Many of us are haunted by the idea that we are going to die. Some of us believe in afterlife, others don’t. Some of us think that once our bodies turn into dust, our dust will roam around the world, only to help others’ dust find themselves. Some of us fantasise heaven and some scoff upon that idea.
And yet, it is amazing how we keep our heads on without fainting at the thought of death. But that is how we are. We think about the aftermath and sometimes get lost living the aftermath. And we all waste our lives dreaming about what happens after death. Whether people will remember us, whether they will tell of us.
We all wonder if it hurts. If it hurts to leave the world and what happens after that. Millions of stories talk about millions of ways, but why do we think so much about death? Why do we wonder what happens after and not about what is happening today?
Maybe after today is the aftermath. Maybe as you are reading this, someone is taking their last breath. But it is inevitable and the aftetmath can’t be dodged.
Whatever may happen, we need to stop wondering about after. For whatever we do, we will be remembered. Some way or the other. Maybe your name will be mentioned in a book. Maybe you will be told of to your great great grandchildren who it turn will pass your legend on to their kids. But we will never be forgotten.
A soul doesn’t live in vain. It will outlive all of us and stay till it, like us, is worn out.
This is a poem about a slave who is working day and night, for food. He has lost all hope, but strives to survive. Yet, he realises that he would never be free until he embraced Death with open hands.
BURNING
The whip brought me back to the real world Another shout, another scream Another drop of sweat fell off of my face And embedded itself in the ground Another groan, another grunt, Another dream crushed in front of myself And mocked me
The meagre food kept me going Yet I saw no reason to not fall down And accept the inevitable And give up But I thought I had some pride left in me And I bent my back to bow down As the king passed by Ignoring the pain that it brought by
The sun glared down upon me Challenging me To lie down And go to sleep To do what the common man would do And stop
It was easier and quicker Another pill, another fall, Another died of so called illness And somewhere I realised I wanted the same
My mind drifted back to my life To the visions I had as a child Of becoming king Of living freely Of having freedom But time had stomped upon my dream Quite as the world stomped upon us
That night a friend came to visit me It was a dream He called himself Death And he held out a hand Another shiver, another shudder, Another chill found its way down my spine I took his hand And I embraced him tight
But I never knew that I would speak to Death So I told him “Thank you.”
This poem is about a boy who recently moved houses. He has but enough money to get educated and soon get a job. But when asked to come home, he is confused.
HOME
I stumbled across many lands Each one welcoming me Comforting me Making sure I felt fine For that was my ‘home’
Maybe it was a pleasantry Maybe a way of greeting that I was unfamiliar with Maybe it was truly a word from their hearts
But I couldn’t find home For I was too confused Where is home?
The first of many words that were taught to me The first of many words that I forgot And now was merely like an alien word That one feels after repeating a word a hundred times And when it loses all meaning
Was home where I grew up Or where I settled in and continued growing up Or the tens of hotels I spent the night at when I was lost
Was home my aunt’s house Where I felt comfortable Yet unable to move after such a heavy meal
Was home my school Where I found my friends And spun my life around The spinning world around me
Was home the office Where the big banner after Christmas read ‘Welcome back Home’
Was home the sandwich shop A block away Where the owner told me that I could come anytime For it was home To me
I felt like going on and on and on And I wished it were as easy as a treasure map Where I would have to find X And I would get home
Every time I see a rainbow, some life sparks up in me. All worries leave me and for one moment, my heart is filled with this warm feeling that we call hope. A rainbow is the perfect metaphor to life. It takes the rain and the sun, two completely opposite things different in nature to present a beautiful result.
A rainbow is the bridge to happiness. It draws a smile across everyone’s face. It signifies hope and success. Sometimes life might not turn out the way we want it to but that is just the rain in rainbow. Sometimes we are too overcome with fatigue to do anything. That is probably the sunshine holding you back.
Everything that happens, happens for good. Everything you do, all your hard work, your sweat and blood is all going to get payback. You are going to bear the fruits of your life. You are going to see a rainbow, someday sooner or later.
Don’t look at the dirt and decide to give up. Look at the rainbow and keep pushing through. You will fail. We don’t see rainbows every day. But you will succeed. You will succeed if you believe in the rainbow.
This is a poem narrated by a ghost. It is when he reminisces and remembers the good old days. He watches the whole world falling apart and he wants the world to live and to not die like he did.
I MISS
I miss the alarm clock going off I miss the hurry The urgency To go I miss the goodbye kiss For when I left home
I miss my skateboard And the envious glances it attracted I miss birthday cakes And the candles we would blow out
I miss the burger that I would grab for lunch And the coffee cup with my name spelled wrong sometimes purposely to make me smile
I miss the music mix that was so loud That the neighbour’s dogs would start barking And I would have to tune the speaker down And maybe wear headphones To mute the noise Which was relief to me
I miss the video games Where I would beat my friends And I would be crowned the greatest I miss the bedtime stories The smiles
I miss family and friends and For some reason enemies too I miss love
But I can’t see love Maybe it stopped lasting Maybe all the fairytales are wrong And there is no happily ever after
If someone can hear me I pray I bow my head down to you To bring back simplicity To bring back love
To bring back what we lost and to vow to never lose it again.
This is a story about a girl called Ivy who lives on an island. She lives on a hill overlooking a wide range of mountains. And on the other side of the island is the sea. She is the master of her own life and lives with her parents. She wants to try everything and do everything and feel everything. But every time she does that, something stops her and maybe nature is stopping her from living life.
A WANT
The wind made Ivy’s red hair blow and sent electricity down her spine. As she looked at the tall mountains laid out in front of her, she wondered about life. She grabbed the diary near her and started writing rapidly.
“Ivy! It’s late and dinner’s ready. Come and eat before it gets cold.” Her mother called her and as if on cue Ivy got up and said goodbye to the sky. While walking she saw the stars starting to twinkle in the sky and suddenly she just wanted to lie down and stare at the sky and feast in its glory.
Ivy slowed down and her legs gave way as she lied down. Her mother called her again, but her call fell on deaf ears. Finally, her father came out and picked Ivy up and carried her back inside. He told her,”You are only thirteen, you have your whole life to do whatever you please. But for the sake of your mother, just come in and eat your dinner.” So she did.
17th March,
Ms. Brown asked us what we wanted today. Cary wants an airplane. Debbie wants a dollhouse. Emily wants a dress.
But I don’t want things. I want essence. I want life. I want to feel everything. But I couldn’t tell Ms. Brown that otherwise everyone would make fun of me. And I don’t want that.
I want to roll down the hill and I want to get hurt. I want to gosailing in a sea no matter how far it is. I want to gaze at the stars till they sleep so I can too. I want to watch the sun rise and see all stars twinkle out. I want to run out to the horizon and I want to live.
It isn’t wrong to want that, is it?
The next morning, Ivy woke up to see the sun wake up. She basked in the first rays of sunlight. She thought that maybe she could go down the hill and see the view. So for the first time, she got ready to tumble down.
She lied down and started rolling, but as she was rolling down, her leg got stuck in a bush full of thorns. Ivy tried to get up and free her leg, put twisted her ankle in the process. Her foot was red as if blotched with red ink, that invited pricks of pain. She sat up and held back her tears.
Ivy had managed to bandage her foot and wear socks so nobody would see her foot. She reached school too and was sitting in class. Ms. Brown was taking attendance. “Harry Jones,” and Harry said he was present. “Ivy Maroon!” She hastily raised her hand and jolted back to reality.
It was almost midnight and the sky was clear as crystal. Ivy crept out of the house and laid down on the grass to look up at the sky. Her eyes twinkled as she saw stars twinkling and for that one moment she was living. She was being. And her presence was so strong that for one moment calmness spread.
No sooner did she start ‘living’ did it start clouding up. Lightning struck and somehow within seconds it was thundering and pouring. And through no fault of her own, Ivy was drenched in her dreams as well as water.
The following day Ivy sneezed over breakfast and rushed to the sink. Where she only sneezed harder. Her nose was blocked and her eyes were watery and red. Before she sneezed again, her mother caught hold of her and put her back to bed with medicine.
Her father, Bill was paging through the wet newspaper with the headline: SUDDEN RAIN STARTLES PEOPLE. He nodded, it was clearly seen, the newspaper itself was soaked.
19th March,
I don’t know why but I think someone is stopping me. Some invisible force out there doesn’t believe in me and my life.
Is it so wrong to live? What is the harm in a want that is far greater than any need? And why am I punished for wanting to live?
You know what? I am going to leave. I will pack a bag and walk all the way to the other side of the island and ask Thomas to lend me a boat. And I will sail till I find an answer. I will endure all of nature’s tricks till I uncover her secret.
And with that Ivy set off.
As soon as dawn dawned again she left a note and stepped out. She walked down the hill and instead of going to the left to the mountains, she turned her back to the range and took the other route.
She walked and walked and walked . It took her months to get to the other side, but she did. Though bruised and hungry and ragged, she reached.
And then she talked to Thomas, got a boat and she left. She left to explore and to find the purpose of life. She went to live up to her dreams and to herself.
Maybe she is still out there, exploring and writing and living like she had nothing to lose.
Today the world is falling apart. Everything ends in failure and sometimes death. And all of us are caught up in the tornado of despair and tension and stress. The one thing we all seem to forget is that the darkest days do give way to the night. The harshest of situations will improve though not steadily.
Life is like an endless hallway, hope is what drives us to take another step. Why do we get up every morning if we believe that we are going to die? Why do we always, reluctantly, move on in life? Why do we believe in a happily ever after? We have hope and we have faith.
We believe that somewhere out there is happiness. somewhere out there is cure. Somewhere out there is peace. And that is what keeps us going throughout life. Even in the worst of times we believe that there is a better time ahead of us that will come for sure.
And it is this hope that we have to keep in our hearts and never lose. And yet if lost, we must chase it till the end of the world and then move on.
Milomi's world 