Euphorbia

PADE Day 9 Theme – Sharp

The first thought is Stalactites. Wish I could visit the snowy peaked mountains and explore an icey cave or two with the killer stalactites hanging from the roof.

I even checked my freezer for some miniature replicas but sadly my freezer is working well. So the massive hunt for sharp objects began. Scissors and knives. I found my son’s sword but sharp it wasn’t.  Perhaps the picture of me yelling at my elder son, if only I could capture the sharp words flying out. People would want to poke me with even sharper objects.

I found an old cassette with SHARP written on it. Would it be pathetic? Finally stumbled on an old image of my mother’s precious Euphorbia plants. I don’t find all of them attractive but mommy likes it since the flowers do not wilt quickly. The leaves are green, the stem dark brown and full of stout sharp thorns. The blooms are vivid in color but simple in the shape and many in number. I wouldn’t want it in my garden but I have met so many who love them and breed them by the dozen.

S o here is my sharp photo. I find the thorns more attractive than the flowers. Maybe the thorns are the highlight of the plant. 

 

This post is my entry for the PADE conducted by “Just a mom” or “ Things to rave about”

The Ten Commandments

PADE Day 8 Theme – Rules

The whole day I carried Rules around. Couldn’t think anything except the rules which I try to go by everyday.  Not that I am a devout Christian. But I do enjoy reading the Bible. The photo here is my old Bible. Just realized the leather cover is unraveling.

 From as long as I can remember the words within the Bible were the rules we knew we had to follow. Slowly as I got older, the naked history of man and kings and sinners revealed itself in those words.  The kings were glamorously rich yet fallen deep in sin. They do not attempt to hide this. But there are powerful pieces of prayers and repentance recorded. And to discover that they were indeed forgiven and restored is so comforting.

One of the oldest penal codes recorded is within the Bible (book of Leviticus). In which each crime and punishment is painstakingly outlined.  Israel’s present judiciary is based on these, I read somewhere.

The Ten Commandments were given directly by God to Moses. Recorded on stone tablets atop Mt.Sinai. But when asked by some high priests as to which of the commandments is most important, Jesus said “Love your neighbor more than yourself and love your God with all your heart and spirit”. That was the sum of it. When love seals every relation, there is no scope of the evil to raise its head.

This post is my entry for the PADE conducted by “Just a mom” or “ Things to rave about”

The light of Passion

PADE Day 7                                                                                                                                                                                   

Theme – Light

The light of Passion

A long time ago, I saw a peculiarly shaped cloud in the evening sky. Almost like a fearsome monster. As I looked on, it slowly spat out the sun and then it resembled an oyster cradling a precious pearl.

I had clicked the different stages of the cloud as it moved over to reveal the sun in its glory. The images make me reflect on the light of passion within us that can transform us. I believe we need to be passionate about something. Even watching tv can be sort of a passion. Maybe not one to be pursued too long.
Passion is what lights up our dull existence.

I thought I would also share this with the toads as I couldn't get another poem out of me for Monday.

A light dwells within us

A little sun, a little ball of passion

Brightens up the world it shines upon

Suppressed, it shapens into an ogre

Let it out and watch

An oyster cuddling a pearl                                                             

This post is my entry for the PADE conducted by “Just a mom” or “ Things to rave about”

Also shared with Imaginary Garden with Real Toads in them.

Layers of love

When I saw the word layer, this photo of my children taken some time ago leaped in front of my eyes.

It was chilly winter and they had on layers of clothing and covering. It also triggered thoughts of how helpless I was to protect them from the perfidious layers of the world.

This is my first post on PADE and I have enjoyed it tremendously. Will try to make it everyday and also catch up with the ones I missed.

Layers of clothing keep you warm my children

Layers of love will keep you warm inside

The world is to be discovered yet

Layer by layer

Some beautiful some treacherous

Your fiber will be tested

May this warm blanket and my prayers

Shield you and strengthen you

"This post is my entry for the PADE conducted by “Just a mom” or “ Things to rave about”

I won the Shutterbug of the day for this Theme !! 

One tiny feet, a giant leap for me

 Trifextra Week 75 challenge wanted us to write 33 of our best words. These are mine – to my children.

My children inspire me to do more. Being so non-ambitious, I would have gone no where without my parents pushing me to study. Later in life, for my children I want to explore every possibility, every talent within me so that I can inspire them to do the same. They have transformed me from a laid back (exact translation - lazy) non adventurous non experimental (kind of a dry leaf on the mercies of wind-blown where ever) existence to taking the reins in my own hands.

Tossing away self doubts

Push myself to places higher

I pretend to be an adult

But I don’t know the way any better

Come, lay your tiny feet

On wobbly grounds of life. 

Fields of Harmony

I am visiting the Imaginary Garden after a very long time. School summer vacation had me travelling to grandparents homes with no laptop and an avalanche of trips and treks and visitors and shopping. 

Now back home to the usual grind. I get a little free time when my younger son goes off to kindergarten. I am definitely putting that to good use. If only I could get up from the couch and throw the tv remote down the drain.

Thanks Hannah for the beautiful tulips. I really enjoyed the train of thoughts they triggered.

I couldn't watch the video, the streaming was very slow for my connection. But I got the idea of the gardener and his huge toil.

This poem is written for the Friday challenge at Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.

Borrowed from Real Toads 

Hannah gave us some images of Tulip fields from Holland. A never ending ocean of vibrant hues.

Fields of Harmony 

If I could capture these soothing shades

In my thoughts, my words

As far as the eye can go,

A ribbon of purple, red, yellow

I envy the butterfly, the bee

I wish I could be like the wind

Gently touching each jubilant bloom

Inhaling a bit of a miracle called life

How can I fathom the greatness of the Creator!

So many different shapes

Such a blend of colors

Can a mere mortal ever conjure this up?

How amazing is the earth that breathes!

Can we keep these flowers real?

Let a caterpillar eat its leaves and petals

Let some flowers be flawed

Let not every smidgen be arranged and sold

Let the melody of life flow

A bit of rot and decay

For new blossoms,

New strata of life to open awe filled eyes.

One thousand pants

Written for Trifecta 82 

This week's challenge is 'club'. I couldn't link up in time ...connection woes..but I am posting anyway....

A light went on in the old shack. There was a moment of silence when she looked all around and contented that all their secrets were safe. Every copper piece and every plant, every book and rag were exactly in the same spot. Their shrine was undefiled.

In the corner there sat a huge green trunk, slightly rusty. There was a beautiful copper vase with cheap plastic flowers gathering dust, sitting on it. Almost like the door keeper of Tutankhamen. She lifted it gently, smiling to herself and opened the trunk. Inside were roughly folded and labeled pants in all colors. She sat herself by the trunk and waited for the others to arrive.

They started to trickle in. Some had in their possession the offering to the green trunk. They submitted it to her, their unassuming undemanding but awe inspiring leader. She folded it, labeled it and deposited it. Some had brought in some sweets which they shared. They all found their smile in the club. Some had news to share. Some brought new friends. The shack seemed to fit them all somehow.

When it was discovered that all of them had joined, she slowly stood up.

“Soon it will be time for us to focus on our own lives, families. We are nearing our target. We have to burn the trunk with a thousand pants and then start afresh.”

Tears rolled down some cheeks. They had all been treated like a piece of meat for the filthy pleasure of demented men. She had fused courage in them to wield the blade for a single cut to eradicate frenzied manhood.

 “Would one thousand be enough?” a trembling voice piped up.

“We cannot keep this up for ever. We cannot let this be our whole lives. We have to discover a new path.” She replied.

They pondered on it. She made sense like always. After all they were only children. Their parents had sold them off but they would take back their freedom.

Written for Trifecta 82 

A dreamy slow dance

Summer– Oh to wake up late, breathe in the chaste fragrance of ambition-less calm, drench in the hues of wild blossoms and trickling streams, slow dance under the endless twinkling canopy, in love. 

Written for Trifecta Writing Challenge - Trifextra Week 72.
This weekend's prompt is to describe summer in our own words. Thirty-three of them exactly, of course. 

My WeChat Pack

Flooded in by mundane tasks, cornered by snoopy desperate housewives, I would jump and snatch the opportunity to connect to those I love sharing everyday stories of life. My best friend Elizabeth is the first name I would add. She lives now in Ireland and whenever she calls we have so much news to exchange. Our brain waves are very much in the same frequency.  When we were roommates in Bangalore we had a lot of escapades, mostly from the nuns who wanted us to attend mass every morning at 6:00 am and switch off room lights at 8:30 pm!!  We hid behind doors, under beds. We played all sorts of card games till wee hours of the night. We discovered Bangalore devouring sweets and savoring KFC, drenched in rain. Some nights we woke up hearing terrible ghostly noises and sat trembling under our tables. It is quite tragic that you have to grow up and be married and live so far away from those who truly know you. Growing up years are painful yet full of hope and promise to glorious years. Elizabeth’s words touch that promise of glory still eluding me. She would make me see the audacity of my ambition and the insanity of my dream. But she would applaud me on. She is the one who knows what I am feeling in the deep parts of my soul because she feels the same exact way about everything.

 When all my best laid plans fall to smithereens I imagine I am talking to her about it and how she would make me laugh about it. It would be the perfect thing if I could do that in real instead of imagining. Elizabeth my best friend, with whom I have faced ghosts and nuns alike, I add thou to my WeChat pack.

Next pops up my office cube inhabitants. We were the noisiest cubicle. Mostly we discussed transgender issues, trying to spot the effeminate guys and those with different inclinations. We also dissected the project politics and the sadistic HR policies. It helped that none of us were in the same project team. We could offload all our project frustrations on each other without fearing that it could come back to us as a CRR (ranking) down grader. So those would be Vasundhara Ray and Vipin Jain. Vipin in the funniest guy I have met till date and Ray is my fashion police too.  Now I am a full time mom battling with two boys who want to live on Lays and Cola and I miss the cube a little. My critical issues and defects which need immediate fixes are homework and science projects.  To chat with Ray and Vipin while I go about warring would be a definite calming effect. My children would highly benefit that I take my focus off them and indulge in office gossip.

Cam Tucker from Modern Family is so full drama. He choreographs every little event into a larger than life scene. I love that. To enhance the little joys, to make life a little more filled with wonder, I want to talk to Cam and be swept away in his theatrics.

Then comes to mind the eidetic memory waala Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. I want to see  how much I can combat with him – words wise, knowledge wise. I love to analyze how different people think and react and he is so radically different from anyone I have seen.

The last person on my list is my favorite author Jane Austen. I believe she has influenced me right from my teens. The noble thoughts in her stories. The beautiful form of the words. Like a melodious song lifting up a simple life into a magical ethereal romantic existence. I wish I could be able to talk like her. To conceive a world in which there is so much so love and goodness to share. I could also take hints from her on writing.

So here is my WeChat pack. The pack will increase in size over the days but this is the start.

1.     Elizabeth
2.     Vasundhara Ray
3.     Vipin Jain
4.     Cam Tucker
5.     Sheldon Cooper
6.     Jane Austen

I can see myself connecting with Cam on recipes and family event plans. I see offloading the crabbiness of the day with Elizabeth. Dueling with Sheldon Cooper. Having masti mazaa with Vipin and Ray. And taking in a breath of noble romance from Jane Austen.

For more on WeChat visit WeChat YouTube channel .

For You

Never believe when people say:

You are mediocre.

It is a crime to self to not try,

Never be content

Until all your senses for life

Are fully awake,

Your core fully alive.

Written for Trifextra : Week Sixty-Two