In the lap of nature
In the scenic outdoors
All the outstanding features
Of the landscape I explore
St. Mary’s Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana
At the Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
Lake Tahoe, California
Somewhere in Maine
On one of the cays of the Caribbean, The Bahamas
Embarcadero Marina, San Diego, California
Frustration at its peak
Solutions, evasive, I seek
Helpless here I feel
Find myself losing zeal
Climbing a wall insurmountable
Facing obstacles indescribable
I question myself if it is worthwhile
To keep on fighting till the end of the mile
Or just reconcile with my situation
And spare myself the pain of desperation…
**
This is a conundrum with no solution
I agonize over it like an obsession
Myself I should change, I guess that is true
Maybe my circumstances will change too..
View of the Caribbean from a cruise ship
Palm tree-lined streets of Southern California
Path through the Balboa Park, San Diego
Staircase at the Hotel del Coronado, Coronado Island, San Diego, CA
Along the banks of Folsom Lake, Folsom, CA
I left the venerable shores
Of a land that was my own
I closed behind me the doors
Leading to places where I had grown
Driven by a sense of adventure
The excitement of exploration
The promise of a greener pasture
Or all of above, in combination
The years went by trying to settle
I was lost in acclimatization
Trying to prove my mettle
Undergoing cultural desensitization
As time passed by I realized
How touch with my roots I was losing
The cultural heritage I had prized
Was out of my conscience oozing…
In panic, I tried to grab, to hold on
To the threads that were my connection
To the hallowed land where I was born
To the country that gave me direction
Memories embedded I brought to the surface
The smell of the soil was etched in my brain
Songs I grew up with, the colorful verses
Sights of my country I dreamt of again
***
So this is how through life I float
With one foot in each country’s boat
Mixing language, culture and tradition
I live my life in a rich amalgamation.
Norodom Sihanouk
There was a time when I believed
Everything that people said
Everywhere, transparency I perceived
Between the lines I never read
Inexperienced was I in the world’s ways
Oh how I wish I had had some insight
I wish I had not spent precious days
Believing lies while truth was in plain sight.
Alas when I learnt about deception
That did surround me in clever disguises
Not only did it alter my perception
It did introduce me to similar vices…
I learnt to lie, myself I had to save
Being secretive I had to learn to be
I learnt to put up a front brave
Trying to hide my dishonesty.
**
How I sometimes wish I could have remained
As simple and guileless as I had been
I wish from lying I could have refrained
If only deception I had never seen!
**
I want to confess my sins today
Sleep has been snatched by my conscience
All I want to do is kneel and pray
For all my lies, I am suffering the consequence.
Statue of Benjamin Franklin at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia bathed in mauve light
Mauve flowers
Diagnosis is not the end, but the beginning of practice. ~Martin H. Fischer
The thrill of a rare
Diagnosis you made
You are suddenly aware
Of praise and accolades
You grin from ear to ear
You brim with a confidence new
Reading diligently year after year
Has finally been fruitful for you
Satisfied your inner clinician
Satiated intellectual curiosity
You stumped the average physician
You displayed your capacity.
***
Basking in the glory
Of a success that is yours
You suddenly feel sorry
When you realize the course
Of a patient’s condition
Has been altered forever
Now you proceed with caution
The monstrous news to deliver
Your diagnostic acumen
Suddenly loses importance
There is no curative regimen
You’ve given the death sentence..
When the days are getting dreary
When my steps are getting weary
I look for a little spark to light
And fill my world with sunshine bright
Gratitude then I summon
I thank everything I have, in turn
I look out for someone in need
I try to do one kind deed
Watch out for my patients’ smiles
That keep me going for endless miles
I give my little one a cuddle
Together in the blanket we huddle
I try something entirely new
Exciting, and quite uplifting too
The weariness starts to ebb
Positive actions weave such a web.
**
This is how I would perceive
Myself, in an effort to deceive
When I am down in the dump
Pretense lets me get over the hump
I pretend that I can achieve
Anything that I believe
Everything that I just said
I try to go through in my head
“Cause that’s what my ideal
Self would do in an ordeal
It’s a mantra that I chant
Saves me from the rave and rant..
In a secluded creek
Solitude I seek
Far from the maddening crowds
Amidst the river and clouds
Away from the city’s loud noise
I’ve escaped, making a choice
To hear the brook’s musical rumble
As down the hill it tumbles
Whispering sagacious advice
As a witness to human vice
While in silence I try to decipher
The lessons nature tries to deliver.
Wissahickon creek, Philadelphia
Avalanche creek, Glacier National Park, MT
Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Another creek at Glacier National Park, MT
I am always on the lookout for anything eye-catching to photograph nowadays- I know I can put them here!
Do you really want to hang out at the “Shame of San Diego”?
Ok, not so original- a towel gorilla (or monkey, or orangutan)
An ornate weighing machine, Seaport Village, San Diego
If I could give you a window
Into the space of my mind
If emotions within me I could show
Raw, unadorned, blind
No better way is there in this universe
No better form of expression
Than carving words into powerful verse
Exuding unbridled passion
Thoughts that are uncomfortable
Ideas too abstract to explain
A poem does their expression enable
A verse can capture true pain..
When sagging under the weight of words
When too prosaic appears prose
Then explore the realm of verse
Prose writing would appear morose..
Passion...unbridled 