_L_O_V_E_

Their hands held on to each other,
the pain was unreal but one.
None knew where the hurt came from,
but the scar had deeply run.


Their eyes groped the river within,
while the heart closed its eyes.
The sun shone darkness,
the truth was same as lies.


Immersed together in the roaring sea,
the throes pulling 'em apart.
The hands clenched tighter; digging further
and it was then that they went back to the start.


The realization sunk in,
as the agony subsided.
The pain hid in their togetherness,
and rose up as afar they glided.


Contrary to what many might want to believe, that these lines carry with sadness and separation, through these lines i've tried to highlight how when a relationship, and not just a romantic one, turns parasitic, it would be termed anything but Love. Most of us are so deeply immersed in our insecurities and hollowness of our own identities, that we try to fill 'em with the presence of others, especially that 'special one'. It's what one of my younger friends, terms 'filling in empty spaces' (shall write about it some other, right now i'm short on time).
Nothing could probably explain better, how Love (or any relationship) ought to be, than these lines by Kahlil Gibran, the Poet of Life. Once again, this whole post pertains to relationships of Love of any kind imaginable and forged by humans. The night is raw and eager. Savor and soak.


You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.


But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of heavens dance between you.


Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.


Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart.
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow...

Musical Chairs

A couple of years ago, i found myself in a room littered with spoils of a kid's birthday party. The transition to my childhood days happened in a nanosecond and wafts of colors and gaiety streamed through me courtesy my over-active Cerebrum. One visual which stood out and stayed with me even after my revery was broken by the call for dinner, was the one of a game i'm sure none of us would need an explanation of - Musical Chairs.

So starkly it played on my mind that i started pondering over it and came to a funny juxtaposition; Life and the game in mention.

Life's a lot like this game we have all played so oft. A bit like a parody, albeit a soft one, where the Chairs depict the various roles we all require in our lives like that of a guide, a best friend, a philosopher, a challenger, a confidante, a tension-breaker, a planner, and many more. And most of us, being the social creatures we've been made out to be, fill these Chairs with People, just like in the game.

Act 1: the day we're born, swarms of people flood in to surround us and poke us in all the uncomfortable places (oh the agony of being a cute baby!). Same with the inaugural round of the game. All go round in a merry, amiable circle. Until the music stops and hurriedly everyone scrambles for a place. Hey, we all wanna be important! So goes the growing of the baby too. Time passes, and a defining point (when the music stops) starts slotting people in different roles for the kid. And on and on, with every recurring round.

As the teeth fall and regrow, we grow beyond receiving endless joy from a chocolate and other things, the number of people get reduced (the important ones) and the roles a.k.a. Chairs start getting more defined, more bounded. Till the day arrives when we're left with the One, with whom we grace the applause when the curtains fall.

Some might disagree and confront that it isn't exactly the most meticulous and precise comparison. Rightly so. The only reason i mentioned it was because that was the trigger, which led to the personal realization that dawned on me. A mere extension of what i mentioned afore, but a more useful and simple one. I realized that the Roles (Chairs) in our lives, are more or less fixed, as they arise from our most primal and instinctive needs, and hence are immune to extinction in a paltry manner. But People, they change. Very few of them can be as resistant as the Roles to which they are assigned. So people, well, they come and go. Some stay, forever at times.

The duration of partnership varies, but not the eventual dissolution. Exceptions breed of course, but their community is quite a minority. The person who might be your closest confidant today might not remain as sensitive to your dynamics anymore. The person who was always there to crack you up, might not have the time today to think funny. It's natural. Makes it easier to let go, which is ever so essential to our lives and learning. And the sooner we accept it, the easier the river flows for us.

Come to think of it, one thing is assured, the music never abandons us. Let it play! :)

Tonight's song is one that carries a bagload of memories with it, but with no relation to what the song is about or what it conveys. One song that shall never leave my playlist, Stigmatized by The Calling:

If I give up on you I give up on me
If we fight what's true, will we ever be
Even God himself and the faith I knew
Shouldn't hold me back, shouldn't keep me from you.

Tease me, by holding out your hand
Then leave me, or take me as I am
And live our lives, stigmatized

I can feel the blood rushing though my veins
When I hear your voice, driving me insane
Hour after hour day after day
Every lonely night that I sit and pray.

We live our lives on different sides,
But we keep together you and I
Just live our lives, stigmatized

We'll live our lives, We'll take the punches everyday
We'll live our lives I know we're gonna find our way

I believe in you
Even if no one understands
I Believe in you, and I don't really give a damn
stigmatized
We live our lives on different sides
But we keep together you and I
We live our lives on different sides

We're gonna live our lives
Gotta live our lives
We're gonna live our lives
We're gonna live our lives, Gonna live our lives, Stigmatized!