One night, while strolling, I found this fantasy land
With an hourglass, made of sand
Little did I know, that back then
I just came across the end of men.

Surreal, it was, in the clouds
With all the cemeteries of deserted shrouds
‘Tis buried hopes of a forever life
Having times of hope, some of strife.

When the sun turns to ice
And our world’s a roll of dice,
All get vanished, the end has begun
And this will be the day I’m done.

The corpses, one by one, their souls sucked in
Until their skin gives away,
Their dreams and hearts left within
No voices left to speak, 
And left tired and weak.

An old man with cracks
In his bones, a curvature in his back.
A shining light, a human form
Came into view, and dubbed the old man
Reborn.

The army that guarded
This clouded beyond
In their previous life, were martyred
And never conned.

No mortals in
Nor corpses out
Those who tried to sin
All captured no doubt

I continued my path
Across the sea of bones
Is this what’ll be like?
Now that I know the unknowns?

I wanted to meet the immortal,
On his throne made of brass
Going through a bronze portal
I found out,
I was separated from him
With glass.

So easy to break,
Yet the consequences would reign
I wanted to stay awake,
Not face the pain.

From the other side, 
I asked him a question, quite noble and true
“How’s it living forever? Me being me, and you being…
You?”
And when he replied
His answer was also quite
Noble and true
But I NEVER can say
The bold wisdom he told.
Except it took him more than a day.

I returned on a winged beast
Tamed and fast
My journey had ceased,

O’ the past, o’ the past.

Spending life
With your back turned toward a fellow human
The world 
Divided
Different from the beginning Pangaea
Where 7 continents were 1

But
Imagine a world where the past is the past
The present is the present
The future is the future

Whatever you write
Of ease or of strife 
Whatever you say 
Of happiness or dismay
Happy or sad
Good or bad
Gets erased.
Just in time
For whatever comes next

A world where people forget, people forgive
Moments getting washed away by the very next moment. erased.

Pondered about circumstances
Some simple, some difficult 
Some like the gentle seaside breeze
But some confronted
By the Scissor.

People forced to leave dear things.
From friends
To homes 
To dreams.
Holding on to every last strand 
As long as they can
In the hope that paths cross again.

And while old possessions get replaced
A place in their heart
Will always be empty.

The void to fill
The chasm of darkness.

But I’m not thanking them.
For all the sorrow
That they’ve caused us.

Colonel is Ker-nul 
Why is the ‘L’ alone?
I want to put an L
On their forehead
For such poor
Thinking
Thunking
Thanking…
What a thought! 

I’m restless, I’m horrid;
Thy emotions so torrid
To thee I say
I cherish light blue, the days in the sun
But I hide whenever dark blue has begun

The magician, his tricks
And hands of deception.

A rubber ball in the cup
Three in total:
From one cup 
To the other
The ball switched.
In the blink of an eye

Was it really magic?
Or just sheer distraction

In our busy, brisk life
Distractions aplenty 
Movies, shows, social media
To gambling, politics, vacations.
Chasing shiny objects 
Running after the allure 

Distractions
From the bigger picture,
From our true north.

To wit
Life is the magician
We are the audience
Opportunity is the magician’s ball
Some take the ball forward
Others drop the ball

With bewitched eyes I watch.

The Prey
Bombs bombarding far and wide
Destroying history
Fighting fate

Now
Ordinary citizens
To war heroes
Staying behind
Wearing military fatigues
Learning to shoot guns
Not shying away from the bedlam
To save their home
But saying au-revoir to new-fledged offsprings

Freedom fighting, a thought not abstract anymore

The Upstanders
Many feuds with Russia
The Cold War, ending the Soviet Union
Veterans sacrificing for the under link
Flexing muscles with sanctions
Helping in ways they can
Trying to prevent WWIII

The Bystanders
The middle of the sandstorm
Tik-tok
The world is watching
Countries, some silent
Some working through conflicts
The never-ending political chessboard

The Next Chapter
Should we go head in and face the uproar
Or await the dust to tranquilize
What will the future bring?
Peace
Destruction
Or balance of power

All in all
Disbelief

All the focus outward
To the life that is moving
Constantly
But inward is a new world
Perhaps

The torrent sea
Ferocious waves
A turbulent ride
With reflections blurred and obscure
The placid lake
Is oft the deepest

Is all this a dream?
When at Death’s door
We awake?
Fading into oblivion
Levitating to the gates of Heaven
Or dragged down to stairs of Hell
Should we pinch ourselves
To guide us to reality?

Are we reanimated
Blooming, withering, blooming again?
New life, new choices, new identity
In the same transitory planet, yet different lives

Or is this all we get?
One life and we’re done?
Trying all we can
And memories to live on

Whatever the outcome
It’s a mystery to me
The mind, the body, the soul
One moment full of life
The other, poof

Who’s to say
If something’s perfect or flawed?
A question worth pondering
The opinion is the perspective
There is always beauty in the eyes of the beholder
Nothing may be perfect or flawed 
It’s what we make of it
The good, the bad, and the ugly

Some diamonds in the rough are underrated
Yet some legends are overrated
Goldilocks -- no such a thing

Another turn on the Covid seesaw
The delta variant
Cases went down, but we got our hopes high
Now omicron, taking a turn for the worse
A zig-zag line, unstable, I say
A rollercoaster ride, speeding to its peak
Talking of peaks, there are peaks and valleys
Airlines, shut-open-shut

Climate change is getting the benefit of the doubt
This problem is an heirloom for our future
But most doing nothing to slow it down
Erratic weather at an all time high
A winter storm in Texas, bursting water pipes
In Portland, sweltering heat at 116
How is that for a tale of two cities

Now for the bigger picture
Countries with ups and downs
In America, President 46 took the role
So far so good
But at the start of the year, a deep dark abyss
Capitol attacks, citizens behaved barbaric

On the other side of the Atlantic
The Taliban in power again
U.S. troops retreated
Thousands of Afghans
Trapped in their own country

From countries to companies
Facebook files to TikTok woes
Backlash from the people
And who knew dystopia would get the most mind share on shows
Escape –
–Escape from reality

Now back to real world dystopia
Asian hate crimes
George Floyd’s death
Horrendous for humanity
Racial hate getting the better of our nation
We need to be in unity
A world together as one

Together as one
Olympics being such a representation
Some intriguing first events witnessed
Simone Biles, a gymnast filled with talent
Withdrew from an honor, but for a worthy reason
A medal more important than gold was won
On the other hand – Caeleb Dressel kept going
Swimming to five prestigious medals
An honor to be proud of, no doubt
Honor for both – a gold for one, mental peace for the other

Looking back
Though some uncertainty
We came together during tough times
Goodbye 2021, farewell, adieu
Say hello to 2022!

Christopher Columbus discovered the New World
Was named a hero, an explorer to praise
But slaughtering Native Indians
A spotlight never shined on this ‘little’ episode
The Taj Mahal, a “tombstone of love” for a loving empress
Ordered to be built by her emperor larger than life
A monument this magnanimous to never be constructed again
Cut the workers’ hands off
Heroes, lovers, villains?
Revelation and hindsight – there is such a thing 
Galileo Galilei, a science rebel no doubt
Punished for his actions, for his opinion which was right
In hindsight
He is a hero now, a felon before

Countless more examples
Countless more opinions 
Sometimes a spotlight with darkness surrounding–
–Sometimes darkness with a silver lining 

A short celebration and then on to the next
Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the period of atonement for ten days
Diwali, a celebration of lights, for five
Christmas for twelve
A day for mothers and a day for fathers
Many more holidays celebrated—a short time burst
Why time-bound?

Back to the ‘one’ day of Thanksgiving with the family
Gratitude can be a way of life, not an isolated day to celebrate
It is a blessing, a gift, we should use it well
Happy Thanksgiving, I hope we all show and not just tell

Inside the box of joy
I spy a carton of milk
I take it out and close the door
But then a thought occurs

Just a second ago, the light was on!
Is the light on now? It leaves me wondering
A metal door that’s blocking me
And no way to find out what’s behind the closed door
Illumination or sheer darkness?

A resemblance perhaps to life
When the door opens, we are in the present
But when the door shuts, we are left in the dark

The future is uncertain
I do find it a bit disconcerting
Not knowing my destiny
But is this for the better?
To go one step at a time?
Let’s leave our lights on as we live
Because we’ll never know when darkness sets in

The glittering streets are not the wrong choice, I believe
And neither are the simple roads
Each path leads to a different end of the journey
It is up to you to decide
You decide

A home, a car, or a test score at school
You want some compliments, pride or fulfillment
But don’t look now, someone else
Will stun your audience with something superior

Going at my pace, my speed, focus on my life
Says my intrinsic self 
But o’ my relative self 
Says to be the best
And not settle for second, to be first through and through

What should be the chosen path?
Your true value or what others think you are worth?
A thought that occurs often

You should be your audience, and improve on every step
Be proud of your work, be proud of your worth
Life is yours; its value cannot be compared
Intrinsic should reign, I think; but relative wins, more often
Such is life.