Sunday 22 August 2010

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Half a league, half a league,
 Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
 Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
 Rode the six hundred.


"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
 Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
 Rode the six hundred.



Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
 Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
 Rode the six hundred.



Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
 All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
 Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
 Not the six hundred.



Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
 Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
 Left of six hundred.



When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
 All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
 Noble six hundred.



                            - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Monday 16 August 2010

The Dream

He is sitting amongst candles. He doesn't know why so many of them are around him. He doesn't know how or why he is there . He is thinking as to why he is sitting there. He wants to go but there is something which is holding him back. He senses something, but is unable to discern whether it is good or bad. He doesn’t know what but he senses something is going to happen. He senses something coming towards him from some direction. He wants to run away but he is unable to. Tiny drops of sweat show up on his forehead. It is nearby….
I wake up to find myself in my bed with lights on and a mosquito humming near my ear. I thrash the mosquito, switch off the lights and try to go back to the unfinished dream, to find out what was that coming towards him.
P. S. it could be a mosquito.