Tiaras and Tears

Scrub, scrub, scrub all you want. Use all the fancy shower gels, creams and lotions. No matter how hard you scrub, its a shame how only the exterior will be cleansed and polished, and not your soul.  Exfoliate your dry, flaky skin with a sugar scrub. You'll be surprised by how soft it leaves your skin. You'll only wish you had a scrub that could scrub away your self deprecating thoughts, leaving it with the same softness. The softness you'd wish you had towards yourself.  I pray, shower and clean. I wonder how much cleaning on the outside will ever make up for the dirt inside. In the evenings, I usually like to light a scented candle and savour the bewitching redolence of the lavender oil. Lavender is supposed to signify purity and calmness. Purity. The word seems to have lost all meaning for me. Am I still pure, as long as I bathe, pray and clean regardless of how many people I have hurt, stolen someone's right or demeaned them beyond imagination.  Don't forget to ...

 Today's dark and gloomy. The weather reminds me of a painting set in the dark gothic era. The grey nimbus clouds seem to be carrying too much baggage and are in dire need to get rid of it. The rain is making people stay in their homes. But here I am out on the lonely streets of Tirano, Italy.  Not bringing an umbrella is a conscious decision. It's been a long time since I've felt the rain, let alone danced in it. It seems as if I've associated this weather with an emotion. But I could go on and on talking about emotions. It never ends. So for once, I'd rather not. Instead, let me tell you about this beautiful church I visited. As I'm walking on the empty streets of this ghost town, a clock tower catches my eye. It is magnificently large with a grand fresco painting depicting two men carrying a bunch of grapes. A large door bears the entrance to this rather tiny church.  The door opens with an eerie creek. As I step in, a musky peppery smell hits me. There are n...