Passion…unbridled

If only I could portray

My world in its unembellished way

Unadorned, unedited, bare

If stark reality I could share

Ungainly sobs contorting my face

Shrieks of laughter quite out of place

Dancing to a favorite song with abandon

Cracking up at humorous memories random

Maybe, if uninhibited I could thrive

My world would appear much more alive

If I had no worries about the perception

Of others around me, here’s my confession

I would break through the barriers in my mind

Follow my heart, have a disposition kind

But here I am lost, trying to decipher

How to avoid people’s displeasure

I am imperfect in one million ways

The more I obey, the more I face

Criticism that is inconsequential

Distracting me from work essential 

Therefore today I boldly decide

I am who I am, and shall not hide

Behind a beautiful, dishonest facade

I will not let my life be a charade.

This poem is about the archaic school system that prevailed in India when I was growing up, where learning was tantamount to committing facts to memory and reproducing them during exams.

Lackadaisical in their attitude

Shuffling steps dragging their weight

No inclination to show their aptitude

They go through class in a stuporous state

Expected to learn things abstract

To memorize pages from textbooks insipid

Then regurgitate verbatim every obscure fact

During examinations, so they are not labeled stupid

No wonder they have no enthusiasm

School is nothing but a heavy burden

There is such a deep and wide chasm

Between what is taught and what is relevant

To preparing children for the real world

Teaching them to think, deduce and act

Teaching them tips and tricks for survival

In this competitive world, not teach them just facts..

Let their active imagination soar

Develop the spirit of scientific inquiry

School would  not be such a huge bore

For learning, they would develop a passion fiery.

“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”

– Buddha

With power to hurt and power to heal

Words that were made to express what we feel

Can drastically change the course of history

Can enslave men, can  set them free

Spoken or written, words have might

To conquer nations without a fight

Timely mentioned, a single word can 

Unleash a storm among strong men

By domino effect, ripples it may create

Serve as the start of a heated debate

While human life is transient, variable

Powerful words are immortal, immutable

Preserved just the way they were transcribed

Their essence the same as initially described

Words can also transform broken souls

Words can encourage one to attain newer goals

But words are like arrows, once shot in the air

Cannot come back, so handle them with care. 

(The Stages of Life (German: Die Lebensstufen): oil painting, 1835 by the German Romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich.)- wikipedia

Dreams, hopes, aspirations

A mind full of expectations

Looking at the world starry-eyed

The world was your oyster, for you to decide

On the road unknown you could embark

You had the will, you had the spark

You were naive to the world’s crooked way

Never heeded what people had to say

You felt like a reservoir of energy vast

You assumed enthusiasm would forever last………..

*

Voices around you clamored for attention

The chatter got louder, causing distraction

Draining the sea of energy from you

Seeping unnoticed as the years flew

Unrealized dreams just withered away

Your existence grew mundane day after day

You narrowed your path to the tried and tested

You embraced the ennui you once had detested

And one day, your gray hair made you realize

You were now middle-aged in the world’s eyes

Boring, predictable but considered respectable

You now had a lifestyle that was fairly stable.

*

As you descend towards life’s twilight

Weakened in limbs, with failing eyesight

You hear faint sounds of death at your door

The initial fear gives way to something more

You do not have anything left to lose

Once more, you feel liberated to choose

To rekindle your passion, your dreams reignite

Through all these years you have earned the right

To be oblivious to what others opine

You are free once again, your life to design

Just like your youth, the difference being one-

You live life each day, and then you are done

You have no aspirations for the future

Only the present that you nourish and nurture. 

With a reverent tone

Slowly, softly I tread

These hallowed corridors alone

Full of thoughts unsaid

Filled to the brim with emotions

Overflowing with gratitude

Today I walk in slow motion

Reminiscing over the platitude

Of lectures I had sat through

Rendered in soporific monologue

Sprinkled with memorable moments few-

Those memories surround me like a fog.

As I take a step into the real world

Beyond the walls of my alma mater

New adventures before me shall unfurl

Nostalgic, I’ll recall those days later..

Life at its best is ironic

Throwing teasers our way

With a smile sardonic

Testing us variably each day

What once to you was trivial,

Something that you had dismissed

In a tone light-hearted and jovial

May come back to destroy your bliss..

Remember when you in lighter vein

Mocked at a fellow human being’s misery

The same situation may now cause you pain

You might have set yourself on a road slippery..

*

When young and strong and full of vigor

We often think we are immune

To troubles that the rest encounter

We think we cannot face such misfortune..

*

Alas the passage of time will bring

Illness, misery, repetitive suffering

All our cups fill in similar proportions

With negative and positive emotions

Mocking at others never works

Those arrows find their way backwards

Life’s ironies probably spare no one

From fate’s tricks, one cannot run.