For Tattered Flags!

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They know not the joys of returning home,

Those that have not been to battle before!

Or felt the depth of the battle scars,

Nor worried what Tomorrow’s got in store!

They ain’t heard the widows’ cries

As their men fight their wars unknown,

Or felt the courage of a warrior who tries

Gamely to win a battle alone!

Ain’t tasted the sweetness of Victory’s Kiss,

Nor felt the pain of their brothers biting the dust;

And not the pride of raising high their tattered flags,

And walking on Earth with Honor as Mankind must!

Karma!

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The thirsty eyes scour the limitless skies

In earnest wait for a  magical day

To lift the gloom of terror and lies,

Or the promise of a blessing on its way!

But the mortal fools with their daily grind

Don’t see the folly of their mundane lives,

That Life is just a Wheel turning blind

A merry go-round – departing soon as It arrives!

Even as the faithful few meet with Triumph & Disaster

Not realizing they’re just two sides of the same coin,

With the fickle hope that both serve the same Master,

But one leaves another - destined never to join!

The tears will dry some even as smiles will fade,

Thus is the way with Life’s story!

Flattering to deceive that you have it made,

Only to end up with – some dust, some glory!

Only one person can master this game,

Neither a moment soon, and never too late,

It’s the man who answers to your name,

Who can make you the King of your Fate!

Brahma - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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If the red slayer think he slays; Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways I keep, and pass, and turn again.

Far or forgot to me is near; Shadow and sunlight are the same,
The vanished gods to me appear; And one to me are shame and fame.

They reckon ill who leave me out; When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt; And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.

The strong gods pine for my abode, And pine in vain the sacred Seven;
But thou, meek lover of the good! Find me, and turn thy back on heaven.

And so was the holy religion blasphemed by RW Emerson writing about an alleged heretic Hindu experience way back in the mid nineteenth century. But you know the old dough on how free souls find their own path;their own destiny & their own destination. India celebrated its Republic day recently. This poem reflects the spirit of a free thinking individual as well as the spirituality of the country quite well.

Fountainhead & Roark

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Fountainhead has been a strong teenage influence and has always been the title of my CV. These lines sum up why Howard Roark has such an impact on impressionable minds. Its all bombastic heroism in terms of style and termed "objectivist" in terms of content. Ironic!! But there you have it!

'I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number or how great their need.'

'I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others. It had to be said. The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.'

'I wished to come here and say that the integrity of a man's creative work is of greater importance than any charitable endeavor. Those of you who do not understand this are the men who're destroying the world.'

'I wished to come here and state my terms. I do not care to exist on any others.'

'To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul, would you understand why that's much harder.

The pièce-de-résistance for me (oh heck... I am a sucker for hyperbole too..I guess)

'Love is reverence, and worship, and glory, and the upward glance. Not a bandage for dirty sores. But they don't know it. Those who speak of love most promiscuously are the ones who've never felt it. They make some sort of feeble stew out of sympathy, compassion, contempt and general indifference, and they call it love. Once you've felt what it means to love as you and I know it - total passion for the total height - you're incapable of anything less.'

- Howard Roark in Fountainhead

My own domain!

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No rising dawn, no dark of night;
No shadows dancing in the bright sunlight;

No fear of loss, no fear of pain;
As I walk my own domain!

No scorching Sun can stop the Me;
No desert mirages, deceiving eyes that see;

No thunder, lightning or falling rain;
As I walk my own domain!

No friends, no foes, no kith or kin;
No vice or virtue nor devilish sin;

No bombs nor bullets to drive me insane;
No repentant past to put a stain;
No glum defeat nor glory in gain;
As I walk my own domain!!