Sunday, August 1, 2010



A beautiful mother once came to a park, called 'heaven's boat'...with her children with lots of toys...there was a baby airplane...there were little cars...& then there was a little boat...to play all day long...

Under the shade she sat...
of an old dew soaked tree...
her children in mud played...
blew bubbles to set them free...

flew the innocent bubbles...
toward the same ugly tree...
like a journey for a reason...
the wind would set them free...

the little bubbles hugged...
& died ther' kissing the tree...
how'd the lil' children ever know...
a prayer was fulfilled unknowingly...

bubbles with breaths innocent...
wrapped in happiness embraced...
the tree longed for them as if...
beauty blessed for an ugly grave...

"mamma...why is that tree so ugly...?"
the mother looked up & said...
"...some are meant to be..."
& she kept reading her novel...

...just imagining how ugly
would an ugly tree ever be...
when it made look all...
other beautiful trees so ugly...

She kept reading her book...
& she came across a line...
"Long ago, a lover once said......"
& then she stopped reading...

"......Amongst all the beauty...
all around you...
there will be a day when...
you''ll find something so ugly...
Remember me then...

A home of prayers it shall be...
just like you became my need...
i'd always love...
...no matter what...
for you i died with a seed...

i don't know if i am...
the tree in this ugliness...
or the ugliness given...
to this tree...

there will be a day when...
i will stand beside thee...
old and willing to die
& you'd sit beside me...
...unknowingly...

& then there will be a day...
when an ugly thing would fall...
it would look...
as if it were a tear...
just like a droplet...on a doll...

On your palms it'd rest...
near your wedding ring...
sleeping for a moment...
...like a beautiful end...
...to an ugly something...

And you'd look up once...
to find a so called...
'dew soaked tree...'
with your love think of me once
& then...set me free..."

...that very moment...
...she looked up...the tree...
A droplet did fall near her eyes...
...like a beautiful end...
...to an ugly something...

A tear rolled down her cheek...
as if embracing what had fallen...
as if the journey
...of one tear...became...
...the destiny of another...

It fell near his roots &...
like a gift of god dear...
kissed the dew soaked mud
& then...remained...
...a tear within a tear...

they say...an ugly something...
always rested itself...
in the footprints She left behind...
for every falling tear wished...
to have a beautiful end...

...they say when you die...
with a seed in your hand &
a prayer in your heart...
its like walking back...a destiny
...reversed...to begin a new journey...

-the tree Maker...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

(from someone very dear to me)

He loved her
She loved him
Aww! How perfect
was everything!

She was all he dreamt
She was all he admired
She was all he prayed
She was all he desired

With shells, sand, flowers & feathers
Made they many dream homes together
But one day came a storm
Haughty, heartless & strong
Leaving behind some traces on shore
Their dream home was there, no more


Shells were scattered
Everywhere around
Like pieces of their hearts
in sand they found


Sobbing petals parted
So did they part
Belonged they to each other
Now fell far apart


Stills some they had in front
Still they were inside
Had they no one to confide
No one to love, No one to fight


Caged he was in his helplessness, so was she
No god was to be seen to set them free
Being still for long, finally his soul dared a blink
& he did, what no one could ever think


"Better one live than none"
& he gave her to someone


She cried, She complained
Loved him she, so dearly
Pain of her voice.. oh!
Echoed so very clearly



"This isn't right"
"No! This isn't fair"
"Don't do this to me"
"I'll go no where"



But still, still he was
as still as the sea in his eyes
Depriving all hopes
Preventing every sign of life


No longer could he fight the fakeness of his fate
Not that storm, nor his stormy mate
Lost he the difference of right & wrong
To him weak was just as good as strong
He was broken all inside out
Nothing left around & about
No dream, No desire, No prayer, No need
He lost everything… everything indeed!!!


She failed
She wept
She wailed
& finally left


She flown away
with the one she destined
& the lover who couldn't make it
remained their confined…







Traces Vanished
So did time
Everything once again
Seemed to be fine

Sea forgot all
So did wind
The one who didn't
Was only him


Then came an 'unknown'
From far away
Confined she found
Him on her way


Something there was
That made her to stay
Leaving her journey
Stopped she midway


Soon became friends
Shared they everything
Narrated he reluctantly
story of his lost spring


Confined! Confined he was for long
& nothing could bring a hope along

To make him come out
Hard she tried
Failed every time
Gently he denied

A beginning new she wished
Wanted she, him to fly again
Tears were all he drenched with
She asked him to feel some rain


Existence of this world faint
but, for long he denied
Content he was in his world
With some reminiscence beside


A Change she wanted
To bring anyway
But no change he permitted
For he liked it that way


Accused he was
in his eyes
For he deprived his beloved
'Love of her life'


Forgiveness he asked
For the hurt he brought
Shunning his own pain
This was all he thought


She was far
but nearest of all
She was pain
but dearest of all


but how she was
none of them knew
Is she happy or not
in her life anew??


Prayed he to god
To shower her with bliss
& not to let a reason left
Him, for her to miss


He gave her to someone
& left with a prayer to murmur:

"May that someone be perfect for her
May not a moment she has to suffer.."
with this prayer his each moment begins
with this belief his every breath ends
a ray hopeful, it has been in his life forlorn
that happy she is somewhere, in world of her own
a ray in the darkness of cage
a ray in his silent rage…


Expressed he everything
to his friend 'unknown'
all unsaid, unseen,
unheard & unknown
For now unknown meant something
Moment by moment
Breath by breath
Told he everything
Since their union charming
Till the awful bereft

A change of season
Flowers felt
Icy emotions
Began to melt

Finally!!!
Acquiesced he to try
Flapping his wings
Came out to fly


Gazed at petals
Peered at sky
Stared at sea
& began to cry


Everything was same
Just she wasn't there

Then said he smilingly
"It's all same here"

"Sea is the same,
Same is the wind
So is the shore
So is everything"

Just…

Just the fragrance of flower, just the love in the air
Just the charm has been taken away from everywhere..

Just…


With bleak a voice & broken words
Began he to hum his most loved line
But Alas! With meanings lost now
Seemed it sans rhythm, sans rhyme

Shattered he sadly
went back to his cage again
To accompany unknown's tears
Generously, it started to rain

rain inside
rain outside
oh! What a rain that was…

Every drop followed him
From eyes, to cheeks to his cage
Every emotion stated itself
With a drop on every page

Prayed they night & day
For his beloved once & someone's life today
Prayed for her life
For her dreams & for her to be glad & gay

[*** She (his beloved) became a part of her (unknown) too ]
She became a part of her too
For her feelings were just as true
She thought of her
When she thought of him
& she thought of him
with every breath

She could feel her pain
Or may be she could not
But all she wished from God
Was endless bliss for her to brought

She should have been happy
She should have been fine
The only consolation they had & a hope
A hope to hear from her sometime


Seeing him drowning in his tears
Died every moment, on shore she was!
On Shore of helplessness
On shore of hopes
Tried she to make him come out
When all he wanted was to go deeper
Dreams some she wanted to flourish
When memories all he wanted to cherish
& Happiness she wished to unfold
When Pain all was he desired to hold

& He still didn't dare to fly….
Skies coloured tempted him no more
In cage he felt as if
in her womb he resides
Carelessly cared
Fearlessly free…
& loved being loveless…

Wished he no direction
No path, no aim
Nothing to lead to
Nothing to heed to

When visioning she was
A dream home on the shore
For by now her like for him
Has turned to something more

Sensed he when
She had been hiding something
Their promise he reminded to her
To share everything

Hence she confessed
Her love for him
& that in her life
She wanted him to bring


For a moment
It was all motionless
Soundless....timeless...
& then,
A sigh deep broke the silence
Only the silence
As if blessed she was,
It spared her dreams….

He couldn't give space to her dreams
Nor did he let them shatter
Being directionless leading he was
For long as if nothing did matter

A destination unknown
He had for himself
For her he could
Have nothing better

Difficult it was for him
To see her shattered
For unlike his own
her happiness mattered

He needed time
& she happily agreed
As her heart still called
for his happiness indeed…


Time had a new story to be told
& Life had much more to unfold

And one day a message came
Shimmering with his beloved's name
The much awaited news it brought
She was happier than they thought
Her love destined was God to her
Soul mates they found in each other

Calm she was with reminiscence around
But eyes blissful having dreams abound
With an acceptance of what she had lost
Welcomed She heartily what she had found
Power of her present
Healed the pain of past
& the prayers they made for her
got listened to at last…

It brought a great peace
An incomparable bliss, a relief
Keeping her happy & loved
God blessed their belief

Time still has a new story to be told
& Life has much more to unfold

He still loves her
She loves him... ( she- unknown )
Almost Perfect
Is everything…

He is all she dreams
He is all she desires
He is all she prays
He is all she admires…..


*Life always has more than what we feel it holds *

Only time can tell what their destiny holds for them

to be continue…

Sunday, October 19, 2008



The boat Maker...

the candle Maker…

This is a story of a woman…who got married 10 years back…she is very happy with her man…One evening she is alone...

A night so cold it came along…
All lights then went away…
Alone in her house she was…
An old promise came her way…

Many years back there was…
A lover who gave his word…
Candles gifted so yesterday…
O! they longed to be heard…

She went to her closet then…
Things kept many years back…
Old diaries & a dead rose lay…
A candle silently gift wrapped…

her lover said once…

“When the darkest night comes…
& when you feel so very down...
Someday when lit they’ll tell…
When no more I’d still be around…”

In darkness dust was laden…
Her fingerprints made a trail…
So lovingly she opened the gift…
As if a candle maker’s tale…

With a hope she lit the ‘thread’
& all darkness did go away…
She smiled in joyous breaths…
Unknowingly it began to sway…

And slowly it started to melt…
& warmth embraced the cold…
A destiny being carved as if…
A journey began to unfold…

As the candle slowly burnt…
A little note came to being!
Hidden inside its heart as if…
A maker’s unfulfilled dream…

Perplexed she saw!
Her glance so amazed!
A note veiled in frozen wax!
So dearly she gazed!

Wrapped in timeless moments…
A letter deeply engraved…
Said everything he couldn’t…
That he loved her always…

The flame beautifully rose…
The letter waited to unfold…
Concealed by its maker like…
An ending left to be told…

Long ago he asked god…
Could he love her so much…?
That far off when he’d remain…
Could he still die in her touch…?

She let the candle carve…
Whilst thinking of his prayer…
Waited to read the note as…
Burnt the candle in layers…

Given a life by the falling wax…
His note lovingly she opened…
All with tears in her eyes as…
Somewhere he stood broken…

“On the fallen wax nearby…
Of me rests…a dying flame…
My breaths long for you…
Your touch is all that remains…

Give this end a breath of you…
With your touch make it sway…
Such that when it really dies…
Forever I’ll go away…

Like a candle beside a grave…
Will you hold me when I’m gone…?
Let this wax then sleep near you…
It never burnt it died forlorn…

Something I made for us…
I’m leaving on a boat…
Promise you’ll take care always…
Goodbye…”…thus ended his note…

The wax that never was burnt…
Her arms lay wrapped around…
His letter was read in fading light…
and darkness was nowhere to be found...

His letter bathe in tears then…
Near the wax they all journeyed…
The flame died in silence then…
Far away lay…a corpse unburied…

The destiny of the carving was…
As if the journey of the candle!
The carving of his grave was…
As if the destiny of the candle!

Somewhere a dream came true…
Frozen on the wax lay the thread…
Her tears longed for a touch…
Somewhere cried the lover dead…

Destiny of a candle was…
The destiny of its maker…
The maker of his destiny…
Became…The candle Maker…

5th last para, 2nd line, begins a new story…
Part II of this write is called “the Boat maker…”

There are 4 different poems in all. All writes end in the same Part II called “The boat maker…” This is the 2nd of the 4 poems...

Saturday, August 30, 2008


the pot Maker...

They say…a birth is so beautiful…that sometimes…its maker is forgotten…

I

Once upon a time A man,
Loved someone a lot...
Lived alone he somewhere…
In a house with beautiful pots…

Each one was made special…
As if they had…a story to tell…
Of A life lived without her as…
He gave her to someone else…

One lonely night came…
An angel walking to his home…
A messenger of god He was…
In a corner waited he all alone…

The angel asked him then…
A wish to fulfill it true…
“I’ll make a last one…” said he…
“…then take me with you…”

The maker began to make…
A dream filled unbroken pot…
It looked complete a while later
the angel really thought…

‘…His wish was now complete…
whilst tears falling they prayed…
as if longing to live more…’
…but death had to be obeyed…

“It is time now…to go…”
The angel then whispered…
Gently lay a smile he…
As if a prayer left unheard…

Silenced were his tears as…
Moments later he was killed…
Eyes they spoke so dearly as…
A wish remained unfulfilled…

II

The Angel began to leave &…
…By mistake broke one pot...
Pieces it became near His feet...
& saw a carving of 'her' thought…

There was silence now…
As He looked here & there…
As if every pot remained…
Like a story no one shared…

Dreams they were inside so…
Lovingly carved with Clay…
The angel stood in silence &…
A wish broken lay his way…

In sadness He then walked…
& looked inside another one…
Felt two lovers carved as if…
his beloved loved someone…

Pieces of Clay were within…
Carved of things he never got…
A world of prayers lived…
were made true in every pot…

As He looked in One by One……
Others stared from a corner…
His fingers felt……
what His eyes didn’t see…

A girl kissed her man…
Blessed inside a little one…
Beside lay an empty pot…
As if praying for someone…

Her man held her with love…
A lake so frozen inside…
& darkness said in moonlight…
She was like…a heaven beside…

In arms of Eachother…
She loved him at the shore…
They looked so beautiful then…
They didn’t need him anymore…

How blessed can a distant…
moonlight light be……
to have purity taken from……
this darkness in a pot…

III

His last pot the Angel saw…
Made while he passed away…
Like a heaven it was within…
& broken…a boat of clay…

As if made for them…
Or may be he wanted to sail…
Or gift it to her & her beloved…
like a reminiscence in their trail…

The death angel realized…
He killed him way too soon…
Wishes they remained like…
A dream broken of a womb…

The death angel sat beside…
As if He knew every thought…
Cried so near his grave then…
Found his love in every pot…

Like a meaning only in darkness…
Inside were dreams of Clay…
As if the light was too impure…
It would steal its beauty away…

Sometimes…one can never know…
how beautiful can a reflection…
Ever be…
Of Darkness…in darkness…

The little pots were but…
Metaphors in physicality…
True, the world inside was
So unfulfilled in reality…

IV

The angel whispered as if…
listened the unburied corpse…
"A birth is so beautiful…sometimes…
that its maker is forgotten…lost…"

“She belonged so dearly…
like a destiny you fought…
You gave her to someone…
& cried in every thought…

You pray for her still with…
Dead hands folded to god…
But she’ll always be happy…
I promise no matter what…”

How amazing are sometimes…
these dead hands that pray…
So beautiful with Eyes open…
Just like a corpse at play…

Eyes they remained open for a reason…for how beautifully he watched…The angel taking away some pieces…& setting out on a journey…To fulfill a promise He made…to keep 'them' happy forever…

the End…

Part III, Para 1, starts the beginning of a new story, Part 2 of this write will be called “the Boat maker…”This is the 3rd of the 4 poems, which have the same Part 2

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Things No One Ever Said…

It was a cold dark night…
Sat he near the fire place…
A picture of a girl there was…
Held it with tears on his face…

Nurtured as if a companion-
A tree grew beside his home…
Moments under that shade…
Said never was he so alone…

A story of a man this is…
31 years living all alone…
That night came someone…
An angel walking to his home…

He asked him then…
If there was any last wish…
A droplet of tear fell when…
He looked at god & said this…

“Bury me with your heart…
Not with hands when I am dead…
I wish you read me a letter then
…Things no one ever said…”

The angel looked at god &…
Moments later killed him dearly…
His eyes spoke a wish remained…
As if unfulfilled unknowingly…

His heart beats gave up &…
On the floor he lay all dead…
Wanted someone to wipe a tear…
Something he never said…

The angel walked across…
To a picture kept nearby…
& underneath a letter stood…
Opened He with a sigh…

Buried him in that shade…
As if given to someone else…
Beside his grave the angel sat…
As if a story he wanted to tell…

...
What you read to the dead sometimes…
…becomes...a promise to his soul…
...

The letter-

“A good human being you were…
Your smile was so lovely…
Your eyes were beautiful when…
They dreamt her in your sleep…

You gave her to someone…
But let me tell you this…
He’d love her more than you…
He’d wake her with a kiss…

It’s a promise from god…
Just as you then prayed…
He’ll hold her hands as if…
Journey of two lovers made…

You were born ugly but…
Somewhere beauty was too…
Death wouldn’t be early then…
If all your prayers came true…

After all this while,
With tears you have plead…
God send me here to you,
For things no one ever said…

As if waiting for her,
Your last tear dreamt her touch…
Many years to come now &…
She may love you as much…

There was no one ever…
Who wiped this falling tear…
The last one kissed your breath…
& died in your arms here…

The reason you were buried…
With your hands folded together…
Is because her picture lies still…
Amidst your broken prayer…

The toys you left behind…
Are kept so safe with me…
When…they ever…ask…for you…
I’ll bring…them here…unknowingly…”


It was now the angel in tears…
They came as the letter He read…
his grave watched so beautifully as…
Things they were no one ever said…


“If god ever fails…
Like you did as her lover…
I promise to keep her happy…
Like you plead in your prayer…

You love her still I know but…
Gave her to someone to wed…
Your promises lie broken with me…
For things they were...no one ever said…

Your wedding ring for her…
I have it buried beside you…
If she ever comes here someday…
Your dreams will come true…

It is time to go now…
I’m leaving some roses behind…
With a hope she’ll come one day &…
Search you in fossils left behind…”

As if a promise made to his grave…
The angel spoke to the dead…
The letter asked him to do those things…
Things no one ever said…

The death angel whispered…

“Your eyes closed look…as if…
You waited for someone…
You died with a belief as if…
You knew she would come…

The pages of your life…
ever touched by her…
still remain the only pages
you ever had…”

He left on a journey then…
To find that girl he knew…
& tell her a man has died far away…
That his love remained so very true…
.
.
.
Letter signed by - the Boat maker…
.
.
.
Part II of this write is called - the Boat maker...
Inspiration:
1. James Blunt: goodbye my lover, you are beautiful…
2. Vanilla Sky OST…
3. Forest Gump OST…
4. Titanic OST…
5. Streets of Philadelphia...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The lover who never made it...



I

The night was lonely…stars were bright…
& they…took off on their cargo plane…
Up & away to a journey beautifully destined…
Later…the death angels made a wish…

II

The lover…who never made it…

This is a story of a girl…who got married 10 years back…she is very happy with her man…she has a baby boy & a baby girl…her husband is gone for work…She is alone & watching TV on a dark cold evening…there was a news on TV…

“After many years, the remains of a cargo plane has been found…Few days ago, the black box of the airplane was recovered, from the ocean floor…when it was played following conversation of last 25 seconds in the cockpit before the crash was recovered…as per the recording, there was only the copilot present, the other pilot it seems was going behind to sleep…”

“Look there’s a shooting star…make a wish son…I’m off to sleep…”
After 3 seconds suddenly the warning bells inside the airplane cockpit rang
and it entered a dive…

Everything went dark that one moment…
“May day May day May day…”
The Copilot screamed for help…
There was no one that night…

His eyes closed & the last words he ever said were recorded…
“I will always love you rhythm…please forgive me…goodbye…”
and saw her face for the last time…in his heart…held her hand…
And then a loud explosion ended it all…

All this when broadcasted on TV,
the same girl hears it…
Her name was…rhythm…
The story begins…

III

Long ago a lover there was,
Who never could make it…
Moments with him didn’t last forever…
Journey of love then silently faded…

A girl he always loved…
In moments of his last breath…
heard him whisper her sweet name
like an ending before death…

She remembered her pilot…
A boy she loved so long ago…
looked at the lonely stars somewhere…
She searched him she didn’t know…

She thought a prayer he spoke of…
Something he secretly wrote...
Never she knew as he went far away…
Moments after he finally broke…

The prayer of a plant that was…
Written as if he already knew…
Their destinies would part as if...
Leaves of a plant without its dew…

“Dear god,

Promise you’ll make me a plant…
near the bed she’d dream…
One day she be loved again,
by a man of her dreams…

In his arms he would hold…
like an angel keep her warm…
My open arms would tell me then…
Prayers I had weren’t left forlorn…

In his arms she’d wake up…
to love him so very dearly…
Moments after in happy tears…
She’d look at me unknowingly…

The flowers I’d have one day…
she would smell so tenderly…
& then all her warm breaths…
would begin to fall on me…

A flower of me she’d pluck…
& gently then blow it away…
A moment…& she’d know…
I was never so far away…

Unknowingly she’d smile…
as I would watch her all day…
& bloom with her for a while…
Unknowingly she’d shy away…

One day she’d cry beside…
I’d treasure her tears like dew…
when they’ll fall so unknowingly…
my prayers would all come true…

On one of those leaves fallen…
when her tears sleep abreast…
a gift of god they shall be &...
Their journeys will come to rest…

My leaves would be a home…
for all of those fallen tears…
Like a journey of that lover…
who never made it all these years…

There would be a time when,
a butterfly would come to me…
I’d give away my love to her…
& she’d carry it for me…

I long to love her once dear god…
& I long to hold her hand…
But I could spend a lifetime with…
just her footprints in the sand…

There would be a day when-
her baby would crawl to me…
I would feel my unborn,
A journey of my own family…

How much would I cry then…
they would leave no mark…
I will stand in the quiet cold…
& pray for her in the dark…

There will be a moment when…
I’d fall asleep in loneliness…
Maybe she’d walk beside once…
& a dream of her would bless…

Whilst others would shiver god,
Flowers of winter I’d bore…
With every petal she'd pluck…
I’d begin to love her more…

You promise me god…
You wont make her cry…
I gave her to someone…
A last wish before I truly die…

There will be a moment when…
Out the window she’d silently stare…
Looking at her I’d open my arms…
& that would be…my last prayer…

If you ever made me a plant,
I’d live my life so true…
near her gentle footsteps god…
So dearly I’ll come to you…

Unknowingly she’d kiss one day…
my every falling breath…
Unknowingly she’d say goodbye…
& I’ll sleep in the arms of death…

Only if I could love her once…
I’ll pray to all those stars…
With every falling leaf I have…
With every broken flower…

Only if…you could make me a plant…
Near the bed she would dream…
Every morning I’d wait for her…
& wonder…what they had seen…

Maybe if she had dreamt of me…
Maybe she felt I was there…
One day she’d know of me…
there really was a prayer…”

IV

The prayer ended in her mind…
As she looked out…the window…
Stars they quietly stared at her…
Told a story she really wouldn’t know…

V

That very moment…

A shooting star crossed…
A timeless prayer that came true…
A journey it made of destinies lost…
& she whispered…“I want to see you…”

This moment…a little flower did fall…
from a Plant unknowingly kept nearby…
It touched her feet & made them wet…
tears they came…she glanced in her cry…

One by one flowers began to fall…
As if the plant had broken down…
It wept for all her forgiveness then…
As if his tears were there all around…

As if the journey of a petal was…
like the journey of a life faded…
As if the tears they told her a story…
of that lover who never made it…

The plant she then lifted &...
petals came down with her tears…
A destiny t'was so silently gifted…
With her he remained...all these years…

She kissed those petals as if…
there was warmth in every tear…
She cried so silently as if…
every touch said he was near…

Sleeping in the pages of her diary…
old petals of him she had kept…
She read those lines she wrote…
And the plant silently wept…

She told him those moments…
& the times she cried & broke…
She said “You left me so far away…
But now I know…the prayer you wrote…”

That night she sat beside…
On the floor he quietly slept…
Thought of those moments she…
spent unknowingly…& silently wept…

Next morning that came…
She woke & the plant had died…
The leaves were fallen…
The stem had dried…

The flowers had broken…
near the very dew…
The soil was moist…
had his tears too…

He stood there as if given birth…
to be loved like this one day…
The prayer of dying in her arms…
has come so true today…

VI

She is an old woman now…
She thought of him everyday…
She prays to god since then…
She will meet him one day…

From the day he died as a plant…
that shooting star, it never came…
The moment he died in her arms…
his last wish true it became…

The journey of that star was…
the journey of that lover…who never made it…
The plant he grew in still has…
the remains...of that lover who then made it…

The end…

The 4th line of the 3rd last para in (V), starts the beginning of a new story…
Part II of this write will be called “The boat maker…”


Inspiration:
1. Coldplay-The scientist
2. James Blunt- goodbye my lover…I carry you home.
3. Shrek- U belong to me…
4. Titanic
5. Vanilla sky OST
6. The lover who never made it…+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++