Money

The day was at the stage of twilight, 
He entered the forest with all his might. 
A couple of medical plants was his aim. 
Grey bearded, the wizard had a weak frame.

His wand was made out of fine oak
His dilapidated condition made him look broke. 
All of a sudden, he casted a diabolic spell, 
Was the expression of agony? or of anxiety, one couldn’t tell.

His spell had worked,lying there was a body covered in gold,
His move was true yet cold. 
Because, the body, was that of a huge ogre, 
The wizard couldn’t go near the giant because of the unbearable odour.

He started thinking, how an ogre landed in that part of the forest.
Was it because of the stone he had found on the crest? 
Could it be possible that he found a treasure? 
Was it his destiny or a coincidence, he wasn’t sure.

The wizard went back home with a grin, 
Oblivious to the fact that he had committed a sin. 
The stone was powerful, it turned him into an alchemist, 
Swallowed by hunger, it turned him into a narcissist.

He forgot his older good, all his acts of benevolence, 
Wealth had forced him to commit more malevolence. 
Ultimately his desire, consumed him, 
His possibility of coming back was certainly dim.

All that was left was a palace full of gold, 
With a lonely wizard who couldn’t stop from growing old. 
Like every being, he died without taking anything, 
Instead he could’ve used it to help every poor living thing.

Remember money is what will bring you name, 
At that time, people are your friends, they’ll claim. 
But once that money leaves your hands, 
You’ll be left to yourself and your lavish demands. 
So use that wealth for doing something right,
The poor and weak deserve a fight, 
Against ego, superiority and pride, 
It’s time we take every oppressed life’s side.

– Madhur

Alone

Bham! The grenade rocked our tent,
Gunpowder with mud was the scent.
Light from the jeeps and the hummers shone
Upon our camp, yet I was alone.

No prayer could help us nor any psalms,
Lying on the ground were some feet and some arms.
Blood and mud made everyone look like a clone
There were many, yet I was alone.

Shrapnel pierced skins like a couple of hungry thorns,
A battlefield was made out of an innocent farm of corns.
There was little to no time to moan,
We tagged along and ran, yet I was alone.

We ran and ran, till we could hear no sound,
Felt safe only after hiking the great mound.
The status of other brigades was unknown,
Was surrounded by pounding hearts, yet I was alone.

Drenched with fear and burning with anger,
Stuck like a set of clothes on a hanger.
We decided to storm the front in a single tone,
The decision was unanimous, yet I was alone.

The attack went great, a lot of them got killed,
But the flip side was brutal, even my brothers were grilled.
Our commander’s head was bashed with a stone,
Together in a bunker, yet I was alone.

When our hopes were riding low,
We lost our courage and took one last blow.
Finally our backup forces arrived with the drone,
Eventually we had turned into I, and I was alone.

We all come into this world alone,
We all go back into the earth alone,
But we shouldn’t forget that we are more than flesh and bone
All our loved ones never make us feel alone.

-Madhur