The Cigarette that burned

The burning white stick sticks to the folds of the fingers of your left hand
While the other one has my arm around it as we stand
On the edge of the bridge, 
That bridges the distance between the separate lands.
I glance sideways, my eyes on the white stick 
Burning in between your lips.
My heart cries, "Smoking Kills"!
You are nonchalant. 
The relief that your lungs feel when the smoke exhales;
The heart trapped between the drugged lungs do not notice
As my fingers loosen the hold on your arm,
Loosen the bond that was once so firm.
Alas! I slowly walk away
And to my dismay
You don't look to your right.
You don't get the drift of the emptiness on your right arm
Because the blazing stick on your left sits so firm.
 

Now I am on the other land

While you are stuck in the middle

Unaware of the choice you made. 

A Murder.

Tip toe she walked through the darkness that engulfed the earth.
Tip toe she walked beneath the starless sky.
Tip toe she walked through the maze of rooms and corridors.
There was silence save that one dog's endless cries.
There was paranoia dripping with every bit of moisture in the air.
There was not any witness to register the crime about to be committed.
She stepped on the floor with checkered tiles.
She pulled out the sharpest butcher's knife.
She walked towards the only unlocked room in the almost vacant house.
None to assess the finger prints on the weapon.
None to stare at the red drops falling on the white floorboard.
None to heal the deep gash made on her wrist.

7 Deadly Sins of Reading

I am getting a little unconventional while writing my take on the 7 deadly Sins of Reading by not adhering to the exact rules here. These are the deadly sins that I have committed and many readers like me must have the guilt residing within them of having done these at some points of their reading lives. 

Greed
I am not the general greedy type since I borrow books and read (or get them as prizes, gifts sometimes as inheritance *giggles*). The typical miser you might say. But greed does force a reader to do the silliest things in life. Being the typical HP fan that I am, the maximum amount of bucks that I have spent on a book is 975. The Deathly Hallows was given to me after a lot of nagging, shouting and crying. 

Wrath
I hated J.K.Rowling for committing cold blooded murders. How could she? How can you just kill people with life and blood (may be not exactly that but close), ones with whom our emotions were connected. Fred, what had he done to deserve that untimely death? An easy going humorous boy who could have lighted more lives but J.K.Rowling just had to go and end it. And then just make a young Lupin parentless. And also turn our Harry godfatherless (after he had lost his parents).  The wrath was cooled off a little after she gave a happy ending to the story.

Gluttony
Gone with the Wind. I can never get tired of reading this one book again and again and again. Margaret Mitchell, I thank thee for bestowing us with this masterpiece. I love the book because of its layered characters. It taught me that every person is different shades of grey- a mixture of black and white. Every time I read and then re-read it I get to analyse the characters in a different way. She made me live the life of each and every character in the book.

Sloth
I am not the type of person who has a lazy bum when it comes to her reading life but like I said before, every reader has been affected by the 7 sins at one point of time or the other.  I could never really bring myself up to finish Istanbul: Memories of a City. No offense to Orhan Pamuk, and I am sure he is a wonderful author but I could never get past the first few chapters.
Another book that I have been putting off reading is The Princess Bride. This is one great book by William Goldman but there are too many distractions in life at the present.

Pride
I take pride in having read, analyzed and loved many many beautiful books. One that I remember properly right now is Chanakya's Chant. I have endorsed this book so many times to every friend of mine that they have started dreading my company. What more can I say? I love the thought of being surrounded by books and talking about books and writing about books and thinking about books and here it goes.. This is my most promising and emphasized sin. Pride.

Lust
Fine. I admit it. Yes, I am guilty of developing crushes on the characters in the books. So what?! I bet you do the same too. Okay, I drool over Rhett Butler way too much and I have sweet, wet dreams about him. Can I resist? No, of course not. He is difficult to understand, has been shunned by society (making him more irresistible), has a glint of humor always on his lips and that oh-so-sexy mustache of his. Another of my sin- I get attracted to handsome men (ones who don't exist). 

Envy
I get jealous when I see others buying good books and I want to read them. But this trait is not that dominating in me. Although I do want Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri as a gift soon.

If reading was a crime, I would soon be arrested!