Let the snake be killed and the stick be intact…

न साँप मरे न लाठी टूटे

(Hindi proverb which means to get your way without causing any damage or breaking any rule)

I am a rule-follower, a conformist, and I confess

I am afraid to deviate from an established process

I try to comprehend the logic behind rules and norms

But like an obedient pupil, I am conditioned to perform

Within the parameters that those in authority have set

I don’t want to be reprimanded, I don’t want to regret

Breaking a rule, of being unable to defend

My actions, those in power I don’t want to offend..

*

I hate to say this, but not all rules and norms

Are grounded in reason or justice, therefore to conform

With such rules, I have to try to fight

My conscience or intuition, to decide what is right

As I grow older, towing the line just to appease

The authorities gives me a growing sense of unease

I want to find a workaround in a manner such

That I satisfy my inner voice and not get in trouble much

Rule-makers are not perfect and nor am I

Both of us can co-exist under the same sky

I am too scared to break a law outright

But less stringent rules I can definitely fight

In a manner diplomatic, and often achieve

A better result through a process in which I believe

I have to remind myself that real life is not elementary school

For real life solutions, I may sometimes need to bend the rules