The old forgotten village square

I have been here for a long time. I have been around this peaceful village square now long forgotten. This small village square was often the meeting place for old souls. This village square was witness to the easy silence amidst slow conversation. This was where the breeze, the sunshine and the raindrops danced to the seasons and its changes. This was the playground for young children and their rattles. This was the battleground for the village elders and their squabbles. This village square echoed with the chimes of the village temple. This village square bustled with the festive happiness of crackers and sparkles. This village square had space for the divine and had time for his prayers. This village square that I stand beside was all that and more....

I have been here for a long time. I have been around this village square while it was being consumed by man's urbanisation. This village square was witness to the advancing frenzy of the city and its army of progress. This small village square was often the meeting place for big landowners and their business deals. This village square saw rough men in gentle suits in fast and heated conversation. This was the playground for the rich in their game of real-life monopoly. This was the battleground for some in their legal tangles over land and labour. The breeze, the gentle sunshine and the rain no longer danced in abandon. The chimes of the village temple rang hollow. The divine had to pay rent and time was costlier than money. This village square that I stand beside was once so much more......

I have been here for a long time. If I am honest, this is a village square that I recognise no more. Amidst the tall buildings and tonnes of concrete, this is no longer a village square. This is a place where people have no time for conversation, no patience for pleasantries, no space for divine. This is a place where the sun burns down my every fibre. This is a place where I crave for the rains to quench my thirst. This is a place where I feel rootless amidst the heavy winds. This village square I do not recognise any more. I am the last remains of a time gone by. It is time for me to go as well, it is time for me to fade away.......I am the last tree standing by the old forgotten village square.

New eyes

And I said, look at me with new eyes
Not the ones that can not see beyond
Not eyes that only seek the mirror
Not the ones that see just the glitter

And I said, look at me with new eyes
Only the ones that can see within
Only eyes that see us together
Only the ones that see the real

And I said, love me with a new heart
Not the one that wallows in pain
Not the heart that beats for itself
Not one that lives the selfish pleasure

And I said, love me with a new heart
Only the one that beats for yonder
Only the heart that beats together
Only one that lives the selfless bliss

And I said, look at me with new eyes
I found us together deep within
And I said, love me with a new heart
I saw the joy of oneness in me