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The Many Lives of An Ant

I am but an ant, looking up at the night sky trying to make sense of the stars;

A simple admirer of the written word, marvelling at the trials and tribulations masterfully depicted in the works of Shakespeare;

An honest family man, watching on at the antics of Machiavelli’s brood, nursing a slow-burning flame of anger threatening to turn into wildfire;

A hypochondriac marvelling at a physician delivering exactly what the doctor had described, only to long for an ‘undo’ when there is just no-can-do;

A starved, malnourished man, struggling to keep eyes open, within an alarmingly-thin skeletal frame, being forced to look on as you and I engorge ourselves on food in front of the TV;

A highly-educated professional working 14 to 16 hours a day to meet commitments, watching on as a life-long layabout wins £150 million on the Lottery and turns a new leaf of acceptability, receiving universal popularity and praise;

A War Leader amidst the utter devastation of battle marshalling the troops to move in for the kill, suddenly coming to an epipheny of peace;

You and I have lived many lives unto this moment, if the laws of rebirth and karma are to be believed;

Who ever you are or whatever you’ve done, individuality (rather than the pack mentality) appears to be the key to progress and longevity-

However far we have come, is still not as far as we must go,

We must therefore strive to be true at every juncture:

To others, and to you.

Dinoris Bandara: The Snake Charmer of Hallawatha

               

I charm my snake, like I charm my women;

Wine and dine them on kottu and honeyed tea,

Take them home and mesmerise them with my bata-nalawa;

Follow the vibrations, in a rhythmic union;

Find her body taut and supple, smoother than snake skin,

With a pierced belly button and a stylised ‘payana’ tattoo on the back of her neck,

Subtle graces- a deliciously inviting smile- with a set of eyes that can make a Snake Charmer wanna die!

‘Who is the charmer and, who is the charmed?’, you might ask;

For, without even noticing, I have closed the distance between us to within striking distance,

The risk of death but an after-thought;

The realisation (albeit fleeting) came just in time to move away from a vicious fatal strike!

Lesson be, as lesson learnt, all snakes are dangerous (particularly the female variety),

But, i’ll be sure to forget it tomorrow, after another round of kottu and honey tea, with another girl!

Unexpected

The crisp morning air,

Grass glazed over by frost, crunching beneath your feet;

Birds chirping & whistling their daily call to feed,

All of this under glorious sunshine bearing down,

Wait!- did someone forget to send the -clocks-going-back-means-winter memo out?

I’m not complaining, y’see;

I like this look in winter,

But, I’m just wondering:

Is this unexpected illumination a reassuring embrace by a departing, old friend;

Before a maddening winter truly descends, and hits us with full throttle, in the coming months?

Love Can(‘t)

Love *can* make you happy,

(Love *can’t* pay your rent)

It *can* warm your cockles through the night,

(It *can’t* put a permanent roof over your head)

Love *can* make you content

(Though it *cannot* buy you every which thing, you *think* you need)

Love *can* inspire you to acts of extraordinary courage or, create wondrous beauty,

(Though can you sustain this love with affection and genuine sincerity?)

It is entirely up to you and your loved one to see!

Bark of a Tree

Ash, Elm, Cedar & Oak- to mention but a few:

Us trees have outlived many over time;

Though we sense our time may soon be nigh

We have stood sentinel shimmering our leaves in tune with nature’s wind chimes!

We have given you shelter, warmth, h2o and helped to sustain your lives

Taken for granted, over time

We bear the scars of your casual disregard on our bark, stunted branches and leaves asphyxiated by your toxic by-products,

Some of our number enter the long hibernation and sleep of winter in health, but fail to wake in spring!

Human kind, can’t you see…?

You’re killing us and yourselves by this insatiable greed for one thing, or other, but never nought-

You were evolved to hunt but you have replaced the need to kill-to-live with hunger-to-consume all manner of in-necessities-

Our gravestone will read:

Tested by nature, savaged by humanity

‘Family’

Life is family; family is life,

Your harsh words hurt me more than any other’s, as you mean to me more than any other;

Your happiness is everything to me,

I remember you in my prayers… without fail,

And you are never too far from my thoughts… at all other times,

That is undoubtedly what it means to be family;

I know not what is the true religion (all, or none)

Or, if our actions this day dictate the cause and effect later in this life, the next, or none of the above;

However, what I firmly believe in is: family, is the only true religion in all of our lives;

For:

If your life’s experiences are the words on a page by a writer; committing the heart-felt whispers of your conscience and soul to paper, with precision and alacrity-

Working, painstakingly towards a conclusion that will move you (on reflection) when you take your final bow,

Family is the narrative that gives you a measure of time; fuelling the pen into reaching the end, and evoking an abiding sense of fulfilment, when all is said and done;

So: treat your life like it’s your one and only chance to get your own life story right, the first time-

As over-revision and change tends to blur the lines on a page; and, the same is true in life-

Be brave – write boldly, write true, with relish and vigour, like no one else, but only you, can!

The Thaw

Dinu's Icicle 2

Is this the thaw we’re finally witnessing?

‘Cause, I feel like this icicle is finally (albeit, very reluctantly) melting!!

I see people all around, doubled up on the layers, caps and scarves!

In an attempt to cover every bit of exposed flesh conceivably possible,-

Against these bitterly cold winds and plummeting temperatures,

Winter has most certainly – I’m sure you’ll agree – overstayed its welcome this year!

So, before I start seeing icicles form on everyone’s noses and begin similarly dripping,

I’d fervently urge the Powers That Be to save me from such ghastly imaginings and, please, please…

Turn up the temperature!!!

Starlight: Twilight

The stars that bore witness to your birth, make up your star sign;

It means that every nuance of your life, death, and your previous lives, are chartered-

Like the detailed maps guiding ships across vast oceans, by twilight,

Entrusted by sailors with their lives, since ancient times,

Silent sentinels standing unflinching witness to the happenings of human, animal & nature alike,

Undoubtedly, filling volumes with the detail of their observations of our lives-

Like scientists taking turns to obsessively record every little happening on a Petri dish ,

Adhering to strict control measures, at all times:

Observing cells form, meander & replicate, under microscopes,

Like watching a plant gradually grow from seed to flowering;

Measuring the passage of our centuries in milliseconds,

And charting the individual strands that makeup the course of our lives-

Creating an ever-evolving Muriel that belie the scary & beautiful human truth that is:

We can *all* change the stars of our lives!