ON THE ROAD TO SANTIAGO

On the road to Santiago

Through pebbled streets I march onward...

                             The deserted lanes like the alleys of happier times

                                     So long forgotten

                              That only the silence of heart,

                         Can pick the lock wit which I bound them..

Out of nowhere comes a dark black thundering rain

Showering her blessings upon my path

I duck to an alley

To let those days float by on the foggy screen..

I run out onto the canvas my angel paints..

Dancing and crying in the rain

Years of pain washed away...

On the road to Santiago

We march leaving behind our tears...

Our fears…

Our sins…

Gift some smiles

Walk a mile in peace…

Leave yr burdens

On the roads of Santiago…

Sing from your heart

Drive away your grievances

On the road to Santiago

On the road to Santiago…

THE BEDOUIN RACE

Once a decade,

Camels from all across Arabia race the desert sands…

Each rider shall flirt with his luck,

With the mercy of the desert spirit..

The Desert storms threaten to engulf,

Everything in its path..

The sun drains life out of their soul..

With only a bag full of water, a handful of feed

 The hardest of men world knows

March onward,

Towards invisible goals..

The locusts intercept their journey across the desert plains,

The scorpion waits to sting any nonchalant man

The adder waits for a tired heart..

Days and days of parched dry land..

Singing to the sands they march onward,

Guided by the invisible spirit…

Past the treacherous sea of gold,

With a strong steel will, they hold fort to sinking hope

Survive they do but remain unsung in folklore…

-pungidasa

THE MOUNTAIN MAN

The road stretches all over like the serpent with the seven heads…

The precipice too near, His life too dear...

Walks the blind man with only a stick...

The blaring horns of vehicles whizzing by…

The non-chalant snarl of passersby don’t bear a thought in his heart..

The blind man just keeps walking towards his goal...

In his quest for a new light,

Like a mountain goat led by divine vision...

Through pelting rains he marches on..

It’s god who guides him along the meandering ways of the hill..

Wish he could lead the sheep across the serpentine ways of life..

Unhindered by blaring horns..

The precipice waiting..

The blind man walks unhindered…!

- PUNGIDASA

THE GREAT AFRICAN SAFARI

The African safari...

On baked land, paying thousand Krugerand...

Sitting in an open jeep which smelled of New Zealand sheep...

The hot sun dazzled while we waited bamboozled...

The lion, elephant, the cheetah,

The hippo, the rhino, never did come...

Our tour guide rambled while I dreamt of eggs scrambled..

Our African safari cross the Kalahari...

The Tour guide shone his teeth in all our clicks..

He opened his mouth as big as the hippo

He leapt like a cheetah

While, I slept like a lion…

Perspiration flowed like the Nile...

The great African safari worth a hundred rand..

All we saw was miles of sand...

THE OCEAN OF FIRE

Find me water, find me water!!

The sands of gold, have drained my life of water,

Only the skeletons remain of the beasts,

 Lost in the ocean o fire …

The dream of a cup of tea with you my dear lady,

Keeps me awake…

Winds find me a drop of  water...

I shall trade the sands o gold...

Mirages keep me walking towards the oasis

That appears farther with each step…

The nights are cooler;

 The adders are out competing with the fiery SCORPION

All waiting to deposit their venom in return for the sands of gold...

This is the last leg of my journey,

Sixty miles in the middle of nowhere,

A rich anonymous lover with the sands of gold..

Fifty days I walked mile by mile

But the dark storm blew away my ship

The locusts did arrive with their era of destruction..

I lay waiting for God to show mercy and save my soul

In return for, the sands of gold...

The sands of gold

 I bid thee goodbye

THE sands of gold

I bid thee goodbye…

-Pungidasa