CHAPTER 1
1. True Friends
Sat on the church bench like bookends,
Time blown over their past,
Fondled the memories at last,
Stood in the Sunday choir,
Felt the loss with sublime fear,
Breaking the distance between old friends.
The old friends
Sat on the park bench like bookends,
Drenched in dewdrop in empty lane,
looking at each other without shame,
Silently sharing their Precious pain—
The good old friends.
True friends
Sat in the theater like bookends,
Measured their smile in secret pain
In the cemetery of dead dreams,
Untouched passion in unblemished screen,
Forbidden friendship in secret whims
Of those two friends.
True friends
Sat at the bus stop like bookends,
A sudden smile they never exchanged,
Scribbling on the graffiti walls in vain,
Sharing the taboos with strange fear,
Craving those priceless tears
Between the two friends.
True lost friends
Sat on the sands like bookends,
Restless ripples of hostile waves,
Caressing the toes of lonely friends,
Troubled breeze whispered in ears,
Touched the feelings that never dare,
Sharing the glances with great care,
Mumbling the loveless war to share,
Like all true friends.
True friends
Sat in the corner like bookends,
Frosting their fingers in cruel rain,
Gently touching their wrinkled hands,
The numbing warmth with cherished pain.
Two lost friends
Sat on the bar stool like bookends.
Drunken dreams swell and rise,
Leftover promises in futile cries,
Mellow maddens to comprehend,
In those true friends.
True lost friends
Sat on the banks like bookends,
Touched the feelings that never end,
Sharing the glances with great care,
Mumbling the loveless war without fear,
Like true lost friends.
The great friends
Sat on the pavement like bookends,
Gazing through rain-drenched windowpanes,
Silently wiping the gentle tears,
Stumbling over the social fears,
Wishing just the future to share,
Unconditioned rights to love and care
Till death threatens to dare,
Strange hope at last to be there
For the good old friends.
Inspired by Paul Simon, and composed by Patrick Basu
2. Escape
Let's escape from life
Without any reason, or rhyme
With simple tunes in no times,
One life to love and one to live,
Perhaps forever, never to believe.
Let's run away with romance,
Far from the rigid wall of reality,
Passion and pain mixed with fragrance,
Smuggled dreams in perfect creativity.
Let's escape with words,
Without the sounds of silence,
Sublime solitude in sullen dusk,
Speechless mumbles in empty mask,
Voiceless words of violence.
Let's escape with dreams,
Beyond the space of jealous sky,
Where the desire plunged in wine,
Imbibed the nature in toxic vine,
Painting the landscape of life divine.
Let's escape with songs,
Echoing the octaves without a tune,
Mindless madness spells it wrong,
The symphony ends yet so soon,
Left my shadow in an empty room.
Let's escape with memories,
Preserved in the fantasyland,
Forgiven past without worries,
Buried ashes in delicate sand
Of love, lust, and debauchery.
Let's escape with insanity,
The helpless mantras of hope,
Collage of forbidden romance,
Futile dimensions of clarity,
With a puerile passion to elope.
Let's escape with love,
Clandestine passion and pain,
Forbidden faith, color, and race,
Uncensored fear of fire and rain,
Ruthless veil of a painted face.
Let's escape with rainbows,
Cloudless skies of infinite stars,
Clustered in raindrops from far too far,
Countless colors of tearful sky,
No more rainbows a dreadful lie.
Let's escape from death,
bloodless dreams of unfortunate
Nascent souls packaged in ice.
Unfaithful promises end without price,
Let's escape divorcing life,
Barren soul of truth and fright,
Morbid mummies of vanity and might,
Misspelled fortunes of an untold story,
Forgotten past of battered glory.
Perhaps end ever, but never
Escaped life, not love,
Love likes life,
And life
Just for loving.
3. Life
Life was born like a lotus in silver pond,
With destiny of a prolific bond,
Nurtured and nestled in pampered fond,
Shared to strum an untuned song.
Life started to crawl,
With the aroma of a sacrosanct world,
Preserved fate, hopes, and rites revolved,
Life joined the puzzle on an empty wall.
Life stood up to run,
Just for living without fun,
In search of a trailing sun,
Life fought, stop loving.
Life struggled to succeed,
Mindless matters that impede,
Ruthless ambition burned to proceed
To reach the summit with pride.
Life adores oneness,
Selfish souls of mellow madness,
Sacred silence in sadness,
Listening to wings of harness,
Life loves single loneliness.
Life fears friendship,
Polyester faces with porcelain teeth,
False promises from botoxed lips,
Silicon breasts and chiseled hips,
Loveless nights of cybersex.
Life weds the chosen wife
To fulfill the enigma of life,
Moral gestures to fit the profile
Drift apart love in exile
With a pretentious smile.
Life smiles with indifference,
Ambition ignores the social relevance,
Ego tramples the so-called senses,
Life strives for material glimpses.
Life fears intimacy,
Morbid fate of astute advocacy,
Social parade of false legacy,
Lies, pretense, and sordid prophecy,
Life rejects trivial fantasies.
Life loves without prejudices,
Pride from rags or riches,
Denied dilemmas without preaches,
Life conquers lust with avarices.
Life pampers greed to glide,
Flamboyant fashion plastic bride,
Drunken desires reckless drive,
Loveless nests to stay alive.
Life falls like frosted flowers,
Dwindled steps of sickly towers,
The raindrops refused to shower,
Life begins to crumble without power.
Life tries to return to youth,
Nature forbids the simple truth,
Remorseless time is cruel enough,
Hands of the clock are rigid rough,
Life is fatigued without a laugh.
Life tries to defy demise,
Frightened by darkness and cries,
Diseased dreams dissolved and die,
Deceased desire tries to bribe,
Life fell in the hands of death,
Strangled the ultimate breath,
Love for life yet to create.
4. Dream
I dreamed of us from the stars,
Beyond borders of loveless wars,
Squabbled with social rifts,
Timeless tales left behind bars,
Fell apart with lifelong drift.
I dreamed of us from the sky,
Fear of loving and losing and die.
If death drives us apart forever,
Long last memories of helpless eyes,
Love lost stories will stop never.
I dreamed of us from the sea,
The war of faith never set us free,
Boundless swell of pacific blue,
Platonic bond with indifferent views,
Stoned in reality without a clue.
I dreamed of us from the mountains,
Dark and deep in tropical green,
Punished passion of dwindling fountains,
Intense touches that never felt,
Faith imprisoned love to restrain.
I dreamed of us from the forest,
Through the accolade of sunlight,
A tranquil testimony at rest,
Permissive eyes exchanged delights,
Destiny designed the demise best.
I dreamed of us from the garden,
Morbid rush of scentless fragrance,
The bouquet of silence only saddened,
Sun-drenched flowers tired and frail,
Fatigued passion delivered the mail.
I dreamed of us from the grave,
Painful epitaph carefully engraved,
Elegant verses of love and life,
Distorted truth, all lies but brave,
Lost paradise paints the delight.
I dreamed of us from the train,
Aimless journey down memory lane,
Ruthless sorrow in restless pain,
Trickled with truth from empty brain,
Dragged the trail of social drain.
I dreamed of us in rain,
Drenched shadows without pain,
Touched the rainbows never felt,
Mourned in madness without guilt,
Fearless drops of acid rain,
Never delete those delicate dreams,
Etched life that will always remain.
5. Subway Smile
You and I often sit aside,
Wordless face,
Not even a hello or hi,
Anxious waves of a subway ride,
Felt a strange comfort beside.
You and I sometimes ride,
Always avoid any social ties,
Never a hygienic smile,
Your lips only pout
With cold and venomous pride.
You and I seldom share
Our lonely dreams,
With a strange fear,
Daily life of rigid routine,
Laws, faith—that's all you care.
You and I, just two people
In a crowd, never we mingle,
Deformed desire of social grace,
Lost in traffic with a million face,
Your eyes only spoke
That you are single.
You and I rush for the train,
Morning nights in human drain,
Your lips frown with fear and pain,
Trained your eyes not to bend
Beyond the boundaries of cultural restrain.
You and I seldom stop,
Puckered those lips in crowded shops,
Denied the doubts of someone there,
Knowing well we both care,
On fabric of domestic affair.
You and I ride the bus,
Fight the huddle of morning rush,
Distance seems just across,
We pretend to hide our subtle crush,
We color our friendship with empty brush.
You and I always meet
Sunday morning for the same sweet,
The empty benches often greet,
We depart alone on different street,
But our eyes drag our rusty feet.
You and I often hum,
The frugal faith forbid to sing,
Daydream for the setting sun,
We never met but our shadows run,
Ruthless laws never be hung.
You and I stare at books,
Subway stalls with empty looks,
Surrounding crowd will never know
We are lost in a puppet show,
In empty room our shadows grow.
You and I will never end,
If you ever prophase to bend,
Life perfuse a secret scent,
Exchange a smile is never a crime,
Rescued happiness needs no consent.
You and I suddenly smile,
Morning broke from the tower of pride,
You are near and close just beside,
Swiped off your honey hair aside,
It was a dream you never arrive.
You and I are never brave,
Victims of life become the slave,
Rehearsed smile on my mirror small,
The day followed you to city hall.
Sharing the vows of love
With someone else,
Fair, rich, dark, and tall,
Let's frame that smile on a subway wall,
The smile lost in pride yet love after all.
6. I Loved You with All My Heart
I loved you with all my heart,
I liked you with my soul,
I lust you in my mind,
I found you the one and only in that role.
I wanted you in my dreams,
I kissed you in my sleep,
I was sure it wasn't a whim,
I bathed you with my tears,
I claimed you without fear.
I glanced at you in summer rain,
I quenched my passion in erotic pain,
I touched your lips from far too far,
I slept with you under jealous stars.
I felt your warmth without heat,
I held you close on a narrow street,
I smelled the bouquet in your breasts,
I nest my body for life to rest.
I taste your lips in sacred nights,
I hugged you with all my might,
I begged you to be my bride,
I found you with someone close,
I envied the sight of anyone you chose.
I dragged you just to be mine,
I was drunk with the smell of wine,
I ran and ran away to forget,
I realized the forbidden secret.
I lost my mind, in frenzy and fast,
I preserved those fond memories at last,
I woke up empty, lonely, and prayed,
I wrote the songs of our love,
Which we never made.
7. Love
Have we ever fallen in love?
From the day we were born,
To the day we die,
The moment we saw each other,
Unspoken promise etched in the sky.
Have we told us about our love?
The solemn truth of life
Surrounds the crowd, never us,
For the rest it's always a curse,
Love is kept in a social purse.
Have we promised to be in love?
With testimony of times,
Only look at each other,
The silence keeps us close together,
With pain and sorrow love suffers.
Have we prophesied to be in love?
Till death sets us apart,
Our closed eyes only spoke
Unspoken vows that approve,
From the social norms we elope.
Have we fallen out of love?
With a smile that never hurt,
Unbridled truths ever last,
Sleepless dreams will spell the cast,
Sterile emotions with civilized mask.
Have we ever designed love?
Perfect together like a porcelain doll
For the masquerade summer ball,
Disguised happiness sketched on the wall,
Love left without even a phone call.
Have we ever looked at love?
Scared of human reject,
What people around will object,
Tolerate the torments to transect,
To crucify love just to protest.
Have we ever spoken to love?
Felt forever the truth and hope,
Over the boundaries of the globe,
With no laws or defined race,
True love could not care less.
Have we ever caressed love?
Just to express with a mime,
Loving love is never a crime,
No borders of social lines,
Let's measure the length in time.
Have we ever hated love?
Moments of utter despair,
Infinite distance with passionate desire,
Ruthless sky paints, rainbow appears,
Rapture of pain without repair.
Have we ever made love?
Secret dreams of souls align,
Made fragrance for life divine,
Cherished desire danced in line,
The act of love was always sublime.
Have we ever bathed in love?
Imbibed in deciduous vine,
Madness in vintage wine,
Unbridled passion to spell and cry,
True love will never die.
Have we ever pretended we love?
From the time we met,
Till the day we talk,
We pretend the mime we set,
Our love just began to walk.
Have we seen our love die?
Endless tears shower and cry,
Loveless shadows watch us fly,
Only the silence questioned why,
Still love remained in cuckold sky,
Still apart from love when we die.
8. If You Loved Ever
If you loved ever,
Have you ever fallen in love?
Just for a smile,
Impatiently waited to see just for a while,
For that moment ran a thousand miles.
Have you ever fallen out of love?
Just for being betrayed,
Mortified ego with rationed rage,
Forgotten passion to be relayed.
Have you ever engaged in love?
Just to feed your lust,
Depraved desire of unquenchable thirst,
Mingled with pleasures in sordid rust.
Have you ever felt in love?
For no valid reasons,
Silent walk in the rainy season,
The smell of comfort without a touch,
Only the eyes spoke without lust.
Have you ever involved in love?
For planned security,
Martial madness to evade mediocrity,
Posed for the social pride of insanity.
Have you ever pretended to be in love?
The rehearsed decadent soul
Echoes the scripts of a strumpet's role,
To gather the glitters of treasure trove.
Have you ever placed in love?
Scared of being alone,
Deceptive gesture of daily bluffs,
One day facade is more than enough.
Have you ever embraced love?
Simply you want to
Bathe in poetry without verses,
For boundless borders of happiness,
Through the wafer of Milky Ways,
In the symphony of tryst and faith.
Simply be in love,
Love the moment till the days ignored,
Social taboos that dismay,
For the sake of love you chose until denied,
Still you love,
Even your eyes closed,
That's the love for loving.
9. Love and Accessories
Love knows only to love
Life, with simplicity,
Race without colors,
Religion without faith,
Sex without genders,
Pride without prejudice,
Grace without social symbols,
Freedom without boundaries,
Beauty without beliefs,
Status without introductions,
Principles without prestige,
Convictions without contrivance,
Courage without charisma,
Care without rewards.
Loves knows no law,
Passion with pain,
Anguish without anger,
Lust without languish,
Sorrow without guilt,
Memories without moments,
Spontaneity without pretention,
Knowledge without prominence,
Security without vigilance,
Delights without delicacies,
Charm with character,
Sex without seduction.
Love lives life,
Respects without regards,
Company without complements,
Glamour without gain.
Love holds truth,
Sincerity with silence,
Malady without melancholy,
Portrait without price,
Poverty with prestige,
Opera without opulence,
Paintings with pain,
Desire with drunkenness,
Pleasure with prophesy,
Poetry without science,
Sounds with silence,
Kisses with caressing,
Death with dignity,
Love as love,
Life is life,
Just live love.
10. Is Paris Raining?
Rain in Paris on a perfumed street,
Meet the nights without a greet,
The truth of life never freed,
Love and sorrow will ever bleed,
Rain in Paris makes noble creed.
Rain in Paris is delight,
Dull and dreary from a punished sky,
People pray for the drop of light,
Cobblestone alleys never cry,
Rain in Paris with winter mist.
Rain in Paris ever stop,
Rush of life in every shop,
Strangling cars fight for place,
Spectrum of life from every race,
Lovers of life with happy faces.
Rain in Paris always bleak,
Winds of war will always leak,
Crowded stores for coffee and cake,
Cigarette smoke keeps us awake,
Rich and poor are on same plain,
Rain in Paris, never stop again.
Rain in Paris on graffiti wall,
Hiding poverty with opulent mall,
Hunger raises the question right,
Struggling artists are about to fall,
Paris in rain still looks bright.
