CHANCE !

You take chances
once too many times.
As a child you think -
"Oh no, never me."
Life is a gift,
Given and taken at some
Unknown time.
When your time comes
your life ends in a flash.
The fun you shared,
The joy you brought,
All just a memory -
Left behind.

She walks in beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Gone with the Wind

Well ’Gone with the Wind’ is a classic and a good reader must once read it. The love story is great. The way she falls in love and the different stages of love are truly splendid. But each character in the story is too broadly described. Almost five to ten pages per character, which makes the book gradually boring. When one tries to read a story, one must remember the story from the beginning to move forward in the plot, but in this particular book the characters are so broadly described the one forgets the main theme of the story and gradually looses interest. The main character in the book, the girl is described too often and her relationships are also defined too elaborately. More over the elaboration of the scenes and the scenic beauty and the different events is stretched vastly. All in all its character description is what which makes it a bit boring.

This is a story of love, of loss, and of courage. It is by far the greatest story ever written. Set in the backdrop of the American Civil War in the eighteen century, it tells the story of the Southern belle, Scarlett O'Hara. We follow Scarlett from her carefree childhood, into a war that causes nothing but pain and fear. We watch Scarlett get married three times, each time to men that she doesn't believe that she loves. We see Scarlett as she loses it all, and vows to get it all back. And she does. We see the glory of the old south resurrected in this timeless classic.

Here two aspects ran parallel, beautifully interwoven. On the broader aspect it depicted a resistance of the Southerners, living in the realm of 19th -century kingly ideas, to grow up to the maturity of equal status of Mankind. In the parallel plane it showed the inner journey of the immature Scarlett to accept her own persona and the realities of life. Both the struggles were painful and prolonged- spanned through the entire period of the bloody civil war. Gone with the wind is the story of a time when gallantry was the ultimate virtue for American men and women needed an escort while courting a man.

This novel was indeed captivating throughout from the first page to the last page and was highly recommended to those who love to read romance stories. Gone with the Wind is not a quick read - it's over 1000 pages long when unabridged. I understand if it is purposefully overlooked for something else. If you're a reader, challenge yourself. If you're not as much of a reader, try an abridged version. The movie is good - the book is better. It is riveting. It is a good picture of Georgia and the Southern United States during the latter part of the 1800's. I recommend this book highly.

Silence builds an awful wreckage of a girl
It feeds on loneliness and creates a void
Gray shadows haunt and torment and torture
A teenager is stricken and destroyed

There is no sound of laughter or happiness here
The little one has thrown in the towel today
Somber, melancholy moods decay the soul
It is futile to hope and dream and pray

Emptiness builds a home in this woman
In this girl, this child where hollows have bred
A deepening sea of nowhereness consumes
And eats away at every connecting thread

Confusion feeds like a savage inside her,
Leaving nothing considered worthy remains
Destined to walk through life less ordinary
Alone, exiled, different and disdained.