"wows" among the leaves

Stayed in this small cheery sunlighty "happy" room in Bangalore for a few hours. View from the balcony...

I stood there staring at them for a loooooong time... gazed at the celebration of life... celebration of being... the asymmetrical symmetry... tickled myself thinking how would it be for breeze to negotiate it's way through the petals... felt silly contemplating why there could not be flowers of myriad colors on the same tree... felt sillier while answering myself with "but that would confuse the bees"... contemplated if the color was orangish-red or yellowish-orange...

... ... ... and as I stood there in silence, awe, amazement, harmony, I wondered if for this one moment only was the phrase joie de vivre coined!

Child Abuse

There are thousands of abused children around, and we've just stayed silent about them all this while. And as long as we stay silent, we'll keep speaking the language of abusers. And as long as we keep speaking the abusers' language, we'll keep punishing these children for the crimes committed by their abusers.

Now is really not the time for inaction. After all, "if we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much." (- Marian Edelman)


My name is Sarah
I am but three,
My eyes are swollen
I cannot see,

I must be stupid,
I must be bad,
What else could have made
My daddy so mad?

I wish I were better,
I wish I weren't ugly,
Then maybe my Mommy
Would still want to hug me.

I can't speak at all,
I can't do a wrong
Or else I'm locked up
All the day long.

When I awake
I'm all alone
The house is dark
My folks aren't home.

When my Mommy does come
I'll try and be nice,
So maybe I'll get just
One whipping tonight.

Don't make a sound!
I just heard a car
My daddy is back
From Charlie's Bar.

I hear him curse
My name he calls
I press myself
Against the wall.

I try and hide
From his evil eyes
I'm so afraid now
I'm starting to cry.

He finds me weeping
He shouts ugly words,
He says its my fault
That he suffers at work.

He slaps me and hits me
And yells at me more,
I finally get free
And I run for the door.

He's already locked it
And I start to bawl,
He takes me and throws me
Against the hard wall.

I fall to the floor
With my bones nearly broken,
And my daddy continues
With more bad words spoken.

"I'm sorry!", I scream
But its now much too late
His face has been twisted
Into unimaginable hate.

The hurt and the pain
Again and again
Oh please God, have mercy!
Oh please let it end!

And he finally stops
And heads for the door,
While I lay there motionless
Sprawled on the floor.

My name is Sarah
And I am but three,
Tonight my daddy
Murdered me.

- Anonymous