RIME OF THE APOCALYPST

RIME OF THE APOCALYPST

It came knocking one day, without a call;

Like the storm uncalled, the trap of a trawl.

Hooks like fangs that barge deep within;

Efface one and then a kin.

An isle that was once life, in ecclesiastic peace;

Where oaks were shade with flowered streets.

The clan that escalated, seized by riches;

Spoiled by greed; turned from wise to witches.

The isle, a desolate landscape ran dry;

The oak that mastered its roots now ply.

The clan, they consumed their essence;

Wretched men, they break the coalescence.

Then it came, knocking one day, without a call;

Like the storm uncalled, the trap of a trawl.

Hooks like fangs that barge deep within;

Efface one and then a kin.

An acre of gardens, once a delight;

Reared fauns, free from the brute’s sleight.

Now a barren ground of terror;

Apparitions of the ones; taken by the bearer.

A land contested by beast and prey,

None are victors but profit dismay.

And then it came, knocking one day, without a call;

Like the storm uncalled, the trap of a trawl.

Hooks like fangs that barge deep within;

Efface one and then a kin.

-ARUN DEV KUMAR.

REVENGE- A THERAPY

Revenge - a Therapy

I embarked on a journey to the tallest mount;

There was a will to conquer the heights and to be crowned.

My Head held high and eyes staring the peak;

And I made my truce with drudgery and pique.

I had been there before, as a titan I had been there before;

It enslaved me, the mount, with offers it made me implore.

A faded image of my past it was, mocking me that mount;

Deceived by flattery, the titan now a slave that surmount.

A whip of insults flaying my skin;

Left battered by wounds, of an unforgettable sin.

Uprooted me from consciousness, plunged me into oblivion;

That sly gaze, then a frown, sarcasm it did blazon.

And now it stands here again, mighty; puffed with pride;

But I tread the path not in greed of fame or to chide.

Driven by self, driven by surge, Impelling towards the peak;

A Knife’s edge it is they said, and chances are bleak.

I chose to bleed nevertheless;

So, let it end this way, I shall not fade to nothingness.

And then those blistered feet stepped on its chest with fierce;

I carried the pennant, and its heart I did pierce.

Now it’s done, some called it revenge;

But it wasn't just mine to avenge.

For me it was a duty, a duty towards my sanity;

Men, they called it Vengeance, for Titans it was therapy.

ANESTHESIA

ANESTHESIA

I found myself surrounded by Pain;

I found myself in guilt and shame.

I looked around and all was red;

No black No white, it all was red.

I saw my hand the skin was torn;

I took a cloth, stolen from another born.

And then I saw a man in the mist;

His hands gloved; his feet swift.

He took me to a tavern, offered a sip;

He spoke little, was tight lipped.

I was crying for the loss of my kind;

I called for them but none replied.

He then gently pressed my arm, he asked me to breathe;

 It shall hurt but give you peace.

And then I got that prick, a prick to relieve;

Anesthesia, it puts me to sleep.

It went down the vein, soothing the pain;

But all was not gone, some still remained.

Like shadows they haunt me, my eyes shut;

They paralyze me, creatures of the past, cruel and corrupt.

Anesthesia, it puts me to sleep;

Killing the pain, but made me weep.

On their knees they beg, souls taken.

Left in hermitage, they scream, the forsaken.

Anesthesia it puts me to sleep;

Killing the Pain, but made me weep.

Then gently I open my eyes, I see his hands;

I see no color; I see no creed, his hands torn like me.

And then he whispers to me……..

There is too much pain to relieve;

Anesthesia only puts you to sleep;

Kills the pain but makes you weep.

- ARUN DEV KUMAR

HOPE

HOPE

Like the burning candle fighting the winter breeze;

Like the melting snow at mercurial degrees.

Like the falling water from a steep;

Like the dead waves in the deep.

Like the sun at dusk shies to gleam;

Like the slavery of moon to the dark's deem.

The Candle shall fight and stand its flame.

The snow shall form from a mercurial game.

The falling water shall be a stream.

The waves at shore will sound a bold scream.

The sun shall rise from the abyss of night.

Light shall fall, iridescent like the bold Knight.

-        - Arun Dev Kumar.

ANOTHER WORLD

ANOTHER WORLD

A profound sense of simplicity in these eyes;

Stunned, yet Curiosity they guise.

Guileless faces though quiet, express more;

Many ignorant souls, they won’t lore.

These eyes seeking a mystical force;

What many merit by, they do not remorse.

Confined within dilapidated walls, it does n’t shake them;

They coalesce to make a world, the endowed condemn.

Blistered feet, earned in pursuit of banal necessities;

Their joy of satisfaction rests on a plinth of miseries.

A palate oblivious to the nobility of wine;

Satiated by chunks of bread; shared with love most divine.

I leave their fragile world, a world they mirthfully own;

 It is a web, alienated from hands and cologne.

-ARUN DEV KUMAR

A HERMIT'S HYMN

A HERMIT’S HYMN

Walking down a path unknown;

My bare feet scorched;

But humming a song;

The path dark and gloomy, it wasn’t torched.

Stumbling over gentle stones and massive rocks;

Trembling with fear, I kept humming the song;

Unwary, I kept stepping with confidence;

A Hermit’s journey it was, no voices no throng.

Then I stepped on a hallowed ground;

There was an echo of laughter;

And a mesmerizing tune from the harp;

But there too was a crook and a grafter.

The space so amusing, it was surreal;

But life is never so fair;

So I walked along a convergent path;

My ambition clear, pumped with flare.

My ambition fulfilled, but I wanted more;

The fierce flare in my eyes, ;

The foci I had to outscore;

Never to perish like snow, neither deplore.

-ARUN DEV KUMAR

THE FALLEN KIN.

THE FALLEN KIN

As dusk sets in and the sun sets over the horizon;

A hue majestically spreads over the dark of night;

Resplendent over the clouds like nimbus;

Divine in its heavenly stupor;

The shadows of moonlight bow in awe;

Jealous of its splendor he drew his sword, the mighty Orion.

The hue bragged of its invincibility and exaggerated its space;

“This is my firmament” Orion cried in anger and summoned his lights;

Bold he was, his blade ready to slash;

But the iridescent hue sat unwary, Subtle in its looks but a proud ace;

The ill-tempered constellation has now sinned;

Drew his sword and slashed his friend;

Content he was, his morals wasted;

Selena cried in grief;

“oh mighty Orion he was the son of  Helios”;

The mighty Orion had slaughtered his kin;

His sword fell from his bold grip;

Cursed himself “never shall I be so bright”;

I have betrayed my existence forever in paradise;

I shall take this sin to my crypt;

And so ended the tragedy;

Full of beauty and misery;

With wounds which will sour in time;

As darkness charges without a Lyam;

       --ARUN DEV KUMAR.