing, rehashing
And finally getting tired
Leaving it to its fate
I hung it on the wall
Of my inner space, a wall
Prepared with
Priceless gifts of bricks & bats
Thrown at me, by adversaries
And decorated with smiling
Bouquets & flowers
Received on the way from
Friends, allies & aliens alike
She came, she stood
She saw, she wondered
She contemplated
She thought
And finally, she exclaimed
“Wow, this is fantastic!”
She had spotted bright days
In the black and
An occasional scary night
Here and there in the white
Ah, a real connoisseur of art, she!
No she didn’t bother about
The wall that exuded
Mysterious unease;
Over many years now
She has been adding colours, and
Improving the painting
Of my life and I don’t intervene
Because I keep myself
Busy collecting bricks and bats
And myriad ornamental decorations
Because wall too needs
Constant touch & renovation..

Arriving Stronger..

My immediate last post mainly on 3ww prompt raised a querry by a friend..How does one exercise control.. I have tried to answer here using again the prompts given by 3WW.. I have tried to put what I think..


Arriving Stronger

Drink from the cup of vanity
And you would have a feeble conscientious
Not so difficult, then to predict
What lies at the end of the road…
But you can say - who is bothered
Life is here and in the now...
And I would find
My foundations shaken again
Yes, doubt is indeed a powerful force
Pushing one to make a retreat
But then a questioning soul
Puts one back on the track
Life goes on, on and on
Yet the track never appears
To be reaching a concrete destination…
And one’s soul too doesn’t tire
Itself from questioning
Thus keeping one strong on one’s feet
Reaching may take a bit longer
But thanks to an untiring soul
And with the blessing of God
One may , in the end, arrive stronger…

To get a feel of this.. do visit " In spite of nocturnal temptations.." written for 3ww.

In Spite of Nocturnal Temptations

Well friends.. this comes as my reponse to the prompts Cocoon at OSI and Drink, Feeble and Predict at 3WW.. Hope you will like it.. I share what is likely to be the fate of anyone who tries to be 'a Little More Than Ordinary' in Intellectual and Spiritual dimensions of life.. I am sure many of us have similar experiences.. my journey may be similar to yours too..

In Spite of Nocturnal Temptations

Liquor flowed as a natural consequence
Of a predictable victory
Power was celebrating more power,
Yes, a lot more power
Glasses glittered in the glittering environment
I stood on a side watching the frenzied mood
When a light tap on my shoulder made me turn
And he stood smiling.. the host..
A face that exuded control
“Hey, why don’t you drink man, tell Me,
Pick one and make it bottoms-up,”
He wanted to know as a matter of right.
“ Well for the same reason for which you do”
I was quite honest in my response
He didn’t understand
And his attempts to persuade continued
As the evening slowly turned into night
In spite of nocturnal temptations
I firmly stood my ground
Watching many find it slipping
Under their feeble feet
But by next morning none remembered
Anything about abrasions,
Insinuations and provocations
Except me, as I was left to carry the burden
Of undesirable memories created
By being amidst socially desirable people
Yes, price had to be paid
For having stayed awake in the safety
Of the cocoon built by me
Over the years where my values
Had remained untouched
Strong enough to be my guideposts
In the tumultuous waters of life
Ah! I could always reach back safe…

OSI Prompt : Cocoon II

COCOON II

Created an impenetrable Cocoon
To keep happiness safe and protected
And lo! Forgotten to put myself inside..

Don't forget to see earlier post: Much Ego About Nothing..

Much ‘Ego’ About Nothing : OSI Prompt 127

Thanks to Tammie Lee for such a challenging prompt: Cocoon, but then it gave one an opportunityto pour out all that's hidden.. here's the truth..my truth as perceived by me..
Welcome.. A very happy and enjoyble Friendship Day to you!



Much ‘Ego’ About Nothing
How could I face a world
So different
Than the world revolving in my mind
Around the Sun of my own ego
Burning dreams, blowing hot winds
Of my own aggression..
Destroying delicate threads
With which relationships are woven
I needed protection from my own self
So I created a Cocoon
Of my own assumptions and beliefs
And quietly hid inside, lest someone
Would find and try to break
My myths about myself
And how could I have taken the risk
Of crawling out of a fissure created by the
Constant knockings from the beams of vanity
I stayed hidden, because
Finally I realized, that
It was by staying hidden
That I was able to make myself
So highly visible in the eyes
Of those, who always preferred to look
Beyond me, having fulfilled their needs
And I don’t find myself
Even a bit uncomfortable
When I find their eyes wandering
Around every corner
Of their glittering ostentatious spaces
Seeking their favorite prey,
By throwing a bait of false appreciation
Who, earlier, by taking the bait
Would get whirled into frenzy
To feed his own misunderstood ego..
But not anymore, yes no more
For I have thrown my Ego
Too long, far ahead
Won’t mind picking it up again
But it would be so very difficult to
Go to those lengths, anyway
For the truth is that
Journey has just begun,
I am a lot happier, too
As I appear to have slowly
Begun crawling out of the Cocoon
Through a crevice that appears
Harmless, as it got created
By the shining beams of hope
Which pierced through what otherwise
Appeared impenetrable crust
And today I know that it had been
Much ‘Ego’ about nothing..


RS