Passion…unbridled

Tears of frustration

Tears of helplessness

As a sign of prostration

Before the callousness

Of those wielding power

Unchecked and untamed

As they choose to shower

Atrocities, unashamed

Protests silenced

Voices suppressed

Display of shocking violence

Against the oppressed

Why is this world

So deeply divided

How did hatred unfurl

How was this fire ignited?

There are a million

Excuses for violence

Any rational explanation

Demanded, draws silence

Those in possession

Of absolute power

Hungry for domination

Make the weak cower

Was this how mankind

Was supposed to live?

Were we not supposed to be kind

To each other, and selflessly give?

I see the world around me

And feel pangs of regret

We are losing the opportunity

To make each life the best

We all exist in collaboration

By fighting each other we cannot win

No one succeeds in isolation

We need to stop violence against our kin!

Frustration at its peak

Solutions, evasive, I seek

Helpless here I feel

Find myself losing zeal

Climbing a wall insurmountable

Facing obstacles indescribable

I question myself if it is worthwhile

To keep on fighting till the end of the mile

Or just reconcile with my situation

And spare myself the pain of desperation…

**

This is a  conundrum with no solution

I agonize over it like an obsession

Myself I should change, I guess that is true

Maybe my circumstances will change too..

I left the venerable shores

Of a land that was my own

I closed behind me the doors

Leading to places where I had grown

Driven by a sense of adventure

The excitement of exploration

The promise of a greener pasture

Or all of above, in combination

The years went by trying to settle

I was lost in acclimatization

Trying to prove my mettle

Undergoing cultural desensitization

As time passed by  I realized

How touch with my roots I was losing

The cultural heritage I had prized

Was out of my conscience oozing…

In panic, I tried to grab, to hold on

To the threads that were my connection

To the hallowed land where I was born

To the country that gave me direction

Memories embedded I brought to the surface

The smell of the soil was etched in my brain

Songs I grew up with, the colorful verses

Sights of my country I dreamt of again

***

So this is how through life I  float

With one foot in each country’s boat

Mixing language, culture and tradition

I live my life in a rich amalgamation.

Norodom Sihanouk

There was a time when I believed

Everything that people said

Everywhere, transparency I perceived

Between the lines I never read

Inexperienced was I in the world’s ways

Oh how I wish I had had some insight

I wish I had not spent precious days

Believing lies while truth was in plain sight.

Alas when I learnt about deception

That did surround me in clever disguises

Not only did it alter my perception

It did introduce me to similar vices…

I learnt to lie, myself  I had to save

Being secretive I had to learn to be

I learnt to put up a front brave

Trying to hide my dishonesty.

**

How I sometimes wish I could have remained

As simple and guileless as I had been

I wish from lying I could have refrained

If only deception I had never seen!

**

I want to confess my sins today

Sleep has been snatched by my conscience

All I want to do is kneel and pray

For all my lies, I am suffering the consequence.