The creaking bus takes me through the dusty city.

Sodium vapor lamps and yellow lights on street corners.

Poor, lonely men consumed by tobacco smoke and shadows.

The women of the night who cannot keep them company.

The creaking bus takes me through the dusty city.

The children trekking hills of garbage to reach the summit.

The smells of cheap cuts of meat on an open fire.

Artificial colors in place of real.

The creaking bus takes me through the dusty city.

A hundred different odors vying for my attention.

The scents of perfume and excreta mingled in one uneasy breath.

The concrete jungle--the masses taking what they can get.

The creaking bus takes me through the dusty city.

The noxious fumes and the smell of kerosene.

The home to a million dreams of decency and salvation.

Therein lie my own.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and exhaled till he felt his lungs devoid of any air. He did this three times. He then opened his eyes and stared blankly for a moment only to shut them again. This time, however, he did it so slow that he felt his upper eyelid gently caressing his lower eyelid and the eyelashes resting on them. In his mind he had finally perfected a real life slow motion that this moment deserved.

He felt calmer and a beaming smile adorned his face. Upon reopening, his eyes were ready for a mesmerizing view.

That view. Oh, that view.

The sight from his penthouse on the 57th floor was exquisite. It trumped the lavish indoors that had a private elevator, French doors, antique furniture, and oversized, sun flooded rooms. But this was all about the view. That the view was of Central Park made it even better. The fact that he owned a $5,000,000 house in one of the most beautiful, stately and cultured neighborhood in the world capital of these virtues, made him feel like a King.

The Park was bustling with people, as usual. Those people seemed even "tinnier" from up here. He was one of them for a long time. Not anymore.

Not anymore.

This time he looked up in the sky and burst into laughter. Loud, cacophonous laughter.

Lost in his world, he knew he had made it.

Every victory, mattered in this city.

This city. The greatest city on Earth. New York, New York.

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

He stood there as if he was about to run. With his back arched, right forearm and leg outstretched, he seemed to be just waiting to hear the gun shot to run for his life. But he remained still. Motionless. Even when people went past him, hitting and shoving him, his eyes remained intensely fixed on it. It was the stare match of its own kind and none of them were giving up.

It growled. He growled back. It bluffed a jump. He bluffed a run. None batted an eyelid.

He waited, waited and, waited patiently, some more. The moment the sun came in the right spot, he started to move frantically in the same spot. Incoherence was his greatest virtue. His scruffy hair jumping up and down his forehead, his dirty knees, peeping out of his torn jeans and his bare feet thumping the footpath.

He scared it away, rather, his shadow on the sidewall did. He always knew his shadow is worth more than his being in this city.

He jumped and snatched the sandwich from the rim of the trash can scaring the cat away.

This time he looked up in the sky and burst into laughter. Loud, cacophonous laughter.

Lost in his world, he knew he had made it.

Every victory, mattered in this city.

This city. The greatest city on Earth. New York, New York.

A dream is lost when you lose the Desire to sleep at night as that will mark the end of another day you wished didn't happen. And a dream is lost when after every such night you still want to wake up in the past. To live such an illusion, you wish that there was no morning, no sunlight and not another new date in this forced chapter of your life.

A dream is lost when it takes with it the very Faith that drove you to have that dream in the first place. It's more than losing confidence as confidence is merely the reaffirmation of one's own abilities while Faith is the spiritual stamp of approval to trust and back yourself . When the spiritual is lost, the physical has no meaning.

A dream is lost when you steer without Direction. A man can handle setbacks and adversities as long as there is a perceived path ahead. The road ahead might be rough or smooth, bright or dark, easy or difficult, but it's still a path nevertheless. And a dream is lost when you can't distinguish between facing a wall or a crossroad.

A dream is lost when the Realization sinks in that no matter what the future holds, better or worse, you can still never go back to the status quo you once cherished. And you know that this change is irreversible and what's lost can't be replaced or regained. For that matter, you also know that calling it a "change" is undermining the havoc of this apocalypse.

This is an excerpt from my post, with the same title, on my blog. You can read the full post here:- http://www.prateek-mathur.com/2013/12/a-dream-lost.html

I guess I am to blame,

I saw her every day,

But didn't know her name!

She lived right across the street,

But we never got to meet!

And then we met in the park,

Smiled, said hello,

And continued running in the arc,

That day, I ran an extra mile,

Just to be with,

That girl with the Mona Lisa smile!

And Meeting and spending time became a routine,

With her, life was, what it had never been,

Fun, frolic, lively and worthwhile,

All because of

That girl with the Mona Lisa smile!

And the day I fell in love with her,

The reality began to blur,

I loved her eyes her skin and even her plait,

In her, I saw, my soul mate!

And so I thought, what I feel I should tell,

I love you, on the top of my voice, I wanted to yell!

This wasn't me, this wasn't my style,

But it all looked correct

For

That girl with the Mona Lisa smile!

And it seemed like a dream,

But dreams are never true,

Sudden, as it began,

Sudden, as it grew,

The illusion would disappear suddenly,

I had the deja vu.

And it ended too soon,

The smitten phase, the honeymoon,

No summers for me,

The spring of my life was followed by just monsoon,

Who would have taught me that heart is fragile,

No one, but

That girl with the Mona Lisa smile!

And everyday spent with her.

Is etched in my memory,

These memories are forever,

Like a beautiful and serene poetry.

And I may move on and love again,

But I ll still always maintain,

That she was the first,

And she would not fade away,

Even for a while.

She....

That girl with the Mona Lisa smile!