Thursday, July 2, 2009

walking home with a stranger...

Strangers... unnamed faces on the street.
To that girl who’s walking a few paces behind me,

I’m just another face that’s going somewhere.
I turned to check on the traffic before I darted across the street
And she caught my eye... we smiled quickly.


Without much thought, I waited, as she ran over.
What kept me there for a stranger, I cannot tell.

But soon, she’s there, hand outstretched – I’m Nancy, she said.
We continued walking... together this time
With every step, a war raged in my head.
The fun loving child and the precautious adult in me fought hard
As I chatted away with this smiling girl.

About a block from home, we split paths
She went her way, as I went mine...
Walking that last block alone, I could not help smiling
I’ll always remember “that day, when I walked home with a stranger.”

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Moon dance

With its swish-swash lullaby the sea cradled her,
She lay on the soft sand watching the moon,
Watching the moon through a fan of palms,
As they swayed to the breeze, in tune with the sea

She caught the gentle rhythm,
The rhythm of the starry night,
She got to her feet, prancing on the shore,
Like she was one with the humming sea and the dancing leaves

The moon and the stars watched her over,
As sea and girl lulled and swayed,
The child was at home,
With the cradling sea and the waving trees

A child of the night she seemed to be,
Slumbering gently...
In the embrace of the dusk and the swish of the sea

Monday, June 29, 2009

long absence! :)

It's been a long while since I got a chance to put something up out here..! I've been gone 2 whole months, I realised! The summer's rolling by and I've been up to quite a bit..! I was home to Ghana for about 3 weeks, last month.. spent a great vacation with family, Rolland Garros, sight seeing, shopping, the good food and the love and pampering that only home can give :)
In the time that I was there, my mother really kick started her new blog. Its a food blog.. filled with the yummiest "college student oriented" recipes.. food that can be made with the minimal provisions and utensils, she claims.. fit for a dorm life! Do visit sometime.. you'll find her at http://www.lata-raja.blogspot.com/
I spent most of my break so excited about her new blog that I quite forgot my own..! Clicking pictures of her recipes, and getting to be the first one to lay hands on the food, kept me happily busy enough!
Now I'm back to uni for summer classes... I'm truly being kept on my toes with 10 credit hours.. Trying to balance classes, assignments and tests with tennis and friends is quite a handful!
One of my friends sent me this mail and told me she thought it would be a good one for my blog.. and sure enough, it was something that deeply moved and touched me.. thought I'd share :)
I'll be back with some of my own musings and thoughts soon.. but for now... here goes!

When God throws a brick at you... it’s time to slow down

A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, 'What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?' The young boy was apologetic. 'Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,' He pleaded. 'I threw the brick because no one else would stop...' With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. 'It's my brother,' he said, 'he rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.'
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. 'Thank you and May God bless you,' the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: 'Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!'

You were never promised days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but there’s strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

So slow down and make the most of each day... before somebody has to throw a brick at you!