When we two parted

When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted,
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this

The dew of the morning
Sank chill on my brow
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well:
Long, long shall I rue thee
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met
In silence I grieve
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?
With silence and tears.

~Lord Byron.





Four years back one day en route to some place I don’t remember I see this sign board that said ‘A1 book store- for all book lovers’. I step in and find a huge hall filled with books, old and new, mostly old. Every inch was covered, they reached the roof of that place and so I had a very good feeling about it. It was my treasure trove! After spending nearly 3 hours in that place I had with me 15 books I wanted to take back home. One among them was an old copy of a collection of poems by Lord Byron, Keats and P.B.Shelly. (For some reason I love the smell and feel of an old book) I found in that book this amazing work of Lord Byron, I instantly fell in love with. This poem was the first of Lord Byron’s work that I read, and one of his best. This one undoubtedly makes it to my list.

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Poetry

To Think..,

To Love..,

To Suffer.., is to seek poetry…



Or a major part of it at least. Whatever the history, the various forms and conventions, the genre, the culture, there is always this that Poetry is beautiful. Period.


These are the same words used by the entire world, and yet they are not. They are woven around emotions and thought in a way that gives them a life of their own, a beauty unparalleled and a meaning so simple yet so deep. I for one have always loved this game of words, its simple complexity, the way it sounds, it has been something I’ve turned to when I needed to put forth my thoughts in words in a way that would do justice to them. It’s like the Midas touch, every word, every syllable, the rhyme, the rhythm all turns into something precious, like pure gold.

So for the love of Poetry, here in this category I’m going to post a poem each from among my favourites (in no particular order), for you to read and appreciate.

This corner is for all those who love Poetry and for those who think otherwise here’s a little something…

Sir, I admit to your general rule

That every poet is a fool

But you yourself may serve to show it

That every fool is not a poet!

Hahahaha.. Right back at you! Enjoy!

The in-between we spell L-I-F-E

With nothing interesting to do I was reading up random quotes, poems, articles etc., when I noticed one common point of contention. Life. Life and everything related. And the most common question that every thinking soul ponders upon at some point almost always is “What is the purpose of all this?” Other similar questions “Where are we going?”, “What is our purpose here?”, “What have we come to exist for?”, “What IS the ulterior motive…?”. I turn to my family and friends with the same questions, first they dismiss me and my silly talks as always, but then when I insist on knowing they give me the answer which doesn’t quite answer the question… “You’ll find out, eventually, that’s what we’re here for”. Ok, you’re as clueless as the rest of the world!



For the most part we tend to take no notice and ignore such insights; be oblivious to it and go on with our normal daily lives, no matter how tedious and monotonous this wont gets, being irrational about the place we’re headed to, smothering what we want to do to make place and time for something we HAVE to do. It maybe our sub-conscious self telling us that the likelihood of the universe conceding to out innermost wishes is few and far between, so isn’t it wise to move ahead and reach for that which we yearn and crave for as opposed to the many frivolous and petty affairs and pursuits? Here’s a thought, honestly I think the perseverance we’re endowed with is all for the wrong reasons, to meet misguided ends! Isn’t it unbecoming of us to think eminently of ourselves as the most supreme creation? Why do we assume such self-importance among all other things? We have a certain exaggerated opinion about ourselves that makes us bathe in vanity and self-conceit.


Wonder why we ignore the fact that we will, come hell or high seas, cease to be! There might be a why and a wherefore for our being and the one who solves this paramount, most substantial mystery becomes omniscient…all knowing! I have a metaphor quite apt for the whole purpose of life…a well, an indestructible unfading well. The purpose of life is exactly like a well. We know it exists, that fact is established. Yes, at the end of our journey there will be the answer as to the purpose of it all. The question to actually think about is whether the well is brimming with water or just dried up, whether we have lived all this while to find that there is some relevance to it OR to find that there is in fact nothing to it!.. So there is a purpose, the findings differ. So in the end we might just find out that life genuinely has no meaning, and mankind serves no end. There is a possibility that life is insignificant and death without consequence, it may be immaterial whether or not we live.


I’m reminded of what Somerset Maugham had once mentioned, that ‘..why can it not be that man, no more significant than other forms of life, had come not as the climax of creation but as a physical reaction to the environment?’


And so I think I shall give this question of the purport of life a rest, wait till I get to the well to find it either empty or full, but in the due course have my mind open with wonder for the possibilities of all things is so high and great. All we can do is not be insufferable insolent know-it-all’s when it comes to this, let each one figure it out for themselves and most importantly accept that all things considered we’re part of a very stupendous and immeasurable universe, a very modest, ineffectual and trifling part.


Peace…