Excerpts from the book Illusions by Richard Bach

The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while, and watch your answers change.

The Last Dream!!!

Walking the empty path
I see a Goblin, staring back at me.
It smiles for I had none
pitiful it offered me some

I had a life, cannot be left behind
Though for the stars it’s over
it’s what I live for,
For even a dark cloud has a shining ray.

It walks me into a distance
where all my thoughts are alive.
My arms stretch to touch yours,
the feeling I could die for.

Forgetting the past, I start living.
For you were with me, on the edge
hiding all the bruises behind the shadows
We gather pace, forever!!

But there was no Goblin,
No ones hand to clinch!!!
It was just another night,
and just another dream.

Moon in the dark

The moon drifted tonight
for it was red, with anger.
It had clouds all over
to hide its true face.

When I got closer, it jerked.
Giving a look that was stern.
I gathered patience to look back
for even I was a simple being.

I asked the moon "How it was?"
It looked, ignored and went away.
Today was just the third night
but then how come it was 15th?

Land beyond!!!

Its just another day, in the small town of Re. The town merged with happiness and cheerfulness of yesterday's victory over Ramogh, was deep asleep. Every soul was dreaming of the bigger years ahead.

The gripping fingers of Tad were examining the rough surface of the wooden stick in his hand. He was among those people who wanted to breathe in the morning myst of victory. His eyes stared in distance and revisited his childhood when he used to run like a free soul. He got up and started walking, lost in thoughts about his father who had left never to return. His hunger to find his own father died when he realised how it is like to be a father.

He had married the most beautiful girl in 50 villages around and she liked him too. She liked him for he was as patient as a crane and yet very watchful and understanding. He was deeply in love with her eyes, for they reminded him of rains and the unending smiles. She loved his cheerfulness and presence in her world. He had never imagined her to be so beautiful, so sensuous and motherly. Her thoughts of perfect love were re-christined 'Tad'.

They were so passionate about each other's presence that they would walk long distances to exchange a few glances. Watching her walk towards him would give him a new zeal to conquer the world for her. Her shyness and smiles were a perfect mix of seduction and he had only dreamt of the moves she had conquered. Her aroma was so breathtaking that he forgot to breathe in his next one and fainted.

Once when they met on their spot in the jungle, they had a visitor; a 6 feet jackal waiting for its young prey. He attacked Tad, but Tad's fighting skills came into play before even he came to know. His muscular arm was bruised in the fight but he had managed to keep the jackal away from his love. The jackal ran away tired and Tad was welcome in the arms for whom he had fought. She took care of him like her child and was so proud of her choice, she cleaned the bruise and felt so much wanted that she cried.

His walk today was of a leader who had won a fight for his motherland. Every woman in the town would have been a proud mother if Tad was her child. He stared in distance over his own hut that had trees all around.

Whispering Mirror!!!

Just passed the alley again
it was waiting for me,
the pick of the day was there,
It was a mirror in the alley.

I was eager to peep in the reflection
of time, of life and of the alley
Had time spelled a spell on me
difficult to break through or not yet?

Feeling the suffocation of the alley
I starting moving the open canvass
A hand pulled me back from the mirror
it was me, right in my face!!

I wanted to leave and asked for a leave
It rejected like it owned me, it did
But why now, what was in for me?
I gulped down the rising pressure

It blinked, held me tighter, a demon
was about to swallow me, it grew
darker than night and it came out
like a door had opened!!!

It told me, I am you, you from past
you from future and you now
All that has changed is the mirror
or your perception towards me!!!

Shocked, my shoes moved again like
there was no tomorrow, haunted!!!
I looked back and it smiled on me
I loved the gripping experience and the alley!!!

I visited the alley again, for today was new.
I saw nothing, but the crap lying lonely
it floated up and down in the corner
where I had found myself!!!

Home coming!!!

Here I come back again,
though my walk falters
and my fingers tremble
its coming back home

I have walked the empty streets
where words are sold off the shelf
it’s the path that sheds relations
and I longed for your touch

The painting hung on the wall
cries the rivers, fires the peeling color
It sends jitters down my spine
It separates the two worlds

The walk gets tiring as I take a step
the pillars standing are by gone
the fields have gone barren
I wanted this to happen ever long

The wait is over, words dried pasted
Back on the wall, sinking the shades
of pain, agony and fear
Its like coming home!!!

Moonlit

The rags of the sky were resentful
for the night had stolen their moon
The stars wept the night long
for they were left alone

The owls howled, the trees croaked
the wind swept the ground away
As the night entered again, it came
with the birth of a new moon

The rags started loving the moon more
this time for they knew, that once gone
is not forever, once dropped is not
the end of time, but a beginning

The silence was broken, the stars smiled
the wind brought the mighty times
Love was the winner and it won it all
For every winner gets up after a fall

Dreams!!!

His spectacles stared at the Sun
It was long that he had waited
Waited for the train to arrive
It had come, all alone!

He had many dreams wrapped
Tied to the wooden chair
The papers had dispersed
Just like kids, in the evening

His stories written on the wall
Stared back hauntingly
He had forgotten to let them free
Free to be empty again

His eyes blurred as he saw
The train returning all empty
The spectacles touched the ground
Dreams was all he had!!!

Windy Street!!!

He lay on the ground, eyes closed
I had seen him doing the same
His soul was at peace all the time
and he closed his eyes, tightly.
For the fear that he might lose it
for the fear that the moment would be gone
Gone no where, forever!!!

He held himself close, not to lose
himself cause he might have lost enough
enough to count his life on, memoirs.
His hands rocked, to signal the wind
for it belonged to him, as promised
he comes back the next day
and turns the key of wind, life!!!

He smiled today, at whom, for what?
but he was alive, from his grief
for a moment he became happiness.
He was thoughtful, concerned as ever
for he had to start the life once again
he swayed his hands again and so did the wind!!!

The walk, the song and me...

Walking on the freeway, singing a song
the phone rings its you again.
The song skips a line, it wasnt there
or was it, cause I loved it that way!

My eyes are open, watching a dream
there is a part of me thats deep within.
My eyes skip a ray of light
cause you looked into my eyes

The drenched look the cloud had
creases of the lightening unbalancing darkness
The air here is so full of life, the cliff
was the place I belonged to

Looking out of the window is a part of me
looking in deep within, tainted glass reflects
Sunshine is out again for it was never bottled up
cause clouds had a story to tell

Life is so beautiful on the cliff, my cliff!!!

Are you Ready?

'Who am I ?', I asked the originator.

He replied you are a dummy sent on a planet just to play a game called life. You have been granted senses for you have excelled in your earlier performances on other planets. You will have many strings attached to limit your movement viz. relations, testing conditions, etc. They are the hurdles that govern every stage that you live in. You can either escape the hurdles or you can jump over them and win a star in your roll. You have to make choices to make yourself a better player.

I will mend the game so as to make the game tougher at different levels. You will have only one life to make it to the end and as per the choice you make your results would vary. Its just like living in parallel universe. You will meet other robots on the way who will stay with you for sometime of your journey. You can avail some benefits from other players if they opt for it.
The game ends and starts at my orders. You have won earlier levels. Are you ready for the next one?

Push "PLAY" to start.

By the...

The shades just got transparent

the orange turned darker

and as the night is about to fall

the waters shine sparkles!

The trees sway with the wind

holding hands is a ritual

but as they travel leaves drop by

forever, lost in the transition!

The wet rocks echo the croaks

the swing of waves bathe them

for they have waited the long day

love, for the waves!

I sit on a rock, watching the game

everyday its the same

morning comes and day goes

waiting, waiting for the rains!!

Smiles and Shades

When the stars fade with time

and the trees shed their leaves

When the roads get painful

and the fingers last to curl around

When the rivers sing their stories

and the drops bring freedom

When the clouds break the barriers

and the moon peep through them

When the heart skips a beat

and I miss you like never before

Just say you will be there

and smile for me

When the eyes stop pondering

in the distance for anyone

and they just want your sight

before time knocks the door

When names lose their importance

and faces are your reminders

When the love is only feeling

I have deep within, hold me tight.

Time for Introspection

I remember that I had mentioned in the second post of this blog about my feelings last year about 15th Aug and 59 years of independence. I was rather blatant in saying that corporate sector had a big role and so did the government.

Now after a year has passed and I see that how wrong I was. It’s not for the corporate sector and government to improve situations around for public but for the public itself to identify their hidden talent and improve them. This would serve two purposes. Firstly, this would shift the decision making power from absolute zero to more responsible people. Secondly, it would give more confidence to people working on it and make them aware of their strengths and areas of improvement.

Having said this, how much have I worked for social upbringing? I could have gone and taught at least one child and made him ready for the future, so that he would take care of his family. Or I could have helped people in arranging for the medicines required by collecting money from those acquaintances who would be on the other side. I could have done so many things. I hope I do it now since I realize the importance of it.

Just Another Lemon Tree

I walked through the garden which had been my secret partner for I dont know how long. The dry leaves knit carpet on the garden road was as beautiful as in every winter. The color of the leaves hanging on the tree was changing to a brownish shade, the grip just loosening from the branches. The flowers had long disappeared and all that remained were memories.

Every step was taking me closer to my best friend, who knew all my secrets. My first crush, my first beating at home, my first prank on mother and every other story in thick and thin was written on the pages of our friendship. He never spoke a word, just stood still and waved when I was happy and shed leaves when I lost my patience. My friend was like my shelter for every rain who would protect me from the thunderstorm which threatened every base of my life.

As I came closer to my favorite lemon tree it spread its arms to hold me close. It had shown me the care I always dreamt of, just being there was enough for me. I lifted my head and smiled and said my warm 'Hello's to my dear one. It smiled back and swayed with the wind. I was so happy that day since I had achieved my dream. I had lived that complete day just for myself. Till now every moment was captivated with the soulful thoughts of others and today I had my life, just my own to live.

I spent the day with few of my old friends, who had walked all the way to meet me with their walking sticks and they smiled at me. That was enough to fill me to the core, to give justice to all the past nightmares. I walked another mile to meet my family. I saw a happy family with my sweet grand-daughter brushing her forehead hair and came running towards me. Her soft tender fingers gripped mine, as we walked towards my daughter. She waved at me and looked at her happy daughter. We spent more than two hours talking about the past and the future and she had to live for her classes. She had completed her PHD and taught at the top Univ in the area.

I walked back towards my house. As I opened the door I saw the walls I had seen on the first day when I had shifted here with my wife. It was a moment of pride and joy, pride of having the gift for life in the form of my wife and joy for she had liked the colors I had spent hours on, for the very moment. As we walked our first step she held my hand and kissed passionately, that was her way of saying 'Thank-You for everything'. I loved her so much. Her dreams had given me wings and I never looked back and I had achieved so much in so little time.

As I turned and closed the door of my room, I was welcomed by my OLD DIARIES and they were so happy for me being there, back with their company to revisit the moments I had thought were important. Like the time my little daughter had sang her first song, dancing to its tunes and rocked her hair. Or the time when I had bought my first car and the ride we had the other evening, ripping through the dawn till it was pitch black. Life has been so kind to me.

I walked out towards my best friend. It was a heavy walk towards the end of the park.

Spider casts the web

I was watching the show before they were even thinking of it. I was on the other side of the set of an medieval village, the carts had been made to threaten anyone. It carried loads of pain and anger on it and no one could identify the purpose. The wooden spokes painted shining blackish-red with mud kissing the edges.

The king was not the regular good king and had a witty sense of hatred and his way of expressing was just blooming by each passing day. His wives should have loved what he was the last day but he was changing with every moment. His reactions for everything were getting worse for no reason and he was in no mood to react or analyse. He was turning into devil.

The fort was painted with black stones, something like caves worn out by the dropping rains. The small insects crawling and surmounting its inch were using their legs most efficiently as if they were working for a purpose. Their eyes were just observing the movements around very minutely. The lizards were patiently watching this game and cleaning themselves for the approaching feasts. Their eyes glued on the slippery walls which the insects were crawling on.

The iron around was reacting with oxygen and turning red and adding to the effect of the lighting, a great picture was developing right beneath my nose. How can I be so ignorant??

Dreams...

I was walking on the cleanest beaches that my life could offer. It had been a sunny day, just another sunny day. I was watching at the lone, pure and untouched grains of sand; life was so much simple and beautiful in the mind of the grains, I thought. I could feel the grains kissing my bare feet as I walked and get picked up and displaced, shining and happy. The view that location had to offer was the best my human eyes had ever witnessed. I was holding hands of the crazy, kiddish wind as it danced its way, touching all corners of me inside out.

I bent down. Why? I saw an ugly rock dropped on that soft sand. Was wondering what was the destiny of that rock and what had brought it here. May be just another kid who threw it here or a lover had thrown it in the ocean while competing and laughing with his lover and the surfy waves just got it here. It was just lying there on that sunny day, as if this is what it always wanted to do. Just be there and stare around or be itself.

It was an ugly ovular but not oval, circular but not round kind of thing. Hope you got what I want to convey here. I felt it with my fingers and it was rough on the surface and smoother on the corners. My eyes gazed the details it had to offer. There were serrations, mountains and valleys, some moon craters and some pimples on a beautiful face. It smiled back at me.

I was falling in love with the moment and that stone. I looked around and was astonished about my luck and couldn't believe what I had just seen. There was a pearl lying on the sand, waiting for the observer; since people just are so lost that they don't look at the things closest till they are lost. I walked towards it and observed the curves, shine and the beauty of that pearl. I liked it for the first few moments. It had its own story to tell.

"Which one would you pick? An ugly stone or the pearl?" asked the fairy mother.

Another instant in life which would be termed as perfect, I thought. I looked straight at her deep eyes and just enjoyed that sight for a moment. Coming back to senses I thought about the choices.

"If only life was so simple and choices so easy to pluck. I would rather walk now." I replied smiling as an innocent child.

I looked up. Smiled. Thanked God and kept walking. I slided my hand in the left pocket and I was shocked to find the ugly love of mine. I smiled as I rubbed my eyes and got up.

Dry Weekend??

I remember weekends were the most awaited phase of the week, from my college days . I would peel off the other days just to have some moments of rest. Rest from work, rest from thoughts, rest from rest of the world. Though that was always was the top thing on my scheduler I remember most of the weekends were spent with friends, deep in woods or searching for a place to sit and have a cup of coffee or planning a night out.

Sudden stop!! That's life. It has come to a standstill today. I wake up and I have no plans to meet anyone and enjoy. I have no bike ride awaiting me nor a beach to leave our footprints. I used to enjoy the college weekends the most. They were mostly spent in family or woods. Family? Yes I had a close friend whose family was so inviting that I couldnt resist being a part of them and yes the lovely food his mother used to cook for us. Still miss the yummy food and the fun. Otherwise we used to go and spend the time at the lake where we had made a friendship point and would go swimming just to enjoy the feeling of water.

Else pick the bicycles and go through the muddy and 'open-armed' roads of the villages circling around the wheat farms. The swaying of the crops, the sweet melodies of the birds and the rhymes sung by the water, superb. It was The Unknown that would make me go faster than the rest of the lot, shouting out loud may be to scare away the bad spirits. I used to sing songs and enjoy the beauty, simply loving the brushing winds. Nothing can beat a lunch in the cane farms after a bicycle ride of 7-8 kms. Total life, simple life, life.

I remember the kiddish look on my friends face when we pulled their legs and ganged them up. I was the prey too, but not quite often, may be I am a scary old man!!! Remember the weekend around Nagpur spent in the open wild with no protective equipment. The dark night was the queen and we were the tax payers. Dont know for how long I will visit the journey in my mind, a true fun that life is. Full of uncertainities, laughter, darkness, moon lit night and life.

I miss all you friends out there!!! You people simply rock guys!!!

Life...so easy

Have you ever wondered what has attracted towards a person?

It might not be the talks and the big names attached but just small gestures. A smile, a deep glance for a fraction of second, style of holding things and the dart is on the target.

Life is so simple when it comes to decoding the informal speech. Just have to be observant and understanding for grabbing the attention. You need to know which cards to play and you have your man/ woman. Most of the marketing tools must be based on the same. During a stint of one week of marketing job I had observed my senior doing the same. The way he would greet, voice modulation and his approach while departing were simply perfect. He was named manager after his experience of 8 months with the firm.

Sometimes the temperature can be changed by just the gestures and without any words exchanged result change. so be observant towards these things in life and win over. Remember that innocent kid smiling back at you and waving his hand in the mall and you just smiled your heart out.

Polished Words

Wonder what words were invented for?

* May be to communicate the feelings clearly and effectively.

What are they used for?

* Impressing people.

No harm in it. But when genuine words are used just to create a false cloud around people or thoughts its very bothering. Bothering since they are nothing more than dressed puppets, lifeless, meaningless. They do no benefit but harm.

Why do people use them as a sugar-coat?

Some people want to impress others so badly that they forget the very purpose of communication and get lost in the myst.

I can feel nothing more than pity for these kind of people who build castles in others mind and don't care if other person already knows the reality. Dragging for sometime is bearable but forever?

PS: Forgive me guys if this was blunt but I wanted to express this somewhere and this is a more meaningful forum for that.