ANIMAL KINGDOM (11) Once Upon A TIME

ANIMAL KINGDOM (11) Once Upon A TIME
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That was an old, abandoned palace,
Inside the hall,on the dirty wall-
Was fixed a dead lion's head,
Whole scene created,a royal call.

The ex-ruler had left that palace,
To let the old palace,decay and fall,
Spider,lizard, and termite all came,
And occupied that ruins-huge and tall..

One dark night,a rat entered the hall,
And looked at the lion's head erect,
"O,king of forest,may I dare to salute,
I am too humble, small creature-in fact."

Lion's head appeared to roar with anger,
As if he would shake the hall,"You silly rat,
How you dare to enter,where king lives,
You will die of terror and fear-I can bet."


"You rotten rat,how you dare to come?
This is king's palace,I am still  the king,
One,who killed me was brave monarch,
My empire was forest, his was human-wing".

The little rat smiled and said in polite tone-
"My Lord;kings,rulers, are not omnipotent,
They become diet of termite, in history-books,
They came,they ruled,they lived, and they went.

It is-'Time',the eternal, and most powerful,
The wheel of Time always moves ahead,
No power can stop it,cannot turn it back,
It is the pendulum,hanging on our head.

Sir, I am 'present',you are the past,
Learn this lesson- with trouble or ease,
O Lion-King-with your kind permission,
May I bite both of your ears, please!"
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                                                                       (C)keshavdubey
                                                                                 28-2-2015
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King In The Dust

King In The Dust
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He had a dream in his eyes,
Years back,he had come here,
He was young,little, puppy,
For all,he was so near and dear.

Dolly  had picked him up, in arms,
She had kissed him with passion,
Cheku had twisted his little tail,
Mummy patted with compassion.

Master of the home was proud of him,
Daddy brought a chain and ring,
He said,"This is not a simple dog,
We will now call him the KING".

King was given the royal treatment,
He was treated as  family member,
A tiny cabin was made for him,
That home was his retiring-chamber.

He took dinner with the family,
Menu of his special diet was made,
To give him comfort and luxury ,
All efforts, and emphasis was laid.

He was a show- piece for visitors,
"Our KING is so beautiful,so nice",
Daddy told the guests in proud tone,
And never forgot to tell his price.

He guarded the house in the night,
Went with Daddy for morning walk,
Amused Dolly and Chiku with tricks,
Shaking the tail,though could not talk.

Years passed, and he became old,
Once he fell down and got injured,
 Dressing was done,but Daddy knew,
Infection is deep,that can't be cured.

Then nobody came near the KING,
He laid as orphan in  the compound,
One day, the poor dog was picked-up,
Was thrown in forest,in open ground.

With all efforts and labor he stood up,
Dragging his legs,tears on his face,
He moved slowly to his native home,
Where he spent life, as graceful ace.

Seeing him coming near the main gate,
Children started pelting the stones,
He was shocked,stones were hurting,
His soul- not the body and bones.

"King--king" a voice came from inside,
He hopefully turned,with erect ears,
A little beautiful puppy came running,
A true copy of image, of his past years.

He turned back with grief and despair,
Shivering with pain,in rain and fog,
He was not the beloved pet of house,
He was the old,wounded,street-dog.

One time King,one time the street-dust,
Life plays the regular repeating game,
Fate is blind,fate has thousand eyes,
Faces may differ,but story is the same.
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