What Did We Do?


The fire within has simmered down
what was once a raging blaze
now barely shows embers
what did you do?

Your fingers try to stoke it up
as I look on helplessly
dismay fills my heart
as the flames refuse to leap up again

This has never happened before
you have always been able to light the fire
with the simplest flick of a wrist
what has changed then?

I know what this points to
and I am afraid to look that way
I am afraid of a cold bleak future
bound in chains of formalities

One small whiff of not so pure air
and the flames refuse to stir
I urge it to, I pray for it to
but it does not budge

What did you do?
What did I do?

Comments

~Hemanth~ said…
This is a beautiful poem. Awesome!
Anonymous said…
beautiful....

swadha
Keshi said…
sometimes even the brightest of fires flicker n die...

Lovely verse!

Keshi.
Parry said…
Once I could do no wrong
Now I can do nothing right

There was a time when we talked and stayed awake all night

Now it seems that all we do is fight

Then all we wanted was to be together
And now all we want to do is to be left alone

Money and other people who shouldnt matter, do
And inspite of resolutions scribbled,do we traverse the same quarrelsome paths

Say the same things
Make the same mistakes
Commit the same actions
Over and over again

You talk of flames and embers
And I too earlier, have watched them die

Sadly the chains we are bound in, belong not to the bounds we have imposed on each other
But are part of the same society that we were desperate to be a part of

And as your blog's intro says - the portal to your blog but must have honesty as a given

I seem to have lost my key.
Am I allowed in still
Or do you think I can stop awhile, outside?
Mampi said…
When someone asks to be allowed with your key, he has to be let in.
When Prometheus stole fire, it was for P and P.
Parry said…
Greatful Mampi. Tears well up. Thanks for being there for P & P.
Mampi said…
Ohhh,
after all what are Friends for...
to jerk out tears na...
hehehe
Pinku said…
Hemanth, swadha, Keshi...thanks
Pinku said…
Parjanya...u alone have always had the key...that you keep misplacing it from time to time is something you alone can correct.

and if you wish to rest awhile outside, thats by your choice not by my diktat.
Pinku said…
mampi...u are the cutest friend around...thanks from P&P
Vinod_Sharma said…
Don't let the embers die...the flame will rise again.
Pinku said…
Dear Vinod, thats the hope i cling too...
Beautifully put. I love the humanness that comes out in all your writing. It brings out the lovely person that you are and I know you'll find your way right back.
Salil said…
Hi,
You ask -
What did you do?
What did I do?
I say -
You wrote a poem.
And I just read it.
This is my best poem so far. I sometimes wonder hos you poets can chain words so well. Keep them coming.
Cheers,
Salil
Solitaire said…
Some questions haunt us for a lifetime.
Lovely!!! And loved Prajanya and mampi's response too :)
It happens and frequently at that, the fires do dim out. They flicker and the feeble flames struggle to live.
Most of us fail to realise it before the fire dies out completely.
The luckier ones realise it just in time and nurture it to life.
Nice write-up! Maybe the fire glares within and it is just covered in ashes.
Pinku said…
akshaya...thanks lovely or not am loved ...and that helps us find the way back...though we do stray at times.

Salil...thank you so much...but i am no poet...those words just pour out unplanned...glad you like it so much.
Pinku said…
Solitaire...what u have said is so very true...they haunt us and we refuse to see the answers even when they are right infront of us.

IHM...thanks, and yes those two make my life special.

Sujoy...am counting myself lucky...I noticed in the nick of time...and we managed to revive it.

Sudipta...u have been missed!!! and u are right it was there...just covered in ashes... :)
oceanic mirages said…
no questions without answers emerge,
but some are better unanswered...
nice blog...
Trevor Penn said…
From the dying embers does a Phoenix rise
glowing red, yellow and orange
spirits soaring high
hold out your arm
think not twice.

A picture might be worth a thousand words but you always add value with what you have to say. Great stuff.

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