I wake up cold, I who
Prospered through dreams of heat
Wake to their residue,
Sweat, and a clinging sheet.
My flesh was its own shield:
Where it was gashed, it healed.
I grew as I explored
The body I could trust
......
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
......
(From the early Anglo-Saxon text)
May I for my own self song's truth reckon,
Journey's jargon, how I in harsh days
Hardship endured oft.
Bitter breast-cares have I abided,
Known on my keel many a care's hold,
And dire sea-surge, and there I oft spent
Narrow nightwatch nigh the ship's head
While she tossed close to cliffs. Coldly afflicted,
......
Sweet, I blame you not, for mine the fault was, had I not been made of common
clay
I had climbed the higher heights unclimbed yet, seen the fuller air, the
larger day.
From the wildness of my wasted passion I had struck a better, clearer song,
Lit some lighter light of freer freedom, battled with some Hydra-headed wrong.
Had my lips been smitten into music by the kisses that but made them bleed,
You had walked with Bice and the angels on that verdant and enamelled meed.
......
Either peace or happiness,
let it enfold you
when I was a young man
I felt these things were
dumb, unsophisticated.
I had bad blood, a twisted
mind, a precarious
upbringing.
......
Victory may come after injury,
Worry not and feel damn sorry,
Hurry to toil which is necessary,
Bury doubts as loss is temporary !
M V Venkataraman
In the depths of my soul, I beg forgiveness,
For I know not the extent of the hurt I caused,
My apologies falter, mere whispers in the wind,
Yet, I bear them with sincerity, with a heart that bleeds.
I confess, I longed to be a reflection of strength,
A mirage of confidence masking my insecurities,
But in that pursuit, I lost sight of your tender heart,
And in doing so, I betrayed the essence of who I am.
......
It's so much easier to pretend it isn't true
There's no way I could do that
I don't have that sort of desire
But as much as it hurts me I can't imagine how it hurts you
The evil inside of me was great even then
You'd think I was too young
I couldn't think that
But it's awful and I'm hardly taking it in
......
If you think I will forgive you
Think again.
If you think I’ll ever trust you,
Think again
If you think I’ll ever talk to you
Think again
If you think I’ll ever forget
Think again
But still, tomorrow is another day
......
I grabbed my coat and took off
Went out for a walk
I know I've been told
That the streets are cold.
The moment I took a step
I know I'm not safe
But it doesn't matter
Because I...didn't even matter.
......