ARJUNA AND KRISHNA TALK IT OVER

08 22 13

In the soft district that divides
ribcage and waist
his audacious arrows straddled
like a lover's sandpaper quintet
of fanned-out fingertips
He rode shotgun with a time-knighted
disc jockey unleashing flute-driven beats
in a call to invert the pairings-off of
passerbys on the verge
of merging dance and confrontation
(Who would not want to hang
with a deejay being
master welders of the senses
as they are?)
It was no solace to the soldier
who resented touch and
beatified it just the same
as the only guarantee of interaction
The destination of the pair bottomed out
beneath the incoming decibels  
of the blood-drunk congregation
up the road
Confidence eroded (or evolved?)
to conscientiousness
and his once-trusty aarows stamped
an attitude of itch on the reassuring
promise of a frontal lambaste
No longer was he sure
this was his kind of music
Can you play something softer
he inquired gingerly of his most
influential company
You don't cut a rug with a waltz
was the influential company's
incredulous reply
I don't wake as others do
An authentic messenger of beats
never fails to unlatch eye contact
with his flock of buzzing frolic
Soldiers uncork rival innards
and appeal to his still-solid rivals
to collect the bloody shells of
fallen brothers in arms
for a dignified burial
Hey that's no way to say goodbye
in my philosophy
nor is it any way to wake
You signed up for liberation
and you liberate the guts
and I celebrate the loss
It was the soldier's turn
for incredulity
You fancy this a party?
Look at all these drunken sheep
with livers lubricated by the film
of confrontation
Heaven help the ones who brought weapons
or should heaven help the ones without?
Heaven will applaud them all
said the mirrorball minstrel
in a sanguine oath of casualty
polishing a plate for the vinyl
party laying on his favourite flute-and-drum remix
Get a load of these inebriated blood fiends
Some will fight and some will faint
and some will scar themselves with a lover's taint
but they all will fall and wake
in the name of merriment
A slaughter you yourself
enshawled in party invitations
is a party whether you defined it
in reverse internally or not
Some will eat and drink and will be merry
and tomorrow morning some
(having danced away the notion of a night)
will die but those who do will win heaven
while the solid ones who mourn
shall live the dream of heaven
making that inevitable pilgrimage
all the merrier
A real pity they won't wake as I do
A bummer actually
A techno-flavoured jazz fusion
mix of synthesized woodwinds and tribal beats
synchronized the soldier's ears with
inherited charisma
Turning to his hip companion
he unsheathed his bow
eyed the shine of his unblunted triangles
on the black circle and declared instinctively
Speed the b*****d up

Author's Note

Inspired by Books One and Two of the Bhagavad-Gita (or simply The Gita), an epic Sanskrit poem (c. 300 B.C.) that forms a part of the sacred Hindu scriptures. To preserve the interpretative elements of my own adaptation, I will NOT be providing a synopsis here, except to say this section of the scripture is comprised mostly of a conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna on various theological and philosophical issues.

Now excuse me while I go take an Advil.

Reviews

[Kleio13]

Damn this was hot.
"his audacious aarows straddled
like a lover's sandpaper quintet
of fanned-out fingertips
He rode shotgun with a time-knighted
disc jockey unleashing flute-driven beats"
I also feel that there is a sense of war and lack of appreciation that you feel.
I feel it too when I give myself to someone and they take mefor granted as well as when i dont give myself to someone. I like this and the style

[kublakhan27]

You've nailed it haha There is definitely war and a lack of appreciation in here among the spicier bits...I'm glad you could relate even though it's for sad reasons, thank you Kleio.

[Kleio13]

Anytime Kubby. And that's awesome. I love your works. Too bad you live in Canada, or too bad that I live in America

[kublakhan27]

Amen to that Kleio, the distance is definitely a bummer x_x

[Jack...]

Somehow I feel like I have been riding on a horse drawn two wheel cart through a labyrinth of mud caked walls and black lights igniting day glow posters of pot smoking llamas spitting at me as I pass. I hear the music somewhere up ahead but can't see through the chain link curtains to determine its exact location, but still I follow. Very mind cranking my friend.

[kublakhan27]

LOL That works well enough, as they are actually traveling by chariot (in the real story) and I did try to use a rave as a metaphor for war, so you're not too far off...I'm glad I was able to stir up such a cacaphony of images for you...thank you Jack.

[Frieda P]

This is too epic for me to wrap my pea brain around this early in the morning and with just one cuppa in my system to navigate. I'm not familiar with these Hinku scriptures but I do enjoy your "techno-flavoured jazz fusion", I think I need to revisit this one again when I can 'speed the b*****d up'....genius metaphors.

[kublakhan27]

Well neither am I haha But I came across those excerpts in one of my anthologies and I spent three days reading those two parts ad nauseum before I arrived at what you see above...trust me, there was a lot of brain-wrapping going on at my end, but once I got the idea for that concept there was just no turning back...hey at least it isn't about Shakespeare right? ;) And there's a line in there that I was positive you would refer to, but I'll check back with you on it ;) Glad you liked it Mrs.R, especially at this time of the morning ;P xo

[Frieda P]

Hey that's no way to say good-bye, like I said, it was very early morn & not enough coffee! Besides there were too many outstanding lines buzzing around in my brain Benji! ;-P xo

[kublakhan27]

Haha I was just glad you noticed that line love...need I even mention that I was thinking of you when I put it in? ;) There is also a Dire Straits reference (Brothers in Arms) a few lines before that haha And I'm still filling myself up with coffee in the wake of writing it, never mind reading it myself ;P Thanks again Mrs.R :) xo

[Frieda P]

Oh wow, me & Leonard in a single thought, be still my heart. hahah, I'm sure there are many more I still need to unfurl, between this place giving me heart palpitations and the fog in my head, it's not so easy. ;-P Always my pleasure Benji. xo

[kublakhan27]

Haha look, you will ALWAYS be in my mind when I listen to him now ;) Chances are I'll be joining you in the foggy head club tonight so don't worry haha ;P xo