In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Depth.”
Deep in the crevices of my heart
That is where my demons reside
Threatening to tear me apart..
But in those depths also hide
Rivers of love and compassion
Battling these demons of mine,
Keeping them in dormant fashion
They maintain a balance fine.
Deep gorge in the Adirondacks mountains
Deep gorges again, at Watkins-Glen State Park
Depth of the sea seen from a submarine, Hawaii
Sculpture or painting?- At Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey
Tangled web of ambition
Tangled web that I wove
When to the extremes I drove
To make the world dance to my tune-
That web is going to chain me soon…
Fueled by unbridled ambition
Trying to get every dream to fruition
Never stopping to look or care
Those around me could not dare
To show me a mirror of my actions
Never did I pause to judge their reactions.
Trampling feelings and emotions
I hurtled ahead with fiery passion
Single-minded in my approach,
Oblivious to the silent reproach
From my friends, who were leaving
My life, without my perceiving.
Alone I now myself find
Human contact left behind
Surrounded by worldly possessions
Accumulated in quick succession..
In my tangled web I lie
Regretting the days and months gone by.
How I wish I had paid heed
To my friends’ and family’s need
Realized the power of burning ambition
That annihilates kindness and compassion.
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Textures
On my past’s texture
I design my future
Contours that deserve elevation
Are those of moments of elation
While moments of sadness
Are contours that I depress.
These images are of carved pillars at a Hindu temple in New Jersey
A Photo a Week Challenge: Flare
Solar flares at play
Along the sun-kissed highway
Bathing the afternoon sea
In warmth and tranquility.
Linking with: https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/a-photo-a-week-challenge-flare/
Along the Pacific coast at Golden Gate State Park, San Francisco
Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge: 2015 Week #4
I am a traveler, all alone
On Life, an adventure unknown,
I go through paths meandering
Leaving memories endearing…
These paths are full of obstacles
But offer marvelous spectacles
Sprinkled with uneven grains
Of wisdom on every terrain
I travel on every which way
That I find at the break of each day.
Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia
Palatine Hill, Rome, Italy
Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA
Atrium, Comcast Center, Philadelphia
You and I
You and I,
If we could travel
Back in time long gone
Maybe a secret we’d unravel
Maybe it would finally dawn
On both of us
How we both drifted apart
How did we fortify
Separately, our fragile hearts
Even now I wonder why
What happened to
The passion that once had
Held us in its throes
It wilted, leaving us sad,
To wallow in our lonely woes.
If we could
Get another chance, just once
We would make a brand new start
Get rid of any grievance
Break the wall around each heart.
We would love
Each other with every pore
Of our body, oozing passion
Together we would then explore
Our union, with fascination.
You and I
If we could find your’s and mine
Heart and mind and soul
We would make them intertwine
Forever, that would be the goal.
One Word Photo Challenge: Beige
Here is my entry-
Rock formation known as “Elephant’s Head”, Ausable Chasm, Adirondacks Region, New York
Book List Challenge- Part 1
Found this list on the 100 greatest books blog. Of course, I had to come up with my own list of books (that I read in 2014).
1. A book with more than 500 pages: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
One of the greatest books of all time, a must-read if you can.
2. A classic romance: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A classic romance that is ageless..
3. A book that became a movie: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A moving book about friendship and repentance; the movie is equally touching.
4. A book published this year (I am using 2014 as the year): The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Sweeping from West Bengal during the Naxalite movement in the 70s, it traces the journey of an unlikely couple to Northeast US. I think this was not as good as her other books.
5. A book with a number in the title: A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini
A very touching story of the bond between two women under the oppressive Taliban rule in Afghanistan. A rare book that brought tears to my eyes.
6. A book written by someone under 30: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
She wrote this bone-chilling classic at the age of 17.
7. A book with nonhuman characters: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The classic tale of Mowgli, the “man-cub” raised by wolves.
8. A funny book: If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits? by Erma Bombeck
Humor in the insipid things of daily life.
9. A book by a female author: The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Rai Divakaruni
Too many to count, but this one is an interesting, somewhat magical story of an Indian widow selling spices in San Francisco.
10. A Mystery Book: Six years- by Harlan Coben
My first encounter with this prolific mystery writer whose stories are set in almost my backyard..after this, I read almost all his books.
11. A book with a one-word title: Darshan– by Amrit Chima
The title is the name of the protagonist. This story recounts the adventures of a Sikh family through India, Hong-Kong, Fiji and Northern California.
12. A book of short stories: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
A fabulous collection of stories set in India and the US- my favorite was “The Third and Final Continent”. This book describes the Indian immigrant experience in the US, so it is very close to my heart.
13. A book set in a different country: Francesca’s Party by Patricia Scanlan
A universal book about the pangs of divorce, this book is set in Ireland.
14. A nonfiction book: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Inspiring autobiography of one of the greatest world leaders.
15. A popular author’s first book: In Evil Hour by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I love the cruel satire of this author’s books.
16. A book from an author you love that you have not read yet: Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
Archer’s books are simply delightful- clever plots, easy style, really interesting cast of characters; I have loved each one that I’ve read.
17. A book a friend recommended– One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One of my Latino friends said I should read it to gain more insight into the world of South Americans. I was literally eaten up by the chronicles of the Buendia family, written in long winding seemingly endless sentences…
That’s all for now, I’ll finish the list later!
Woman
Moments of life trickled away
Pleasing the world around her
Friends and family had their say
While she was a silent spectator.
Suppressing her heart’s inner desire,
She walked on a balance-beam
Set by others, so they could admire
Her virtue, while she smothered her dreams.
She did her best to conform
To the narrow confines they had set
She mastered how to perform
Synchronously, like a puppet.
The stubborn streak within her
Which sometimes would threaten display
She did learn to suppress forever
Her will she trained not to stand in the way.
Lived her life listening to everyone
And as she lay on her death-bed
She realized she never had done
Anything her heart had said…
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-This land is my land, 2 verses
Repentance
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.”
― Ted Chiang, The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
I was angry, I was rude
I hurled some scathing comments;
Now I am left alone to brood
My soul, now guilt torments..
Hurtful words escaped my lips
Before conscious thought could restrain
How I wish those Freudian slips
Within the realm of my mind could remain!
Insults are like arrows once shot
To injure, they are destined
No apology can then blot
The stain they leave behind.
I repent, and writhe in pain
Pure forgiveness I seek
My suffering seems to be in vain
Prospects of it are bleak.
**
Years had passed, time had flown
The insult an incident forgotten
Since then, though, insomnia I’d known
Guilt so heavy, making me feel rotten.
And just as I thought to my grave
Without forgiveness I was headed,
God’s will intervened, a sinner to save
With forgiveness I was rewarded.
Doors
Some closed, some open half-way
I have no inkling where they lead
There are no signs that I can read
Some that do open with love
Others need a gentle shove
Some that lead to pastures green
Others hide horrors obscene.
Walking down life’s path alone
Many tempting doors I am shown..
Curious to peer ahead
I keep opening them as I tread
With every door, my hopes rise
Opening it will make we wise
As I am eager to explore
For me, what life has in store.
Passion...unbridled 
