1. True Friends

Sat on the church bench like bookends,
Time blown over their past,
Fondled the memories at last,
Stood in the Sunday choir,
Felt the loss with sublime fear,
Breaking the distance between old friends.

The old friends
Sat on the park bench like bookends,
Drenched in dewdrop in empty lane,
looking at each other without shame,
Silently sharing their Precious pain—
The good old friends.

True friends
Sat in the theater like bookends,
Measured their smile in secret pain
In the cemetery of dead dreams,
Untouched passion in unblemished screen,
Forbidden friendship in secret whims
Of those two friends.

True friends
Sat at the bus stop like bookends,
A sudden smile they never exchanged,
Scribbling on the graffiti walls in vain,
Sharing the taboos with strange fear,
Craving those priceless tears
Between the two friends.

True lost friends
Sat on the sands like bookends,
Restless ripples of hostile waves,
Caressing the toes of lonely friends,
Troubled breeze whispered in ears,
Touched the feelings that never dare,
Sharing the glances with great care,
Mumbling the loveless war to share,
Like all true friends.

True friends
Sat in the corner like bookends,
Frosting their fingers in cruel rain,
Gently touching their wrinkled hands,
The numbing warmth with cherished pain.

Two lost friends
Sat on the bar stool like bookends.
Drunken dreams swell and rise,
Leftover promises in futile cries,
Mellow maddens to comprehend,
In those true friends.

True lost friends
Sat on the banks like bookends,
Touched the feelings that never end,
Sharing the glances with great care,
Mumbling the loveless war without fear,
Like true lost friends.

The great friends
Sat on the pavement like bookends,
Gazing through rain-drenched windowpanes,
Silently wiping the gentle tears,
Stumbling over the social fears,
Wishing just the future to share,
Unconditioned rights to love and care
Till death threatens to dare,
Strange hope at last to be there
For the good old friends.

Inspired by Paul Simon, and composed by Patrick Basu


2. Escape

Let's escape from life
Without any reason, or rhyme
With simple tunes in no times,
One life to love and one to live,
Perhaps forever, never to believe.

Let's run away with romance,
Far from the rigid wall of reality,
Passion and pain mixed with fragrance,
Smuggled dreams in perfect creativity.

Let's escape with words,
Without the sounds of silence,
Sublime solitude in sullen dusk,
Speechless mumbles in empty mask,
Voiceless words of violence.

Let's escape with dreams,
Beyond the space of jealous sky,
Where the desire plunged in wine,
Imbibed the nature in toxic vine,
Painting the landscape of life divine.

Let's escape with songs,
Echoing the octaves without a tune,
Mindless madness spells it wrong,
The symphony ends yet so soon,
Left my shadow in an empty room.

Let's escape with memories,
Preserved in the fantasyland,
Forgiven past without worries,
Buried ashes in delicate sand
Of love, lust, and debauchery.

Let's escape with insanity,
The helpless mantras of hope,
Collage of forbidden romance,
Futile dimensions of clarity,
With a puerile passion to elope.

Let's escape with love,
Clandestine passion and pain,
Forbidden faith, color, and race,
Uncensored fear of fire and rain,
Ruthless veil of a painted face.

Let's escape with rainbows,
Cloudless skies of infinite stars,
Clustered in raindrops from far too far,
Countless colors of tearful sky,
No more rainbows a dreadful lie.

Let's escape from death,
bloodless dreams of unfortunate
Nascent souls packaged in ice.
Unfaithful promises end without price,

Let's escape divorcing life,
Barren soul of truth and fright,
Morbid mummies of vanity and might,
Misspelled fortunes of an untold story,
Forgotten past of battered glory.

Perhaps end ever, but never
Escaped life, not love,
Love likes life,
And life
Just for loving.


3. Life

Life was born like a lotus in silver pond,
With destiny of a prolific bond,
Nurtured and nestled in pampered fond,
Shared to strum an untuned song.

Life started to crawl,
With the aroma of a sacrosanct world,
Preserved fate, hopes, and rites revolved,
Life joined the puzzle on an empty wall.

Life stood up to run,
Just for living without fun,
In search of a trailing sun,
Life fought, stop loving.

Life struggled to succeed,
Mindless matters that impede,
Ruthless ambition burned to proceed
To reach the summit with pride.

Life adores oneness,
Selfish souls of mellow madness,
Sacred silence in sadness,
Listening to wings of harness,
Life loves single loneliness.

Life fears friendship,
Polyester faces with porcelain teeth,
False promises from botoxed lips,
Silicon breasts and chiseled hips,
Loveless nights of cybersex.

Life weds the chosen wife
To fulfill the enigma of life,
Moral gestures to fit the profile
Drift apart love in exile
With a pretentious smile.

Life smiles with indifference,
Ambition ignores the social relevance,
Ego tramples the so-called senses,
Life strives for material glimpses.

Life fears intimacy,
Morbid fate of astute advocacy,
Social parade of false legacy,
Lies, pretense, and sordid prophecy,
Life rejects trivial fantasies.

Life loves without prejudices,
Pride from rags or riches,
Denied dilemmas without preaches,
Life conquers lust with avarices.

Life pampers greed to glide,
Flamboyant fashion plastic bride,
Drunken desires reckless drive,
Loveless nests to stay alive.

Life falls like frosted flowers,
Dwindled steps of sickly towers,
The raindrops refused to shower,
Life begins to crumble without power.

Life tries to return to youth,
Nature forbids the simple truth,
Remorseless time is cruel enough,
Hands of the clock are rigid rough,
Life is fatigued without a laugh.

Life tries to defy demise,
Frightened by darkness and cries,
Diseased dreams dissolved and die,
Deceased desire tries to bribe,
Life fell in the hands of death,
Strangled the ultimate breath,
Love for life yet to create.


4. Dream

I dreamed of us from the stars,
Beyond borders of loveless wars,
Squabbled with social rifts,
Timeless tales left behind bars,
Fell apart with lifelong drift.

I dreamed of us from the sky,
Fear of loving and losing and die.
If death drives us apart forever,
Long last memories of helpless eyes,
Love lost stories will stop never.

I dreamed of us from the sea,
The war of faith never set us free,
Boundless swell of pacific blue,
Platonic bond with indifferent views,
Stoned in reality without a clue.

I dreamed of us from the mountains,
Dark and deep in tropical green,
Punished passion of dwindling fountains,
Intense touches that never felt,
Faith imprisoned love to restrain.

I dreamed of us from the...