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Ultimate Destiny

Tree studded forests beckoned us enticingly
Upright stalwarts pointing upwards thoughtfully
Dozing cozy in sleeping bags in forest clearing
My eyes beheld inky midnight skies unfolding
Stars huddled in colonies or self starters, shining
Winking bright and naughty, saucily twinkling
I wondered at this great vastness calmly stretching
The miracle of the master artist constantly etching

Numerous constellations and galaxies, drawing
Breathing life in miniscule to the greatest being
All with a purpose in this great scheme of existing
Caring nurturing dispensing justice to all, protecting
Things in true perspective had me realizing, wondering
I was a mere speck in this mammoth tree of life flowering
What is the great plan and purpose of all creatures living?
Journey it is, a progression with attrition and surviving
Elevating into the higher echelons of the food chain
Is this my only goal or is there another spiritual gain
Improving, improvising constructively progressing surviving
Inexorably moving towards the ultimate goal of achieving
The one grand prize we all are created for in the first place
Oneness with the One who sent us forth to purify with grace
Man’s ultimate destiny is to become one with the Divine Power which governs and sustains the creation and its creatures.-Alfred A. Montapert American Author
It’s not what’s happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it’s your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you’re going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.
Anthony Robbins 1960-, US Author, Speaker, Peak Performance Expert / Consultant
The purpose of life is a life of purpose. -Robert Byrne , American, Celebrity Quotes
The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.- Mohandas Gandhi ,Indian, Leader
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.-Pablo Picasso
Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know that man is here for the sake of other men.
Albert Einstein
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude. -       Alfred North Whitehead English, Mathematician Quotes
Pure Spirit, one hundred degrees proof — that’s a drink that only the most hardened contemplation-guzzlers indulge in. Bodhisattvas dilute their Nirvana with equal parts of love and work. -Aldous Huxley 1894-1963, British Author
You ask: what is the meaning or purpose of life? I can only answer with another question: do you think we are wise enough to read God’s mind?- Freeman Dyson ,US Physicist
Our actions throughout the day seek to imitate nature by having a purpose. Kindness is like the rising of the sun that sheds new light on matters and compassion is like the rain that washes a way the old and nurtures new life. -Michael Heninger Social Services

Succor

Give me succor
Quell this furor
My lord heed hear
I am full of fear

Arms outstretched
Beseeching pleading
Eyes piercing pleading
Lips aquiver weeping

My heart is breaking
Need arms loving
Cozy sheltering
Alarm bells coursing

Up down running
Blood flowing running
Heartbeat fluctuating
Breath punctuating

Feet tottering tapping
Words spilling stopping
Spirit hoping drooping
Head heavy hanging

Shoulders straightening
Then rounding curving
Stomach heaving aching
Anxiety growing gnawing

Give me succor
Quell this furor
My lord heed hear
I am full of fear

Suddenly my third eye
Opened n took me within
All fear dissolved
All knots unraveled
Joy burst through
Happiness coursed
You gave me succor
Absorbing all fear

If solace is any sort of succor to someone, that is sufficient. I believe in the faith of people, whatever faith they may have.
Studs Terkel
American, Journalist Quotes

Nature has been for me, for as long as I remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion.
Lorraine Anderson
The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.
Anne Frank
1929-1945, German Jewish Refugee, Diarist

Angel of Death

(Bird of Prey Snowy Owl and The Rat- Quarry)

Come my little one, come into my embrace
I have come to fetch you n give you solace Our appointment was made when you were born
I have come to keep my promise, made that morn

There is no time to dither and run helter skelter
This will be the fate of all, so what does it matter
The kind snowy owl has come for you at my bidding
You will be his savior rat by sacrifice, sans any chiding
There is no need to look for food now,  here and there
Your time has come finally my little pal, so be aware
Life and death follow each other cyclically n inexorably
I am the angel of death and my job is taxing emotionally
So my darling little one do not tire yourself running around
The snowy owl is all ready to pounce without making a sound
Let your tired self rest in my arms blissfully with grace
Your job is done in this world and it is time to retrace
Come my little one, come into my embrace
I have come to fetch you and give you solace
Our appointment was made when you were born
I have come to keep my promise, made that morn
I am the angel of death, angel of life and myself are twins
And the world knows that inevitably it is I who always wins
Come my little one, come into my embrace
I have come to fetch you and give you solace

Death is inevitable, but Life - that’s the tricky bit where things happen.
Simon Travaglia
Author Nationalities, Author Quotes

Life is just standing in line for death.
Jeremy A , me
For death begins with life’s first breath And life begins at touch of death
John Oxenham
British, Journalist Quotes

Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny,
 for it is destiny.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1819-1892, American PoetORIGINALLY PUBLISHED @
WWW.BINAGUPTAPOETRY.COM

 
 

Florescent

banked fires
You are lit
I am lit
both are lit
From within

Often watching
Flitting fireflies
Within reach
They were also
lit from within

morning star shining,fading
at daybreak, evening star
winking glowing bright
reaffirm faith
lit from within

glow or fade
shine or dim
hope and happiness
permeates those
lit from within

despair is unacceptable
defeat is unacceptable
weakness is unacceptable
pretense is unacceptable
We are florescent
 
And affirm
We are both
lit from within

 touched by love
nurtured by affection
sustained by trust
we are both
lit from within

affirm
we are
luminous
florescent
glowing
from
within

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the
 wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset
Crowfoot

 
We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm
WinstonChurchill
English, Statesman Quotes

What is love? It is the morning and the evening star.
SinclairLewis
American, Novelist Quotes

Love is the only bow of life’s dark cloud. It is the Morning and Evening Star. It shines upon
 the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb. It is the Mother of Art,
 inspirer of poet, patriot, and philosopher. It is the air and light of every heart, builder
 of every home, kinder of every fire on every hearth, It was the first dream of immortality.
It fills the world with melody. Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless
 things to joy, and makes right royal kings of common clay.
Robert Green Ingersoll
1833-1899, American Orator, Lawyer

The Mask & The Ego

Masking

Born pure as driven snow
Body and soul were all aglow
THEN
Day one brought forth layers
Ignoring my innocent waivers
Parents dressed my body with one peel
Conditioned my persona with another
Friends, environment and school
All conspired, heaping layered spools
I am now dressed and trussed to the gills
A mere shadow of self, a dummy to other wills
Life’s circumstantial mask of false airs,
Pretences and pseudo trappings is firmly in place
Finding self in this thick maze puts me in a daze

Unmasking

In pensive state, dwelled on self fate
Realized on life’s endless journey
Egged on by bravado and supreme ego
Had donned many layers over true self
Mercifully, Inner flame was still lit blue
Unmasking, purging, of all layers’ glue
Burning ego and  letting real self through 
Organic n inorganic matter  peeled off
In preparing to embark on discovery of self
To satisfy craving to touch base with Me
life had implanted chips of many concepts
weeding them out and spamming precepts
Skeptically peeling away onion layers
Arriving at the core within for life’s real feel
Herculean task it is, not for the fainthearted
The sages of yonder had no pretensions or ego
They lived and enjoyed life simply on the go
Sans clothes n belongings, no bindings
Thus free in spirit n mind, were in commune
With the almighty always in sync and tune
Now I too have burned my boats and
Offer myself as is
I am unmasked
Without pretences,
no oblique glances
I am what I am
Nothing more nothing less
Just am
no sham
The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces,
 for they have not yet developed a significant profile of their own.
W. H. Auden
1907-1973, Anglo-American Poet

Although I know it’s unfair I reveal myself one mask at a time.
Stephen Dunn
American, Poet Quotes

You have to hope that you don’t have to wear a mask and you don’t
have to put prosthetics on your face to make yourself look believable.
Lucy Liu
American, Actress Quotes

 Acting deals with very delicate emotions. It is not putting up a mask.
Each time an actor acts he does not hide; he exposes himself.
Rodney Dangerfield
American, Comedian Quotes

 It’s a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don’t lower
 your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible
 as you like - but a mask.
Katherine Mansfield
New Zealander, Author Quotes

The ego is not master in its own house.
Sigmund Freud
Austrian, Psychologist Quotes

The ego is as little absolutely permanent as are bodies.
Ernst Mach
Austrian, Physicist Quotes

You are hypocritically pious in your egotistical defense of ID! Wherefore,
 what fuels your ‘needs’? Is it not greed and instant gratificaion?
Carl Stoynoff
poet/philosopher
 

Occult

Something that is out of the ordinary
Making wary, beyond comprehension,
You cannot pinpoint, lay a finger upon
Uneasiness courses through the body
Goose bumps jump out of the flesh
Waves of awe filled fear washes over
Mystifying further…..

Rumor has it, he is dead and buried
Some vouch he walks down the block
Nightly as was his wont, in usual manner
Facts and fiction co-mingle freely stirring
A potent cocktail of raw fear
Wishing to check firsthand
A posse heads for the woods

Midnight hour is within striking distance
Posse ready and waiting, fully armed
Suddenly wind picks up gale force
Banshee like blowing through the trees
Bending them at will in all directions
When a darting figure is espied
They give full chase on the double

The clock strikes twelve, witching hour
Midnight unfolds releasing satanic forces
Witches, demons, spirits, goblins, elves
All emerge from darkness to do their thing
Brave posse creeps forward in hot pursuit
At a clearing they see an old man chanting
Eyes popping, they proceed curiosity dripping

The ancient is amidst a motley crowd, a mix of
Strange creatures in all denominations and shapes
Along with a huge python, were swaying in tune
Fairies and witches are dancing and singing along
In the center a huge pot is brewing, boiling furiously
Fumes emanating from cauldron brew are heady
Onlookers overcome, begin swaying in unison

Clapping, dancing, singing along enthusiastically
Quest forgotten as fumes captivate in total thrall
Senses lost to happenings, they imbibe the brew
Liberally dancing fast paced in gay abandon
Insidiously seduced, bewitched by the old man..
Owls hoot no more, bats have fled with the python
Howling winds are dead and gone to return another day

Boiling cauldron, was it a figment of fertile imagination
Fairies, goblins, witches, demons, elves have vanished
Such eerie pin drop silence reigns, can be sliced by a knife
The posse awakes suddenly under a misshapen sycamore
Breaths foul and peculiar, hangover and headache troubles
Did they see something in the dead of the night. Or was it
A bad nightmare, a figment of their collective imagination

Did the serpent dance last night and they along with it
Mind denying, rejecting what their foul tongues testified
Something had occurred for sure, but hard to gulp it down
Their confusion was compounded by the irrefutable fact
Engraved on each arm was a tiny symbol. A dancing snake!
Was this proof, a symbol of a strange bizarre happening
An occult happening….

Readers please decide for yourself….
“Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational- but how much
does it cost you to knock on wood?”
-Judith Viorst
Love & Guilt & the Meaning of Life, Etc..

I do not yet know why plants come out of the land or float in streams, or creep
 on rocks or roll from the sea. I am entranced by the mystery of them, and
absorbed by their variety and kinds. Everywhere they are visible yet everywhere occult.
Liberty Hyde Bailey
American, Scientist Quotes

The genre of fantasy is about magic and occult characters.
Shawn Ashmore
Canadian, Actor Quotes
  

A Path Through The Forest Of Life

I want to cut me a path through life’s forest
Accepting its gauntlet in my hands, thrust
I want firsthand experience, raw, at its barest
Standing firm and erect on my own, boldest

Living in the other shadows is easy, secure
Will give taste of life, only secondhand, a bore
I want to turn gray in the sun by myself n more
Spurning constant spoon feeding, that I abhor

Choosing a path full of roses is easy and wise
Yet I wonder if that’s where my happiness lies
Adventurers and seafarers blazed their own paths
Disdaining all well trodden roads and footpaths

The quest of life’s mystery, solving its meaning
Is not for the fainthearted nor for the weakling
It requires iron will, firm resolve and a spirit, willing
I choose this path for myself, all butterflies quelling

Spanning uncharted seas ever canopied by brilliant skies
Traversing virgin regions, finding new peaks each sunrise
Finding lost cities and civilizations that, all mankind, chastise
Relics, treasures proving all is temporary, transient, will demise

 I want to cut me a path through life’s forest
Accepting its gauntlet in my hands, thrust
I want firsthand experience, raw, at its barest
Standing firm and erect on my own, boldest

Yet the true path through the green verdant forest
Is to delve within self, blossoming, becoming richest
Life’s mysteries will then vanish, no matter how deepest
Self enlightenment will dispel dark, shining life the brightest

The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist
The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
Source Unknown

Hardship and opposition are the native soil of manhood and self-reliance.
John Neil
No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.
Frederick W. Robertson

At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life; this one experiences over and over in every conflict and every perplexity: that one is alone. That isn’t as bad as it may first appear; and again it is the best thing in life that each should have everything in himself; his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.
Rainer Maria Rilke
1875-1926, German Poet
More power than all the success slogans ever penned by human hand is the realization for every man that he has but one boss. That boss is the man - he - himself.
Gabriel Heatter
American, Journalist Quotes
 
 

Unicorn- Pure And Gentle

O Unicorn
Gentle and pure of heart

Let me be that child again
Pure and gentle of heart

Let me thrive on yonder milky cloud
Fragile, delicate, innocent, proud

Tainted world, amoral, pawned honors
Dirty cesspools, back-stabbers, vultures

Beckon vigorously, sinking bottomless hole
My feet dig in fighting for a secure foothold

Soul in outstretched palms, heart in my mouth
I beseech woefully, looking east, west, north, south

Desperately searching for my elusive unicorn
Come rescue me from me, I plead forlorn

Badgered by world, soul tainted, sodden
I need to recapture lost innocence, shrunken

From depths of despair, this fallen angel
Wants forgiveness , succor, transformation

Let me ride you O magnificent equine
Recovering my childlike luster, sunshine

Pure, gentle unicorn, mythical or real
Sip, suck out life’s poisons, big and trivial

Let me ride you across the beckoning galaxies
Exuberance regained, crossing all boundaries

O Unicorn
Gentle and pure of heart

Let me be that child again
Gentle and pure of heart

Unicorn is special among the creatures of legend. They are very powerful yet vulnerable.
 Marianna Mayer has observed (The Unicorn and the Lake), “The unicorn is the only
 fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears.
 In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary,
 but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means,
 and his single horn was said to neutralize poison.” (from internet)

“Like a lion, without fear of the howling pack; like a gust of wind, ne’er trapped in a snare;
 like a lotus blossom, ne’er sprinkled by water; like me, like a unicorn, in solitude roam.”

–Hymn of Buddha

   

 

The Duplicate

He was born with face like a clear slate
At very outset, life taught him to imitate

His features were such, he could all replicate
Every nuance, every emotion, and thus placate

Friends and family, all delighted up to the brims
His personality superimposed with others’ whims

He was sad and hurt at his odd lot, at the initial outset
Caving in slowly, gracefully accepting all that life begot

Gradually his own true persona was relegated to the attic
His duplicate self strutted about in forefront, quite slick

Lost in various personas being enacted at the moment
He would delve at times, searching for lost self and lament

His quest came up empty handed, original self, long shredded
Sacrificed at the altar of the psuedo mammon he had wedded

In terms of worldly success the duplicate had it all and then some
But the constant faint throbbing heartache felt, made him glum

Having tasted prosperity and feeling world was his oyster
He now wished to make amends, and become his own master

He looked at the mirror and tried to find original lost self from fake
All he saw were shards of various personas come together in a mosaic

He screamed in pain and misery, realizing all that had glittered, was phony
It was too late to mend his life’s guitar n create his own original symphony

  
Your manuscript is both good and original; but the parts that are
 good are not original, and the parts that are original are not good.
Samuel Johnson
1709-1784, British Author

What a strange vanity painting is; it attracts admiration by
 resembling the original, we do not admire.
Blaise Pascal
1623-1662, French Scientist, Religious Philosopher
 

Shadow Stays Put

The Inseparables
Tangible and intangible

Joined at the hip,
Implacable Siamese twins

The body and its shadow
Life pursued by death

Betwixt yesterday n tomorrow
Present is ever moving shadow

Embarked on life’s journey
Only shadow stays put

Daring to be alone, fly solo
I try to cut my shadow loose,

I stamp on it, fight it, rail against it
Physically resist it, emotionally banish it

All goes to naught, doesn’t quit
Inexorably, shadow stays put

Sun begets shadow and to banish it
Need total darkness or total light

Rising sun and setting sun elongates shadows
Midday’s sun at its zenith, makes it disappear

Total light, is quite intolerable
Hence, shadow stays put

Lobotomy is drastic, life with
Shadows is the ultimate truth

Only shadows stay put

The body and its shadow
Life pursued by death

The Inseparables
Tangible and intangible

Only shadows stay put
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour
 upon the stage And then is heard no more; it is a tale Told by an idiot,
 full of sound and fury, Signifying Nothing.
William Shakespeare

Death is a shadow that always follows the body.
English Proverb
Sayings of British Origin
 

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Copyright © 2007 Bina Gupta Poetry