John Thomas Tharayil: Favorites

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Ali

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

jeffrey conyers

Ali

Ali, the man.
The impact of the man.
Many will never comprehend.

They see a boxer.
Not the activist.
He became solely by accident.

He spoke poetry like a true poet.
Although many were simplified of fulfillment of pride.
He was bold, even in his stride.

He uplifted, he motivated, he lived accordingly.

After all, he was Muhammad Ali.

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Outer Space

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Alex's Pipe Dreams

Outer Space

The air doesn't suffocate
Where you come from
I inhale sadness and
Exhale hope as I
Watch my dreams
Turn into carbon dioxide

The grass is greener on
Your side of the world
You water it and flowers grow
In my garden the ground is ash
And the trees have been dead for long

The sky is blue and white
On your planet called utopia
And at night stars grace you
With their celestial presence
Mine is dark and frightens even the sun

Artists write and sing and paint
And bow to this beautiful place
But if all they say is true
Maybe I am from outer space

#poem #sad #depression #life #sadness #world #space #utopia #outcast

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Time

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Lauren Ehrler

Time

Tic toc
Tic toc
Tic toc
That irritable clock
Continues to
Tic toc
Tic toc
Tic toc
Counting down time
Til I'll be nothing but slime
The begrudging noise
Tic toc
Tic toc
Tic toc
Unless it slips away
And the memories of yesterday
Fade
And there is nothing I would trade
For the love of a moment
Where nothing is spoken
And the glimpse of peace
Is not just a tease
But then that moment is stolen
And that bit that was woven
Is unraveled and stretched til you hear
Nothing but
Tic toc
Tic toc
Tic toc
Tic toc....

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Thunderous cleansing

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Gary

Thunderous cleansing

Hearing the thunder
Feeling its rain
Watching the lighting
Realising my pain.

Smell of rain
Cleanse my lungs
Wash away memories
Of who I was.

Wind shifting sky
Keeping closed, my eyes
Nothing more then dark to see
Letting nature come cleanse me.

Released is my soul
Open arms to grow
Understanding is my heart
For the two, to never part.

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Jesus Hasting to Suffer

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

William Cowper

Jesus Hasting to Suffer

The Saviour, what a noble flame
Was kindled in his breast,
When hasting to Jerusalem,
He march'd before the rest.

Good will to men, and zeal for God,
His every thought engross;
He longs to be baptized with blood,
He pants to reach the cross!

With all His suffering full in view,
And woes to us unknown,
Forth to the task His spirit flew,
'Twas love that urged Him on.

Lord, we return Thee what we can:
Our hearts shall sound abroad,
Salvation to the dying Man,
And to the rising God!

And while Thy bleeding glories here
Engage our wondering eyes,
We learn our lighter cross to bear,
And hasten to the skies.

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Beautiful Brutality

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Thomas Fitzgerald

Beautiful Brutality

Born to sour temperament and political policy,

Weakness gleamed in tremor's slight,

To pale to be of Grecian ilk,

Thank Gods no country side in sight.

Now seven years the barracks beckons,

My Mother's pride sent to the stake,

Twenty three years for the pain in me,

No time for us soldiers to be fake.

Wonders of becoming that horrid equal,

A wife to take but no house to live,

Those whips a dear and cutting friend,

No muscle ever the chance to give.

Now thirty years we slot in perfectly,

So time again now doubled in blue robe,

Strong through beatings beautiful brutality,

We never Athenian but of Spartan abode.

#rome #sparta

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

The Nigger Word.

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Thomas Fitzgerald

The ****** Word.

A blast of hatred of acid tongues,

A needless phrase to scold the tall,

A forgotten hero they never mention,

Take a look at the one called Robert Smalls.

A swipe by fist of foul means,

A dangerous concoction of sparks,

A cowards language of sorts,

Take a look at the one called Rosa Parks.

A definition of weakness in ruling,

A slap in the face of the now free,

A collapsed cult now gone forever,,

Take a look at the one called Isabella Baumfree.

A word is a word to fight and hurt,

A sentence pinned together from fools,

A paragraph of silence descends upon you,

The N word no longer a relevant tool.

A look at history and the modern day!

#life #black #racism #opression #heros

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

What is your heart's desire?

Jun 2016 John Thomas Tharayil

Sjr1000

What is your heart's desire?

There is a cold wind
blowing outside,
into the graying,
an apocalyptic sky

The lamps are lit
The night descends
it comes as it always does
My table is cluttered
with wadded paper
scribblings saying nothing

The hanging question you asked
remains
"What is your heart's desire?"

The light it flickers
Throwing shadows on the wall
So eerie at first,
So familiar after all

Fantasies
Phantasims
Hypnogogic imagery
A trance like state of mind

Many lifetimes pass
None of them mine

What is your heart's desire
It strangles the mind with possibilities
Waiting for the tell,
the tell that might never come.

You asked me
as we left the foggy meadow
"You who speak so highly of the little synchronicites,
But what is your heart's desire? "

I rise with the sun each day
My path laid out before me
I do this and that in order

Each night as the dark descends
The day's vivid light has vanished
I stare into this lamp light
and wonder
what is my heart's desire.