A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

I wrote a series of poems about someone who died recently ... someone close to me ... and about my perception of the human race ...

1.

As I sit here in the darkness
I wonder whence man's travesty will ever end
Death, murder, suicide, hunger, depravity, poverty
All ignored as we make this journey thru life

Fixated on a friend that does not exist
We think he sits there on his heavenly throne
Sexist as man is, assumes a male creator
While it is a woman who gives birth

We chant his name
And feel he has bestowed us the power to judge
While we would fail miserably in the entity's eyes
Forgetting that the real entity is our fellow human

We run amok thru life
Unaware, numb, not even recognizing ourselves
For the monsters that we are
Warmongers, greedy, selfish

We've forgotten that the monster we are so scared of
Is us.

2.

Lost
Forgotten
He ploughs on alone
The lonely traveler, in search of something greater than himself

Not a believer
But he likes to observe
Distant
But there is some degree of passion

He cares
But can't explain
Why he cares about his fellow man
Who is an animal

Is it instinct
Is it hope
Is it love
Or a belief that man is more than the manifestation of a physical
form

Is it death
And the fact that what happens cannot be explained
An innate fear that runs thru humans
Or is it that man is more than man

Man is a seed
An idea
That's greater than himself
And that he will forever strive to achieve immortality

3.

I would like to walk along the shores of life
Watching the quiet sunset that represents the end
Enjoying the beauty of the process
When the time comes

But can man achieve that
Can we distance ourselves from us
From the ego
From the self

I wonder
And I hope that I can master myself
To the point when the last ragged breath comes
I laugh inwardly

At the absurdity of existence...

4.

Fields of gold
That was his backyard
Where a child ran
Without a care

Now he is gone
Dreams shattered
Of meeting him again
The golfer that he was
He died on the course
Pursuing his passion
While his wife was unaware that he died
For hours

Dear uncle of mine
You died in a distant land
A land I wish I knew better
In a city they say dreams come true

I will forever cherish the first time you showed me how to putt
Because you did more than that
You showed me that life is not about being on the green
It's about giving a damn about your fellow man

Soldier that you were sir
You live on in the hearts of your sons and family
Forever a part of us
Because you will always be a part of every breath we take.....

5.

Why does a soldier's death hurt so much
Is it because he is inherently noble
Or is it because he represents us at our best
A dream we strive to achieve

In the hope and belief that we have courage
To lay our lives down for an idea
What drives you soldier
And how are we to be as stoic as you

You never spoke about war
You laughed
But there was a tinge of sadness
In your eyes

I saw your hands shake
I saw your eyes blink
And I wondered what had changed
Did you know it was coming

I remember the pat on the cheek
A proud grin
Insolence
A wishful look

Because there was something that you did not believe in...

Akhil Bhardwaj
Phoenix, AZ

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

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