Sunday, December 30, 2012

2012: Two books shy of what I aimed for.

I walked into 2012 with a very achievable, and very simple, resolution. I decided to read at least twelve books before the year ended.

Now I can feel the end of the year pushing at me, and I'm only somewhere near the middle of my eleventh book, not considering the handful of reports on local affairs I've read, of course.

I feel disappointed that I let reality step in the way and stop me from doing this very simple thing which has to do with the very thing I most love doing.

I kept note of titles of what I've read this year, and the dates I finished them. It's funny how I read four books in just over a month, between the first of January and the sixth of February.

February sixth. The beginning of the coup d'etat. And that was it. I was so messed up about the events that occurred that I completely gave up on everything. It was only in June that I could pick up a book again, and slowly went back to enjoying the comforts reading allowed.

Of the books read this year, one of my favourites was Kafka's The Trial. Then another, though I didn't necessarily agree with all said in it, was Ishmael.

On a different note, near the end of the year, I've been watching a surprising number of movies. I've realized it's a whole different world of magic that I have left unexplored for most of my 27 years.

2013 is already knocking at our doors. I've decided to hold on to the same aim again. Here's hoping I curl up with and get to live in at least 12 books this coming year.

May the Reading Gods bless me, and all readers.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Truth.


To have thought that it's little I ask for
Riches and lavish gifts being immediate turn-offs
Ugly truths are more welcome than smooth lies
To face a fear easier than to be stabbed from behind
Honesty, my love, is all I ask for.

Time and experience have taught me otherwise
Ruining my idealistic approach to sharing lives
Ultimately, if truth be told,
To ask for pure honesty is to ask for too much
Half-truths are the most a guilty conscience allows.

Unavoidable Pain

Death
Such an inevitable end
Such an oft-felt pain
Rips many young hearts
To see one life end as another just starts

Life
Pushes you forward and on
Makes you witness all that's wrong
Gives you love, then leaves you to mourn
And with no choice but to move on along

A song, a story, a memory,
An emptiness that won't cease.
A longing, a wish, a prayer
That where ever he is, he is in peace.

I miss you, Bappa.