Passion…unbridled

NaBloPoMo 2021: Do Good Kid!

I’d like you to remember that no matter what you do

There will be voices of dissent, criticizing you

If you do things differently, peer pressure you will face

If you do nothing to stand out, you might not find a place

In a top-notch college, or in a career of your choice

Whether you sing with the choir or have a unique voice

Someone, somewhere will find something to criticize

And this could affect you more than you realize

Unless…you are prepared to take criticism in your stride

Focus on what feels right to you inside

You will have to learn how to take

Constructive criticism positively, and changes make

To your behavior and actions without letting it affect

Your morale, your self-confidence, your zest

For life and learning, no one can take that from you

Unless you give them the power to shatter you…

*

When criticism appears overwhelming to you

When you feel like nothing right you can do

Take a deep breath and reach out to me

As your mother, your well of encouragement I shall be

NaBloPoMo 2021 #4

This year as Diwali we celebrate

As the Gods and Goddesses we venerate

As we applaud the storied victory

Of good over evil, let the allegory

Of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance

Take center-stage, achieve prominence

From dark times we emerge in to light

Propelled by science, we are winning the fight

Let us light lamps to celebrate the future bright

Let us light lamps in memory of those who lost the fight

Let light dispel the darkness of fear profound

Let there be the brightness of hope around..

NaBloPoMo 2021 Do Good, Kid

Do you know it is very easy to

Get away by doing as little as you can do

You would probably be fine by doing the minimum required

Your life would be smooth even if you never aspired

To go the extra mile, a little extra effort make..

On the other hand, if you decided to, just for your own sake

Give it a little more, go beyond expectation

In every task you are required to do, in every situation

An improvement in your life you might find

A little extra happiness, relief for your mind

If you make it a habit, I say this with audacity

Successful beyond your imagination you could be..

**

Supreme effort gets rewarded, gets applauded, it’s true

But your karma is a sum of the million things you do

Your efforts to make the world a better place do not need

To be on a large scale, your tiny efforts indeed

Can add up every day, if you make it a habit

To give a little more, not expecting anything out of it..

This is for my child and others like him, whose parents are frontline workers dealing with the stress of the pandemic every day…we have brought anxiety home through these trying times.

(NaBloPoMo 2021- Do Good Child)

I know the pandemic has been harsh on you

Caused upheaval in your life, it’s true

Besides homeschooling and loneliness

You’ve had to witness your parents’ distress

The grown-ups’ anxiety has rubbed off on you

You have witnessed their frustration, their anger too

You’ve seen them work long hours, staying late

You’ve missed their reassuring hugs, when they’ve had to isolate

By now their emotions you can recognize

You know their triggers, you’ve become wise

They whisper around you, but you know instinctively

Whether they have witnessed another tragedy…

A lot of devastation your young eyes have seen

You’ve been exposed to things you should not have been

**

I hope fervently these memories shall fade

You would remember all the good memories you made

With your parents at home and outdoors

You would forget the anguish, and remember more

The enthusiasm of your parents as they shared stories

Of their patients improving, their small victories

Their relief at testing negative and ending isolation

Their fierce embraces, those fleeting moments of elation

The hope that they exuded when the vaccine was released

Their relaxed smiles when cases went down, restrictions were eased

I hope you shall remember the wonderful experience

Of being hugged by grandparents after a long absence

I hope you remember how good it felt to play

With your friends after time spent away

I hope you remember stories of how people helped each other

Get through the pandemic, how this storm they weathered..

**

No matter how we see it, these two years

Shall be, forever, in your memory seared

I hope you shall remember with gratitude

The pandemic years, and your attitude

Shall be shaped by the best parts

Of life through this time, I wish with all my heart

(NaBloPoMo 2021- Do Good, Kid)

I am your mother and like it or not

From me you shall imbibe a lot

While my core values I would like to impart

There is something that with all my heart

I hope does not percolate to you

I am imperfect, have flawed perceptions too

My biases and preconceived notions interfere

In my interactions with the world, my dear

When I recognize them, I try to overcome

My biases, but at times inadvertently I succumb

To the diktats of my biases deep-seated

And my efforts at being inclusive are defeated

I hope my biased views do not osmose

Into your thought process, do not predispose

You to limit your engagement with the world around you

(Of course you might develop your own biases too)

I grew up in another era, another continent

My conditioning is different, just like my accent

Having moved far from home, I can now see

How biased notions had been passed down to me

I don’t want to let the same happen to you

I want you to have of the world an unbiased view..

Too many complicated problems in front of me

Too many variables for me to evaluate objectively

The best possible decision I want to make

I try to include everything that’s at stake

So that with regret I would not look back

Knowing I did my best, I did not slack

**

A peculiar conundrum I often face

Both reason and intuition jostle for space

Within the framework of my decision-making process

Who do I listen to, for maximum success?

**

Then my inner voice speaks up, reminding me

Is success actually necessary?

What about a solution that does not

Guarantee success but gives more thought

To the greater good, whose human quotient

Is much higher, when such a solution your intuition presents

Shouldn’t it be the better choice?

So I sometimes listen to my inner voice

And select the solution that does not instantly

Reward me with results, quick satisfaction does not give me..

**

Sometimes my head decides, sometimes my heart prevails

When I listen to my heart, it never fails

To make me feel more at peace, more centered

I know that my inner voice has made itself heard..

I shake off the remark, the subtle insinuation

The display of feigned solidarity for my situation

I shrug off the insult cleverly disguised

Reinforce my thicker skin, as advised

By well-wishers, mentors, managers, administrators

To keep my sanity in a world that caters

To the ego of men in power everywhere

I cannot complain about treatment unfair

I am sensitive to constructive criticism

I have to blur my lens of feminism

This is what they tell me- it’s all in my head

I should focus on being more pleasant instead

I should not voice what I think I need

I should feel fortunate to be in my shoes indeed

**

I am jaded listening to this constant refrain

I have learnt to ignore that nagging pain

I allow some tears in my office behind a closed door

Quickly regain composure, though wounded to the core

I can do this, strength within myself I shall find

I tell myself, as I channel my focused mind

Into producing high quality work yet again

This is how my heart and mind I train

The only tool I have is my fortitude

That will determine my altitude..

Skimp on a step, find a shortcut again

The elaborate methods cause too much pain

Abbreviated phrases, vowels dropped out

Are faster to type without a doubt

Use the chopper, microwave, instant pot

Flavor sacrificed, but the thought

Of saving time occupies my mind

No gourmet meals, but more time I can find

To devote to the million things I have to do-

Use robotic vacuums, multitask in cleaning too

Try to read while running on the treadmill

With one stone of time, two birds I can kill

Listen to a journal article as a podcast

While my dinner is prepared fast

Finish a work-day, take that flight red-eye

Attend a meeting, return, on a caffeine-filled high

Time is a luxury, never enough

Without finding shortcuts, life would be tough…

*

My instant-mix kind of life carries a cost

Any sense of pleasure in daily life is lost

Food prepared by oversimplification

Is less aromatic, provides less gratification

The mis-spelt words of texts are unsettling to me

This was not what the Queen’s language was supposed to be

Robots can clean, but I do miss

Scrubbing a corner clean, and the resulting bliss..

Do I listen to microwave beeps or data scientific

One of these I certainly have to pick

The enthusiasm with which a new article I would read

Has been lost to the myth of multitasking indeed…

*

So I have decided to choose an area each week

Where I don’t cut corners, I don’t seek

Time-saving tactics, rather follow elaborate

And complete methods, I can proudly state

That the time-tested methods yield results that are

More satisfying, more soul-stirring, by far

Intellectually I understand

That biases should have little place

In my perception of the world

But the reality that I face

Is that biases sneak in somehow

Embed themselves without a sound

In the recess of my subconscious mind

I know my judgment they confound

Such that I, often imperceptibly

End up practicing discrimination

I don’t realize until I receive

From someone else an insinuation

*

A fair person I consider myself to be

Knowing I am biased pinches me..

*

Quite wildly then I fantasize

If my biases I could externalize

Wear them as clothes that could be

Washed in the waters of impartiality

Then I would wring out, dry and wear

A garment unbiased and fair

See the world and its denizens

Through an impartial lens..

*

Since real-life solutions are

Much more complicated by far

To let go of my biases I need

To interact more widely indeed

With people who are as different as can be

In language, religion, political affiliation, from me

To understand and connect at a level more deep

Let go of differences, the universal tenets of humanity keep….

Like all of us, many hats I wear

That represent issues about which I care

My identity is a sum total of each one

At different points in time, different facets I summon

A homemaker, a mother and a physician

Are my most important positions

Sometimes I am in a mood creative

An artistic expression I try to give

To my thoughts, I try to create

Tiny pieces of art, to satiate

The desire to surround myself with beauty

To better withstand the mundane call of duty

There are quiet moments in my day

When I let books transport me away

To a different universe, a reader I become

Absorbing printed words, soaking up wisdom

Sometimes I fancy myself as a writer, I confess

In prose and verse, my thoughts I express

I become a fashionista when I play

Dress-up to brighten up my day

Many times a teacher I try to be

Imparting knowledge of medicine to a trainee..

*

There is a role that transcends all the above

That is the role I’ve come to cherish and love

To be a learner, repeatedly immerse

Myself in an unexplored universe

To be a better version of myself in each role

To refine my methods in each realm is my goal

Maybe there are no large leaps for me

I let tiny steps mould my identity

Let learning my raison d’être be

Each day as an opportunity to improve let me see..

This poem was inspired by two reports I read recently (unverified)- One of a school girl ridiculed for wearing a hijab (apparently her job was yanked off and she was told her hair was beautiful, again unverified) and another of a schoolgirl disbarred from playing soccer because of hair beads (apparently the mom was not told hair beads were a hazard during play). While I fully acknowledge that the truth may not be reflected in the way these stories have been presented, there is no doubt that women are held to an unrealistic standard regarding their hair- discrimination on the basis of hair has been banned in some places.

Every girl or a woman’s hair

Is her business, why should someone else care?

*

Hey, I don’t have hair that is light and straight

Why is my hair used to discriminate

Or at least draw attention to me in connotation negative

Why do, with certain “hair” standards, I have to live?

My natural locks I should be able to

Wear with pride, and not go through

Caustic hair straighteners to try to achieve

The hair texture that is the norm perceived

Just so no one would call me ungroomed

Only straight hair looks professional, it is assumed…

My little girl adorns her braids with beads

She can be disbarred from soccer, while her needs

Are completely ignored, so is the impact on her

She learns to be ashamed of her hair forever

**

Religion is a matter personal, in a state secular

I should be able to cover my hair without fear

With a hijab, no one should force me to

Remove my hijab- it is true

That the hijab is a part of my identity

Why would you want to take that away from me

You say it distracts you, you are curious to find out

The color and texture of my hair- that knowledge you have to do without

*

We own our hair, and style it our way

Your standards of neat hair are irrelevant today

Curly, braided, covered- we groom our hair the way we desire

We can, if we want, a hair revolution inspire

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, I have penned this poem highlighting the stigma associated with depression.

How do I say that I’m not fine?

I don’t want to complain, I don’t want to whine

A cheerful attitude attracts vibes positive

Therefore under a false facade I Iive

Sometimes that facade does help me beat

My depression temporarily, the respite is sweet

But then it returns, with a vengeance profound

I dare not mention it to anyone around

To admit my shortcoming, to seek help for it

Can cost me my livelihood, get me labeled unfit

My depression needs to, in the closet remain

By admitting to it, I would be inviting more pain

Further alienation from the world of people doing fine

Potential loss of income- all these cross mind

Each time I try to reach for professional help in some way

(Did I mention therapy is beyond my capacity to pay?)

I wish I could exchange the emotional pain

For pain in a body part, to avoid the disdain

That mental illness seems to receive

I am weak- this is how I think I’d be perceived

If I were to say I am depressed- I would probably hear

Be strong, snap out of your depression, dear

Believe me, it’s not like flipping a switch inside

Exercise, yoga, meeting new people- everything I’ve tried

But it is a lonely journey for me

Hiding my depression is not easy…

**

Empathy for my depression is not an easy ask

Therefore I readjust my metaphorical mask..