First touch

Courtesy: http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mgDzCuo/two+small+hands

my little brother...

    small hands curled around mine

   memories entwined

Written for Haiku Heights Today's prompt was the word FIRST.

I sometimes wonder what would a life be without a little sibling. To have a kid brother or sister to boss around is just so much fun. These creatures are just so ridiculously pathetic sweethearts. That’s saying when I have an elder brother, too, and this would come back like a boomerang at me. But to state the fact, all little siblings ARE ‘ridiculously pathetic sweethearts.’ 

My younger brother had been my punch bag for years. We’d fight like idiots over stupid things; pull each other’s hair, mock, kick, pout, pinch, punch and behave like we’d kill each other any freakin’ moment. I remember my bossiness: knocking him down because he’d copy me; blackmailing him for petty things; flaunting my vocabulary in front of him and making him a complete dodo; calling him a shortie for he was a tad shorter than I.

We still fight.  But it’s different now. 

He never copies me, so I can’t knock him down. Even if I think of pushing him to the sofa, like I used to, I know he can shove me in the wall without being a ninja. He’s almost six inches taller than I. He has a mind that works, so no more blackmailing and bossing around, too…. Darn! Vocabulary, yes, that’s one thing I still swim past him like a winner, but when that topic comes into picture, he has a deluge of insults for my awesome math/moth brain. I suck at math. :(

This younger brother is the one I can be a retard with and still be normal. He’s the one who remains honest with me and his truths never hurt. He’s still a punch bag for me in more ways than one. Ever seen us talking? In school, I was always called the most silent student, but with him, I’m a blabbering jerk. The longest we have fought was for two days and then the silence was broken. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend than him.. 

What kind of relationship do you share with your little sibling, or you wish you shared?

Bliss

Crawling in the quiet,

word by word;

swallowed in a breath

in unreached realms,

untouched lives.

Courtesy: http://www.squidoo.com/best-books-to-read-in-bed

It is the newness,

it is the goodness,

it is the life that breathes

in each page turned

that enlivens a whole new world.

Tell me a story

rather, give me a book

and I shall survive.

Give me something to read

and I shall come alive.                      

                        

I shall fall in love

with the people who dwell there.

Fantasy, fiction, romance,

they call it.

I name it – Bliss!

For when it’s read - cover to cover,

there will be a part of me

that’ll mourn for its end,

but I’ll gladly smile for a bonus life

and an ever-lasting friend.

– Vaishali

Shared with: The Think Tank Thursday #105 Bliss

Work your way, heavy rains...

Work your way, heavy rains
But my plans,
you cannot soak.
Look at what all I have -
There’s my diary
and here’s my blog;
there’s my paintbrush
and here’s the wall;
there's the window
and here's the view;
there are my books

Image courtesy: http://www.nomerebridges.com/blog/?p=193

and here's the avenue;
I can read to no extent
I can write
till the world wakes up.


And after all,
even if I miss
a few hours' sleep,
it will not be the same,
these blithe rainy hours.
They’ll never be the same.


Written for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, Kenia's Wednesday Challenge

In the garden

Outdoor Chess

                                           

Out in the sun,

under my beguiled glances,

they stand like works of art.

The motley of colors,

the sparkle of sunbeams

onto the marble pieces,

beatifies my garden.

With black and white,

and some grey,

and, oh, there is green, too,

and brown and blue,

how can I not love this place

where I wait for you?

Oh, how can’t I?

Written for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, The Sunday Challenge ~ Featuring Gemma Wiseman

Demarcation

And you went away,

Just like that.

Image courtesy: layoutsparks.com

No letter, no word,

No call to tell me why.

It’s been a year and a half,

But it wasn’t a lonely ride.

While I painted,

While I sang,

I felt your eyes on me,

Your playful smile croon to me.

I lived,

For I was hopeful

You’ll come back.                  

But I know it better now.

Apologies, excuses, justifications –

I’m past all of that.

There is no olive branch.

There are no white shadows. 

Now there are lines I’ve drawn,
There and there and there.
I belong not to our memories,
but to some place divine.

The snakes of distrust
Don't bother me now.
I walk my way
Alone.

Written for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, A Word with Laurie.

Six Weeks - Book Review

Title: Six Weeks

Author: Jessica L. Degarmo

Genre: Teenage/ Drama

Description: SIX WEEKS FOR LIFE OR DEATH ...
In 'Six Weeks', Jessica L. Degarmo departs from the style of her very successful Romance novels to examine every teenage girl's nightmare: that she is pregnant and not certain she's ready for a child.

Image courtesy: goodreads.com

It is a life and death decision – not her life, but her decision - and despite the opinions of those around her, she is on her own.

In a world of gray, one thing is black and white. Six weeks is her deadline to decide.

Maybe you have been there, in which case you will understand.


My Rating: 7.5/10

My thoughts about the book: The author’s writing is one thing that will draw you in. It’s written in first person POV. It’s like you are reading someone’s personal diary, although it’s not so. I was inquisitive from the very beginning as to how things would unfold for Imogene[Immy], whom you happen to care for since the start of the novel. 

The dialogues are so real; there is nothing fake in here. I’m certain this is exactly how people word their thoughts and yet, there is a surprise when one or the other character speaks. Talent, I call it!

The novel starts with Immy in the hospital taking the test for pregnancy. It’s positive. She’ll be a mother soon. That’s not a happy thing for her. She’s just nineteen. She has to measure her steps, and she has only six weeks to decide whether she should keep the baby or not.

Immy has an emotional backdrop. She studies hard in the college; works part time, takes care of the domestic expenses and still gets the abuses hurled at from her mother. She isn’t allowed to stay with her loving father because he couldn’t get her custody when she was young; she lives with a drunkard mother who abuses every waking second and consumes her daughter’s income in her own alcoholism. Immy tolerates her mother even after turning an adult because of her half sister, Sadie, who is her life. Immy works hard to make ends meet for the house.

Immy has a boyfriend named Matthias, whom she likes because they both share a rather disturbed childhood and he accepts her the way she is, or maybe he is just a distraction for her from the ugly life she leads. One party, where they ‘make love’, turns out to be the biggest mistake of Immy’s life, or so it seems in the beginning. Her decision about keeping the baby or not would impact many lives, not just hers.

I liked the part of the nuns in this book. It was soothing. Reading this book, I felt that Immy’s life was supposed to be with people who couldn’t do anything to make things better for her, but the nun was a welcome change. Her suggestion to try one alternative for size was weird, though. I couldn’t bring myself to imagine if one could completely follow that, but Immy did follow and that settled some of her confusions.

She has three options – Abortion, adoption, or keeping the baby. Abortion seems to be the easiest way out – no worries; adoption the most criminal – she chucks it right away; it's ‘keeping the baby’ that gives her jitters and makes her think hard. How can she bring a child in a world which she herself hates? She hasn’t got enough money, the family life is pathetic and the baby would halt her career. She has every reason to say no, but she still clings on to ‘how can I have an abortion?’ 

The emotional investment in this book is evident; your eyes might moisten for the pain that the girls go through, Immy and Sadie, both. I loved the characters. I liked Immy for being so strong and so unlike her mother. Somehow, I feel proud of this protagonist. She is every way an elder sister should be. She has her faults, I guess, but her words ring true to me, marking that she is honest, confident and hard working. She would never fail in her life, for that I’m glad.

Sadie is the one who seems to be too matured for her age; just eight years old and she talks like she has seen the world inside out. But then, she’d had her share of pain by having a father she knows zilch about and a mother who’d never want her.

You might/ might not like the ending. I have mixed feelings on that one.


Would I recommend it: I would recommend giving it a try. I’m certain that Six Weeks will attract its audience, not all.

Imaginary Lives

Top of my June reading-list was The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I had been hearing a lot about it since past couple of months. It had to be given a try. Two weeks now, I must tell you, it does give a nudge to the creativity within. Week 1 of this brilliant book had certain interesting tasks recommended by the author.

There were ten thought-provoking tasks enlisted. One of them was:

If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them? Look over your list and select one. Then do it this week.

I thought it was better to question my dear brain than to ask the scorching sun to go cool for a few hours. 

Now, here’s my list of imaginary lives. I would like to live as: a writer; a painter; a saint; a singer and a teacher.

I believe, in this life of mine, I’m more focused on being a writer, so why not share something about one of the other lives.

Okay, let’s check my Singer profile. 

As a kid, I was always convinced that I could be a singer, a painter, a teacher and a poetess, all at the same time. As I grew up, I lost focus and grew insecure of my own abilities and aspirations. I regret the fact that I never even tried to pass by the abandoned territory.

If I had an option to make a choice for my life, then I would want to be a singer with a deep, clear and mesmerizing voice. I’d want to hold my guitar and dive into the music to touch the chords of everyone’s hearts. 

I believe, music has the power to heal and to transport us to a different world and connect with the higher power. It can transcend boundaries. It can strengthen the power of love. It has a life of its own. 

I love to write songs and play piano, and I so long to play a guitar with enough confidence and experiment with scales, notes and tones.

I’m always inspired by people who can charm others with their creativity. Music, surely, would be a good choice for me.

As for doing it - Yes, I did sing.. OUT LOUD! What did I notice? Here it goes..

Instruments: Gotta work on them. Just piano isn’t enough. Sigh!

Voice: Nice… but can it ever be awesome, I wonder.

Scales n tones: There is a great scope for improvement there. Hmphh!

Never mind, it’s an imaginary life anyway. I can live with it.

Now, it’s your turn. Think it out and type it down. I’d love to know your list of imaginary lives. Just five lives to think of… Yep, it’s fun. 

Image courtesy: http://adjiringanorprimary.blogspot.in/