Poetry
Of Vivek Aiyyar
It was a cold winter evening,
i was awakened by a wolf howling in the moonlight,
i had no idea how many days,months or years
i had been sleeping,
my castle wore a deserted look,
my mind was blank,blank were the pages of my book.
The happy days long gone were now a distant memory,
i heard the voices of people i knew,
parents,wife,children,friends,brothers
questions many,answers were but a few
Was the castle dark or was i blinded by these evil times?
i lit a candle and walked down the stairs,
My shadow seemed inhuman and cast fearful forms on the moss eaten
castle walls,
Was this the same place were fear and sadness could never call,
How did my life in such darknes fall?
I have very confusing memories of the past,
all i know is that of my proud race i was now the last,
The darkness had befallen us somewhere during spring,
the advent of a stranger brought this downfall,
There were rumours that he stayed on the outskirts of the village.
He took the children first , then he returned for the women
And then one by one he took from me all that i love,
I was broken , i was bitter , i seeked nothing but his blood
i wanted revnege, hell fire burnt in my eyes
I was sick of the waiting game,
I had made up my mind, this beast i was going to tame.
As i approached the monsters dwelling the sick smell of rotten flesh
struck me,
Gathering my courage i pushed the heavy door,
I saw the bodies of friends and family scattered all over the marble
floor,
tears filled my eyes as i called the beasts name in vain,
My mind filled with childhood fears and tales of gore,
I then looked around the room and saw things of mine which i thought
i had lost,
The monster had robbed me of my precious gems,
Then all of a sudden i saw my handwriting all across the wall,
I had scribbled the names of my loved ones.
How ? when did i walk this vile floor.?
As i walked deeper into the evil house,
i remembered the sickness, i remebered the madness, i remebered the
cell,
With a broken heart i walked forward till i reached the master chamber,
There i saw a broken mirror,
And then like a bolt of lightning it hit me,
The trickster was in me,
i was the villain, the villain was me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bokor
(The Ballad Of Nera and Ekano)
1.The Bokor
Legend has it that he was the devil's son,
What became of his mother no one knows,
There were rumours that away she did run,
She had realized that pure evil to her was so close.
They say he learnt the voodoo from the devil itself,
He knew it was not 'Rada' , for him it had to be 'Petro',
With every magic word,deeper he fell into his doom,
And now darkness around his head always did loom.
In a dark temple he practiced his evil art,
After evening,deep into in the night,you could always hear the drums,
Puffer liver,tarantula and poison dart,
People from him did away shun.
As time passd by , like it had before,
He mastered the art and became a Bokor,
Feared and respected,hated and loved,
Ne'er again because of death would
one part with his beloved.
2.Nera And Ekano
Near the river he did spot her one eve,
He had never seen a creature so beautiful,
"She will be mine" he said to himself,
"Could there be another now? Never "
Every evening he would follow her,
An angel in the shadow of darkness,
Her skin dark like the night sky,
But she had the moon in her eyes.
All alone in the temple he sat,
Alone with his magic spells,
"I will leave this dark art for her",
Not a minute longer will i wait
and this moment
itself i will tell her
He made his way to the spot he
knew he would always find her,
His heart full of home and love for her,
but alas! through the jungle's eyes he saw her,
No , she was not alone, she was with her lover.
Ekano was his name,
Well-known was he for his bravery,
The chief's son he was,
He was Nera's love more importantly.
3.Ekano must die
The lover's met,watched by the eyes of hate,
The Bokor heart was burnt was black,
Back he fled,back to his refuge,
Back to the place he was safe because love weakens.
Alone in the temple he sat again,
Alone with the hate that had risen in him,
"Ekanao must die!!" he screamed,
"I shall kill him",
At that point the devil himself he seemed,
As Ekano was leaving,Nera to him thus spake,
"Take care my love,i feel i shall ne'er see thee again"
"Hush!no evil can come to me
As long as in my heart i have your love"
The brave Ekano replied.
4.Ekano's Death
The Bokor met Ekano as Ekano headed home,
The Bokor Ekano held in high esteem,
Closer than friends they would seem,
But that night was different,
The darkness was different
and so
was the moon's gleem.
"Ekano,danger awaits you.Dead in my dreams i saw thee"
"Drink this friend.It will protect you"
Saying this the Bokor to Ekano did an evil liquid hand,
Death is not a welcome guest,
He did not want to leave Nera so early,
He drank it and
the last thoght he had as he hit the ground was
of Nera.
The next morning , the village cried a thousand tears,
"Find the villain", was the cry,
Never such a sad day did tbe this village see,
Drowned in sorrow would everyone be.
Drumbeats filled the sky,
People screamed madly,warding of evil spirits,
As Ekano's tomb was lowered into the ground,
In the distance the dark shadow of the Bokor loomed,
Watching them silently,without a sound.
5.Nera Must Die
At the river-side he confronted her one eve,
"You are alone.I will take care of you"
"Be mine.For you this art i will leave"
Anger entered her,and all sadness flew.
"Never!!, Never you"
"You of the evil art and the devil's magic"
"I hate you.I detest you"
"I know you killed Ekano"
"Leave!Leave now!.Even your sight makes me sick"
Away he fled,back to his temple,
Alone he sat in a corner,alone with his tears,
The wiping his tears,he said with his held high
"Nera must die"
6.Ekano's grave is invaded
That night it rained,
But it rained like no other night,
Thunder stroms gathered,lightning bolts lit up the sky,
On nights like this,the devil does his mischief,
the Bokor that night had made up his mind,
That night "Nera must die".
Silently the Bokor made his way to the graveyard,
the rain poured,the winds howled,
He started digging up Ekano's grave,
The stone was heavy,the stone was hard,
He removed the body from the tomb,
And silently,he returned to his temple with Ekano,
Ekano who that night would be born again.
7. The descent of the Loa
"Hear ye Gods.Here me now"
"With thy powers my servant i create"
"More powerful than the Legendre Of Haiti he will be"
"My dark deeds he shall perform,
through his eyes i shall see"
Saying this he placed the body in the centre of the temple,
And the puffer's kiss he gave the body,
Lightning lit up the temple suddenly,
And the Bokor was done,His dark plan ready.
Around the body he danced,
around the body beating on the drums,
Around his death,Around his doom,
There was a cry in the dark,
And the dead Ekano his eyes opened.
8. Nera shall never sing again
She returned from the river-side,
Her lights she always kept dark,
Ekano's death on her made an unremovable mark,
She returned home,not knowing what she would find inside.
In the darkness,a figure she saw,
It was her Ekano,he was back!!,Could it be?
As he stepped into the light,
She screamed
"You are not my Ekano.This is a bad dream"
Ekano's mind was filled with the master's drums,
All noises save the drum were closed,
In his hand , the Bokor's knife he held,
And with it , a cruel cut to her he dealt.
As she lay struck down by the one she loved,
She smiled and said to him
"Ekano. I know it is not thee"
"But i shall wait for you in heaven",
"wait for you to be free"
The knife dropped from his hand,
Tears rolled down his eyes,
The master's drum he still heard,
The one he loved, he had slain,
To himself he said
"Never shall Nera sing again"
9. Ekano's Revenge
Alone he sat in his temple,
"My slave will return soon"
"My work is done"
"With this salt I shall return him to his tomb"
Ekano came back to the temple,
Back to the place he was born again,
The Bokor was waiting and said
"Ekano, i recreated thee"
"And now,to the grave you i send"
Saying this the salt he threw,
But Ekano did not fall,
On Ekano the Bokor then poison blew,
But Ekano did not fall,and said
"To the grave I shall go,but not without you"
The Bokor's face twisted with fright,
And Ekano the second time that night did strike,
As the brokor lay in a pool of blood,
He smiled because he now knew,
You cannot break love,not a love so true.
Legend has it that he was brought back from the dead,
Wether it was true no-one knows,
But when it is a story of love someone wants,
It has to be that of Nera and Ekano.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Muse
As i get caught in the web
of lies i spin,
In the nightmares created by
me I sink,
Everything i gained I stand
to loose,
Tired eyes search the saviour,The
muse.
Read I can nothing of others,
Alone i stand, Alone in the
stormy wether,
The rain lashes at me,
Send me the muse and set me
free.
I have roamed the lonley ravines,
Walked i have the wicked streets,
I am weary , i cannot stand
on my feet,
Send me my muse,my heart beat
The monsters I created come
back to haunt me,
Those i ridiculed now ridicule
me,
The night,the darkness,My comforts,
taunt me,
Send me the muse, save me.
Words , they rhyme no more,
These eyes sleep no more,
A heart that beats no more,
A muse, a muse like before.
I search the crowded markets,
I search the empty inns,
PLease hurry or i will lose
my mind,
Please for me my muse find.
Lie i can no more to people,
No reasons,all excuses feeble,
To find the right words i grapple,
To find my muse,with the devil
I will gamble.
On top of lofty towers i stand,
just for a sign i search,
All good gone and only evil
will lurch,
No conversations,my muse first.
Like a man of madness i rave,
To my passions now a slave,
Where is the magic that i to
this world gave,
Only my muse can this heart
save.
Alone in front of the wild,untamed
sea,
Searching for visions i could
once see,
All ideas,all concepts , slowly
flee,
Only my muse to set me free.
Death shows her face, but my
muse i do not sight,
Is this the end?Will you take
the light?
But my right you cannot take
without a fight,
I see the shadow of my muse
and the faded light turns bright.......
