Mergers are in the air

A vain attempt to cure myself from a severe attack of "writers block"...

Dear Madam,
I do not know whether the thought ever crossed your mind, but I have considered the possibilities of a merger of our business ventures. I have made the following observations as a result of a brief study of our businesses. Of course it is impossible to conclude on the probability of a successful merger based on the facts at hand. I will place these facts before you anyway, so that you too may consider the propositions that would help you make an informed decision.
Based on current market statistics, you cost my mind one thought every six and a half minutes. The figures also show that I earn one blissful dream of you every 3 nights on average. But you also cause me additional risks, because I find that I am 60% more likely now than before to meet with an accident while I am driving, as a result of thinking about you instead of concentrating on the road. To balance that risk, I will have to spend an additional fifteen Dollars per month on insurance – which I cannot afford. I admit that you have increased the number of “ecstatic” days in my life by 7%, but on the other hand, you have also increased the number of anxious days by 54%, so it is actually a net loss of 51% in the number of dull and uneventful days in my life – and I am still unable to decide whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
My intuition predicts that a merger will increase thoughts of you up to a thought every 3 minutes and reduce the returns on dreams as real life will actually be better than my dreams. The new business opportunities that will be created, such as; having someone to hold, someone to be with and talk to, someone to share the deepest secrets with and someone who will always be there for me and vice-versa also look promising. My business has undergone structural changes in preparation for major developments in the market as I have successfully finished my studies. I am now in the process of preparing myself for a challenging climb up the “corporate ladder”. I understand that your circumstances may be different, but I am confident that you are an accomplished individual who has a good grasp of the daily complexities of life. The only significant risk I foresee is the geographical separation of our operations at the moment. Even though I have sufficient expertise in designing Information Communication Technology solutions to such business problems, my assessment of the current situation is that it would be best to take the time to understand each other’s business operations in depth and develop a healthy level of trust and reliance on each other before we commit to a formal merger. This will also give us enough time to plan on how we could overcome the geographical barriers and build a healthy partnership. I would be much obliged if you could also do a similar pre-assessment of the threat matrix of a possible merger and analyse the results.
A merger will demand substantial investments from both of us mostly aimed at long-term returns. I still have very little business intelligence on your business plans and strategies, and therefore I am still unable to decide whether it is safe to merge our resources and risk the stable operation of our individual businesses. I also need to complete an assessment of the tax environment – but the ultimate decision on whether we would get any tax exemptions in the future lies entirely in our hands. I acknowledge that a merger is partly about taking calculated risks in good faith. I can assure you that I will focus all my resources on the success of our merger – should we decide to have one – as the rate of our individual growth has peaked and a merger holds exciting prospects for further growth.
In the event of a merger, we both need to decide what sort of capital investment is needed before we can begin operations. We also need a basic estimate of how long it will take us to break-even and start making profits. Most importantly, we have to commission a thorough study of the ongoing operational costs and additional capital investments that are needed to keep the business profitable.
Having considered the facts so far, I am confident that a merger will be mutually rewarding and very profitable for both of us. I am confident that it will be the best business decision we will ever take in our lives, provided that we streamline the management process, reduce costs, ensure employee satisfaction and adopt sound business ethics and best practises. With the hope that you too will carry out your assessment on the matter with "objective optimism" (that's not an oxymoron), I remain,
Faithfully yours

In your name

Lord you have bestowed
More blessings on me than I can bear
You have crowned me with glory
Let the dew of humility seep through me
And nourish my soul
Shield me from the winds of pride
As it may dance with me today
Let it not strain my roots
Or shake my firm grip on the Earth
As it carries my fragrance with it
Let it not drain my heart of its gentleness
For the winds dry and burn moist buds
And remove their fiery petals
From their clinging to your soul
But let me sing and dance in the sun
For you have given me mush reason
Yet I am still a little bud
A helpless speck in your garden
Still waiting to blossom
Waiting for a fleeting dream to come true
Let me share the labour of my roots
With the bees and your whole creation
Let me find in the barren soil and dry air
The ingredients of pure sweetness
And dispense your perfume to the world
That I may glorify my creator
Through eternity

Carve your finest rhymes in me

O angel of my fleeting dreams
Carve your finest verse in my lowly heart
Labour not on pillars of stones
For they erode away and gather moss
And the hardest iron rust away in the rain
Even the pages of time will run out one day
But carve your rhymes with the chisel of love
With those delicate little hands of yours
On this lone and pensive heart of mine
I shall bear the bleeding and pain with joy
And my soul shall carry your words
Beyond the realm of eternity
Stash your tools and rest
In the secret chamber of my heart
There is a peaceful dwelling place
That I have furnished with the finest dreams
And etched on the walls is a secret wish
That you too may dwell there eternally

A torch of silence

Dark and silent night
Embrace me like you have always done
Even when my heart had been forsaken
You kept me warm and tucked
Under the mist of your silence
The countless stars kept me company
As we sang and danced
And shared each other's secrets

You light up my world
Sometimes with moonlight
Sometimes with a lone firefly
And at times with lightning from the sky
The music of falling rain drops
Still echo in my ears

You still greet me with the cool breeze
And I welcome you with a smile
For you know my hearts desires
I borrow my dreams from you
And you bless me with peaceful solitude

Tonight she is in my dreams again
But my thoughts are lost
A heart that floated freely among the stars
Is trapped and lost blissfully in another

Let me not leave your bosom of dreams
You have been my dearest friend
Through the tufts and trenches of life
The hours I spent with you on a rooftop
Drenched in rain
Watching light streaks bolt from the sky
And listening to the ensuing thunder
Those days are still etched in my memory
Like little diamonds on a necklace

Teach me now, the meaning of silence
The noise of the day has deafened me
And drained my ears of sweeter music
Nourish my soul with your words
And take me to God in a silent prayer
Let me be your offering
Burning like a candle at God's feet
And I will be the prayer
On your silent lips

I want to see through your darkness
Let me never despised it
For it explains to me the mysteries
That my eyes cannot see
And my heart cannot grasp

Then, lend me your dreams once more
Even for a fleeting moment
I have no dreams of my own, but hope
That I may wake up once again
Through this enchanted silence
With an eternal smile in my lips
And an angel in my heart

Arundhati Roy - We

This is a 'must see' 64 minute documentary. I have not verified any of these facts myself, so I don’t know how much of it to trust. And I also found that even though the celebrated writer claims in her speech that it is not her intention to attack anyone or cause anger, the message ends up doing just that. I find it hard to decide whether it can still be justified or not. But if any of you thought that “God of small things” was a treat to read, try and get hold of her political writings. If you have any interest in political science or law, you are bound to feast on them… if you don't have an interest in politics or law, reading those articles will convert you! (Do a Google search for “Friends of river narmada” or vist this page for a glimpse) -Haren

Stars don't lie

My heart beats faster
I feel the acceleration
And the exhilaration
Of a moment shared
Thoughts borrowed from each other
And returned with love

The wind blows across the seas
Carrying loads of promises
And blessings not prayed for
The stars twinkle with delight
And I dance through a cold night
With absurdly beautiful thoughts

There’s nothing rational about this
Reason has been overpowered
By intuition and wild feelings
I think I know, but I don’t
I think it is, but it may not be
But I feel this is

Soft spring raindrops kiss my face
The new moon with its wide grin
Is smiling down on me
As I loose myself in a dream
I may no longer lie among the stars
Though I know not whether I have
Found a place in her heart

I will dream for another day
Let hope flourish
And carry me above the clouds
Even if it means that I will fall again
From the skies to a cold hard ground
And break my heart
Because pain
No matter how unbearable
Is a little price to pay

And the sweetest songs spring up
To engulf me in their mirth
And their sweet melodies will echo
Forever in my heart

Recursive reality

A Soldier marches towards the setting sun
His short hair firmly gripping a slanted beret
Turning his head away from the path ahead
Towards another, at a single command
Yet his feet carry him onwards to destiny
Holding the dead metal of fire bolts
Close to a heart that is full of passion
He grips death with the same hands
That once cuddled the innocence of new life
The camouflage cannot hide
His love for the land and its people
And the future of his own children
That he has vowed to protect with his life

A nation sleeps in blissful ignorance
As the land drips with blood of her children
Neither the people nor their leaders know
That liberty has kidnapped innocent lives
And held them hostage for a ransom of freedom
Justice is imprisoned behind bars of betrayal
While dignity cries out to a host of deaf ears
Battles still rage in entrenched minds
Their dreams bordered by battlefields
Thoughts haunted by memories
Full of images from the depth of human cruelty
Ideology had extorted a heavy price
Even from the liberated minds

The powerful and the helpless join together
Like a holy union of love and hatred
The righteous and the immoral hold hands
As they march for peace with even steps
Amidst the chaos and struggles of daily life
Their's is an unceasing battle to comprehend
That war and peace are merely instruments
Of the many manifestations of human nature
Both bearing stories about the human capacity
For love and violence beyond description
The soldier returns home to his family
A hero, draped in a revered flag
His life is handed over to the loving memory
Of a weeping and forgetful nation
As another marches towards the setting sun
His short hair firmly gripping a slanted beret
With his head turned away from his destination
And his hands gripping a helpless gun

Apprehensions

I am forced by a heart’s longing
To fill the clear blue skies
With rhymes of a distant angel
And her dark piercing eyes
Yet, I cannot yield to cravings
In fear that I may expose
The deepest of all my secrets
In the verse that I compose

Appreciation

This is a tribute to my first teacher at Trinity College, for all that she has done, who she was and what she stood for. May her soul find peaceful rest with God.

Twenty years have whistled past since the first day I walked into Trinity. Hardly six years old then, I have very few memories of that first fretful year in school. Apart from the fact that I was in Mrs. Weerakoon's class, there are a few incidents that I can recall in great detail. Still the reason why those memories and their little lessons have been engraved so deeply in my mind so clearly does not amaze me anymore. When I left Trinity fourteen years later, Mrs. Weerakoon had finished her Earthly race. I missed her very much, for as she had greeted me with that memorable warm smile on that very first day in school, she has been an inspiration ever since.

As many six year olds would be, my parents and grand parents were the only people I was intimately attached to. However, as embarrassing as it was then, I remember running up to her on many occasions, calling out "Ammi" or "Achchi". That is probably how close she was to me and possibly to all those who were entrusted to her care for the brief first year in school, throughout the decades that she served Trinity with love and devotion.

My family and I still remember the day she visited me at home, when I had fractured my leg in a car accident. For all such memories we will for ever be grateful. The memory of Mrs. Weerakoon and the way she touched their lives is still alive in many generations of Trinitians. The kindness and sincerity with which she embraced them have since found its place among the many legends that echo in the halls of Trinity.

Her passing away came as a great shock even to those who knew what she was going through. Her last message to all Trinitians was read out by her daughter a few months later at a memorial service held in the College Chapel. It was a request for "Every Trinitian to give back Trinity, at least a fraction of what Trinity had given them" These words have mingled with the beat of our hearts ever since and made us realize that when great men and women are lost, their legends inspire others to rise up and carry the world forward. The legend of Mrs. Cynthia Weerakoon will live on and inspire many.

When angels walk among us
Without the floor touching their heel
And when they stoop to bless us
So gently that we don't feel
We often fail to realize
That we still feel their loving care
Even after they have left our midst
Like the light of a long dead star

Anthem

When I roam the great mountains
Above a silent lake
Memories of a wondrous boyhood
From their silent rest awake
I walk through granite pillars
And sit by the quiet pond
To live through that old enchantment
And unyielding bond

Chorus:
  The wind blows silent voices
  Of old friends I cannot see
  But the heart of a youthful lion
  Still beats in me

I learnt from ageless traditions
To tread the rightful way
And lessons of timeless meaning
In the fields of joyous play
My mind, body and spirit
Will sing this unending song
Of memories confined in the past
And legends bygone

I crossed the great wide oceans
On changing winds of time
Her honour I held within me
Preserved in a gist sublime
The continents shall echo
With roars and zealous rhymes
When I look with cheerful yearning
To the end of times

On a dreamy night

A poet writes the song of his heart
Among the stars, on a dreamy night
Sculpting his deepest desires
The most private of his emotions
And his secret thoughts
With mere words
Then he blows them away
To the wind
Fragments of his soul
Floating like red autumn leaves
They lie naked on the ground
Ignored by passers by
Trampled by strangers
Decaying into the ground
Giving back to mother Earth
What was borrowed from her memories
Paying back the due price
Of his sweetest dreams
The winter’s cold shall preserve their life
Until they are picked up with a gentle touch
By their rightful heir
Her curls will be adorned by buds of spring
The warmth of her heart
Will melt the mountain snow
In those bright eyes
She’ll carry the summer sun
That will shine in the sparkling streams
And beam a warm smile
On a little corner of the world
When she traces the path of autumn leaves
Along the stars, to that dreamy night

Serendipitous

Let me hold you in my heart tonight
Do not be afraid
I will embrace you with reverence
Delicately with my love

Let me sing you a song, softly to your ears
Do not walk away
I will be your warmth and shield you
From the cold winds

Let me dive into the depth of your eyes
Do not blink
Until I have replaced all your tears
With light and bright smiles

Let me take your hands in mine to dance
Do not look away
I will waltz with you through the night
On a cloud, among the stars

Let me hide these rhymes from memory now
Do not ask me why
I will keep them hidden in a corner of my heart
Until you stumble on them

These days...

Spring is in full bloom, so it's nice...
Flowers...
Bright 20 *C days...
Cool winds...
A call from home...
Sharing a laugh with friends...
Looking forward to tomorrow...
Morning mist...
A smile in my heart...
Enough songs to sing in the shower...
A guitar with a broken string...
Quiet jogs along a stream in the afternoons...
A bowl of biscuit pudding in the fridge...
Lying on a tuft in the middle of a park, gazing at the stars on clear nights...
Frankly, I couldn't ask for more...
Maybe except for the touch of a loved one, or at least a 'Golden retriever' or 'German shepherd' for faithful company...

Listen to the wind...

I think I heard you
Whisper a little secret
Softly, to my heart
I can’t sit still anymore
Listening to the wind
Or gaze silently at stars
For you are with me
I dance with you in my dreams
Hold you in my thoughts
I sense your heart beat in mine
And suffer your qualms
Distance may separate us
Yet I feel your pulse
I wonder if you feel mine
Trapped in our corners
Of a small and startling world
We remain strangers
Often afraid to reach out
Fearing the unknown
I clutch my heart in caution
My desires contained
But light entrapped in my heart
Escapes though the eyes
Each day brings new promises
More reasons to smile
Blessings I have not prayed for
And then I wonder
Why stars burn so brightly now
Than they did before
My guitar strings are broken
Yet I sing in bliss
Is it you who filled my heart
And life with purpose?
I will wait here patiently
And sing with the birds
Until our hearts are furnished
Then I’ll run to you
To take your hand and whisper
My heart’s secret wish

Break-through

Fearing the unknown
We clutch our hearts in caution
Our desires contained

Qualms sometimes blind us
But light entrapped in our hearts
Escape though the eyes

Hear the distant cheer

Today is a big day. You know it better than me. But it's a big day for me, as much as it is for you. I have stood in the stands and cheered my friends in our days when they donned the red-white jerseys and the red-gold-blue jerseys. I am sure you realise that every Trinitian has an embedded memory that he holds with reverence – of the men who wore those jerseys before them with pride and honour. That is why we honour the jersey so much. I cheered my friends with that same pride, of which I was once a shareholder, when I was in school.
But today is different. Though many thousand miles away, I will no longer be a spectator in the stands, because I will be with you on the field in spirit. We are bound by blood – by the bond of brotherhood… and in you, a part of me will take the field. You will be wearing a jersey that I could only dream of. In fact, today you are living a dream that many generations of Trinitians would sacrifice anything to be a part of. Take the time to feel the glory of the moment, but let it not engulf you. You are its guardian and keeper. You are also its master; not its slave.
From the day you first played for college, I suppose I have been your biggest fan. But I am yet to see you take the field as the oceans have separated me ever since. We may have planted the seeds of high expectations in you, but you nurtured them with your hard-work and sacrifice. Today the first buds of pride will blossom on its branches.
I must tell you how proud I am of you. Whether you sit on the bench or dash through the field, I will be there in spirit cheering you on… I will take those tackles with you… I will run with you towards the goal line. If you see a tear in my eyes, rest assured that they are tears of pride.
Today and the next two weeks belong to you. You are a shining star of a humble family and also of one of the greatest institutions in the land. Uphold the spirit of Trinity and of your family and everything else you represent, with courage and honour. Remember though that this is only the beginning… the first of many great journeys and memorable times. There is still a long way to go and many more challenges to overcome… and I will be with you cheering you on through every one of them…
Respice Finem!
Ayya

Beams...

A bright moon shines down through the clouds, but the stars are hidden behind the haze. Tonight, I do not expect to dream of you descending from the skies and walking straight into my heart. I am not strong enough even to dream of holding your hand in mine or sharing a secret with you. But I will wear this smile in my heart through the night... I will carry this smile in my eyes and on my lips... because it would suffice, just to see you smile back.

Cast me out of 'the realm of desparation'

Dear visitors of WriteClique.net,
I am writing to you in embarrassment and modest discomfort. I have found to my utter disappointment, that the “WriteClique Top 10” is quite vulnerable to abuse and misuse by egocentric wanna-be writers who crave to have their 15 seconds of fame by voting themselves into it. That is why it disturbs me to see three of my own pieces on the list. I feel uneasy about it because it casts a light of egocentricity and narcissism on my own personality – which I despise. I know it is a sad day when a person has to say this, but I would be most grateful to anyone who would be so kind as to vote me out of the Top 10.
Thank you ‘muchly’!

Blind heart

I reach out
Like a blind man
Over the boundaries
Of propriety
I feel at my fingertips
A promise
An everlasting smile
A brilliant mind
That I could engage
And a heart
That I could indulge
Perhaps it is an illusion
My mind’s imagination
Of the unimaginable
Because I only hear
My own heart beat
Over the terrifying silence
There’s nobody else here
Only a happy tune
That seeps through my heart
Forming a tenor hum
Then the soul retreats
To its hiding place
Between the wrinkles
Of time

My secret wish

A couple of weeks ago, I was lying on a tuft in the park well after sunset and gazing at the stars. I lay on the wet grass for a few hours waiting to see a shooting star, so that I could make a secret wish before trotting back to a thesis that was nearing completion. The shooting star never came. I pleaded with God, but to no avail. A silent voice inside me said “come here tomorrow and you will find your shooting star”.
I couldn’t make the appointment the following day as I spent my afternoons typing into a lifeless keyboard that filled up a thesis with words and images of my thoughts, creations and reading. So it was only after submitting the thesis last Thursday that I had a chance to jog back to the little tuft, to watch the stars and (almost-half) moon. No sooner than I had laid down on the wet grass, a streak of light that appeared at the corner of my eye, made its way across the sky before burning up… my shooting star... a meteor... a magic ‘make-your-wishes-come-true’ machine... or just a figment of my imagination?
I made my secret wish and trotted back home with a smile in my heart.

Evergreen

I am a tree in the evergreen forests
Standing tall on a green mountainside
To the wind I whisper sweet secrets
And stretch my branches with pride

With my canopy I guard a little corner
Of mother Earth I grip deep and wide
She taught me we are all her children
No matter if we crawl, walk or glide

I wake with the birds every morning
Holding their nests on my twiggy maze
Then I sip the dew from green petals
As the sun lifts my blanket of haze

An army of ants pay their homage
From a secret colony I cannot trace
Monkeys climb up and embrace me
And at my feet the dear would graze

Long I have befriended the mountain
We have shared both smiles and tears
I look down at the valley below us
With memories of a thousand years

I have grown with the sun and showers
And with ardour I have played my part
Now I await my crowning glory
Of a goddess enthroned in my heart