Be A Winner, This NewYear

Congratulations!!  You have been so amazing
You there! Yes you…you are a bona fide winner

You have made it till the end of one lifeshaping year
You’re all set and geared, for another bountiful year

You could glide smooth through this long dicey year
You bravely overcame all your big and small fears

Your going got tough, but how you evolved even tougher
You did not permit the icy turmoils to make you shiver

You faced lethal demons, that were so hard to beat
You never knew you had it in you, but see…you did

You understood life’s all about stealing joyful moments
You learnt to be grateful for the life’s very existence

You made some friends, but you sure lost some
You got some love, and you did lose some

You took mindful steps towards the betterment of self
You perpetually endeavored to achieve your best

You dived headlong, reached out to grasp a fuller life
You were resolved to work towards a blessed family life

You lost some, but then you did gain some
You made it through, aren’t you just awesome?

You can do it all again, all this and much more
You have it in you, and you always will forevermore

You’ll be blessed by God, in this brand new roller-coaster
You’ll emerge out stronger, year after year, year after year.

© 2016 Alka Girdhar

 

Three Sisters – Blue Mountains Katoomba – timeless resilient mounts

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Wish you all lovely readers and dear followers of my blog, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!!

May your  new year be better than the one that you are leaving behind.
Did you have a great 2016, or not so good? Hang in there.
As you can still keep your hopes alive in 2017.

Looking Up & Around…

This week, I happened to visit a nearby suburb after almost a year and a half. As we entered its periphery, the roads there seemed busier than ever before and we had to push our way through the erratic traffic.

Later as we walked along the pavement, there was no usual order in things. Actually there were precautionary boards all along the roads, while construction guys stood with their vans all over the place.

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Obviously this hub of activity was a bit of a nuisance to pedestrians as well as those looking for a parking place. In the late

She Doesn’t Look Nice But…

An abstract by Carl Holty you may not like

She never looked too nice!
She looked like some art
And art wasn’t meant to look nice
It was supposed to make you think
and feel something, stir your heart…

She is my creation – my art
My words, writing, poetry
Authentic and true to heart
Why should she always be
Beautiful in your sense of world?
Why should she

Never Say Die

~ Ornamental flowers and Dandelion weeds in the same yard ~

 

Never Say Die

Soaked alike in golden sun
Who looks better?
the flowers or the weeds
the accepted or the rejected
the adored or the detested

Side-by-side in their race
for life. Who wins better?
the docile or the aggressive
the frail or the hardy
the shy or the pushy

Hated by the natives, the
resilient all-pervading wilds
stay on, though stomped and razed
shine on, with their heads raised
Indefatigable and unrelenting
thick-skinned stubborns, absorb
nicks and kicks, to unashamedly
survive and thrive; never say die

©2016 Alka

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For: The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge Opposites

Joy Dispensed

                          ~When in full bloom~

How delightfully, they
Doled out bounteous happiness!
Ethereal beauty and surges of fragrance
Now time for them to take leave
For they have done their bit

          ~ Same flowers now short-lived fading beauties~

 

© 2016 Alka Girdhar

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For: Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Flowers

When She Learnt to Get Her Voice Heard

Aria was visiting her native land after many years, and she visited her high school after what seemed like ages. As she parked her car near her school, she stood looking at a pathway and saw herself once again. Distant. A faint silhouette slowly moving away.

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Young Aria sitting on the back seat of her school teacher’s bicycle while he rode leisurely. This slow-moving bike journey along the short tree-lined path, took them from their school to All India Radio, the local radio-station that had recording studios within. Those days when private channels had not yet mushroomed, the government-run AIR was the only radio-station in her city.

Stranded No More…

Stranded No More…

When seclusion callously corrodes
Every inch of your fine being
When it’s all dark and dreary
And your heart is tired and weary
Your eyes too solemn and teary.

Then lose no heart, O comrade!
The gloom will soon evaporate
The beaming rays will finally break
Through the engulfing black clouds
Compelling them to dissipate

Hang in there some more time!
For soon time will turn around
Get ready to smile and welcome
The crystal clear blue skies and
Golden happiness all around

© 2016 Alka Girdhar

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In response to #writephoto Photo Prompt ‘Isolation’ by Sue Vincent..

Catty Face

 

Catty face! Catty face!!
Don’t stare at me like this
You petrified, or scaring me?
Standing there frozen still
In my home, on my driveway
It’s my territory, my pathway
You the prowler, go away!!

It’s ok! Let it be
Here I open the door
Please come inside
Play with me for a while
Have tea with me
But dear! Make sure
You come regularly

Hey!! What happened?
Why you running away??
Wait! Wait!! Wait!!!
Let me come with you
Will you? But you won’t
For you’re an impish kitty
Catty face, frisky and sneaky!

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The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge Face is so interesting, that I could think of so many of them, but this light post came by easy as I saw this prowling cat. Do you also get some regular visitor like this one?

Also for One Word Photo Challenge – Cat

© 2016 Alka Girdhar

These Grounded Earthlings…

They feel rooted
Only if they immerse
In the soil of nurturing earth
Or sprout from its womb
As a young sapling

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They love pecking
The bare warm earth
Replete with little bounties
Of their daily food
That they love eating

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They love earthing
To lush green earth
The oh-so-soft cushioned carpet
That caresses and soothes
Their bare skin

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Farmer setting fire to Amazon

Amazon forests burning

They love setting fire
To their Mother Earth’s
Sprawling fertile forests
And possess its vast lands
They then call their own

(Now, deforestation is not just due to human malpractices or ill intentions of using forest land for businesses like cattle-ranching; as fires are also due to drought and overall climate change. But then again humans are the only species who ought to know how to save earth’s assets rather than cut them down or burn them for selfish reasons. Our verdant earth’s forests are home to so many species.)

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All pictures self-clicked except for the last two (for obvious reasons). Source

For The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge Earth

Tropical Rain Forest – colour your world

 

My entry for Jennifer’s Color Your World Challenge
The color for today – Tropical Rain Forest.
It’s a lovely deep green color that’s named after…well…rain forests.

(My pictures are from Minnamurra Rainforest in Budderoo National Park, NSW, Australia)