Face of Misery

His hands stretched wide rested on the edge of a large water basin, his body slightly bent, head sunk on his chest - panting, his fast deep breaths broke the silence of the men's room. Keeping his eyes closed he could feel the a bead of sweat trickling down his nose and hanging at its tip. When he opened his eyes and looked up facing the mirror, that bead finally dripped in the small pool of water which disturbed the melody of  his breaths.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he could see the watery lines on his forehead flown down on his cheeks. It was caused by intense workout in the gym. He had never worked out so hard and so long ever before. His eyes were red and his wet shirt clung to his body. After a short while, his breathing eased. His eyes kept staring at the frame of glass - without blinking; he couldn't see himself; he seemed lost somewhere, somewhere deep...

It was a woman; the woman he had begun to love. The thoughts about what she told him last night had seized him. Her words resonated in his mind ever since she hung up upon him. The thoughts became vivid images in the inner eye. It was not even a month since they had started talking to understand each other. He had developed an intense like for her. But he never wondered she would talk so hard on him without knowing him completely. The pain of her words was exploding in his mind like mortar rounds. He felt the apprehension in her voice about her future with him. He was unable to digest the thought that she could think of him so lightly when it was just a beginning of a long journey.

Suddenly he began blinking his eyes and looked at the face of misery standing in front of him. He was pulled back into reality. He saw the sweat droplets around his eye brows getting evaporated leaving grayish crystalline stain. All he could do to comfort his mind is to feed it with these words: "She is just a girl; she is not a woman yet. Never mind about what happened. I'll talk to her again tonight. But, not to worry. She'll get there; she will get there..."

December 6, 2013

The Condemned Stone

A small stone fallen from the great rocky mountains,

Insignificant, repulsive and brittle with razor-sharp edges.

It was cursed, then stranded and ultimately... forgotten,

Rusted under the dark clouds among the weedy hedges.

It lived in a world so cruel that the rains never poured,

Neither a flower, nor a bird; not a thing of beauty was adored.

The sun never opened his eyes to bless this dejected piece of rock,

Thus, even in the haunted stillness, the leaves trembled in shock.

It was proclaimed, "The stone does not deserve to be here!"

Unable to withstand its presence, the stone was thrown away.

To a place that was never known - infested with peril and fear -

An ugly festering face of mercy that nature can possibly display.

It was a new world where time always crawled like a snail;

Scorching days never came to an end, nor did the miserable nights.

Tormenting years prolonged forever, just like an endless tragic tale,

Storms got increasingly fierce making the seas explode with huge tides.

Rains poured mercilessly hard and the drops shot like arrows,

Spearheaded by bolts of fury blistering from those volcanic clouds.

It was fated for the stone to endure these immortal pangs of sorrow,

And face the wrath of nature being wrapped in blazing shrouds.

The stone didn't get ornamented despite all the act of terror,

Neither did it shatter, nor did the sharp edges become slick.

But, all the unrelenting dirt got peeled off in the sight of horror,

And got transformed into a gem that was once regarded as sick.

This marked the gem's show of real power and splendor!

Then it was time for this new world to reveal its true self:

It was a planet meant only for such gems to twinkle and prosper;

A star of everlasting radiance; a self-sustaining galaxy all by itself!

The world that abandoned the stone was stunned!

To see it as a priceless gem that was once shunned.

It was indeed a miracle to see the sun open his eyes,

As he couldn't stand its beaming rays piercing the skies.

The world in which the gem was battered and discouraged

Always made sure this enchanting beauty was kept unseen.

But the boon was guarded safely within from being ravaged

Waiting to be unveiled from the darkest abyss ever seen.

The stone was indeed undeserved to be in that world of scorn,

For it was destined to stand alone and outshine as a scion of Victory.

The wait must come to an end; the day of reckoning must dawn

As the gem was born to be the beacon of Excellence and Glory.

October 17, 2013

First published in Zest Literary Journal, Issue #3, February 2014

Best Left Unspoken

Every time I think of you,
I feel the tenderness of your heart
Which never fails to mesmerize me
The more I tried to describe your beauty
I always found it less - much, much less
For your love cannot be measured by words;
The feelings I have for you cannot be uttered
Truth is, words lack power to carry
The weight of our divine emotions
So the last thing I want to say,
From the bottom of my heart, is:
My soul blooms when I talk with you,
Then the world around me is never the same
For it is only filled with happiness
So, it's best to leave our love unspoken

November 14, 2013