Passion…unbridled

Artistic gift wrap, gift boxes and bags innovative

In an aesthetically pleasing way, gifts I want to give

The packaging needs to be as interesting as the actual content

To put my creativity to use in gifting is my intent..

*

I spend the entire year scouring for inspiration

I come up with unique gifting ideas in my imagination

I try my hand at crafting, I have to desire

To create the Pinterest-worthy gift boxes that I admire

*

When the holidays roll around, it is a different story

Amid a million things to do, my best laid plans go awry

After I’ve spent time buying what I believe are thoughtful gifts

For everyone on the latest iteration of my list

I scramble to gift them in a presentable way

I end up buying generic gift bags to save the day…

*

Now the holidays are over and I’m thinking about next year

I definitely want my gift wrap or boxes to appear

Beautiful and unique, I want to incorporate

Elements from my culture, I plan to curate

Ideas from different sources starting now

I want to finalize my plans before December somehow

*

It’s the thought that counts and not the actual gift, I’ve often heard

But to give someone a poorly packaged gift seems absurd

Let me put my creativity to some use

An authentic way to package my gifts, let me

She toiled away, spending hours in the dim light

Her needle deftly pulling thread, ensuring each stitch was tight

The expanse of the sheer white cloth spread out before her

Flowers, leaves and stems, she skillfully embroidered

The project was intensive, and she had a deadline to meet

She worked on it late into the night until the embroidery was complete

*

Her work would travel the world- so she was made to believe

She had no idea how that would be achieved

The cloth she had embroidered would be transformed

Into couture pieces, she had been informed

By a prominent designer she had been chosen

Into each stitch her dreams she had woven

She had saved her family from starvation with her needle and thread

At least they had enough for their daily bread

*

She longed to follow the storied journey

Of her intricately crafted embroidery

One day on the television she happened to see

A fashion show taking place in another country

A model sashayed on the ramp in a beautiful dress in powder blue

The camera zoomed in on her outfit, she immediately knew

This was her work, even though the cloth had been dyed

In that moment, her heart soared with pride

*

She went back to her needlework with her enthusiasm renewed

No one knew who she was, but far and wide her craft had been viewed

I used to shy away from difficult conversations

But in my current life, in my chosen vocation

Conversations that are difficult, heavy, painful, I face

On a regular basis, I’ve had no choice but to embrace

The discomfort associated with such conversations

I create space before tough talks for premeditation

I leave space afterwords for reflection and contemplation

I interact with patients and their families, delve into their hopes and fears

Sometimes they are reassured, sometimes new concerns appear..

*

During these conversations a balance I have to strike

Between empathy and detachment, when I say things that no one likes

I’m scared of a strong reaction, but I am also aware

That I might react sharply too, I have to take care

To never let empathy leave a conversation

It is my best defense against retaliation..

*

To break bad news, to dash someone’s hopes, are all things I do

As part of my profession, but it is indeed true

That this does not get any easier with time or repetition

This is the least talked about part of my profession

Everywhere I look, I see my annual progress summarized

Is it just me or have others not realized

That the year is not yet over, there are six more days to get through

I can accomplish a bit more, my list of things to do

Is incomplete, I can do more work, read more books, and write some more

On December 31st midnight I intend to tally my scores..

*

Some people view this as a time of relaxation and rest

But for me the end of the year works out best

To sprint forward and exceed the expectations previously set

I pride myself in going beyond the goals already met

*

I have almost a week before the year ends

With a bang, during this time I shall extend

Myself as much as possible so that when the new year begins

I set my goals high, riding confidently on the past year’s wins

Am I the only one who already feels jaded

By the talk of AI infiltrating our world, my enthusiasm has faded

Even before learning the extent to which AI can go

How AI can take over my job, I especially don’t want to know..

*

There seems to be no limit to what AI can achieve

Human intellect would be rendered obsolete, some people seem to believe

AI is not good enough, each time I argue

I am told in the future that would not hold true

Because large language models are learning at a lightning pace

That humans would be overshadowed and subjugated by AI is the reality we face

*

I know the explosion of AI is on a scale not witnessed before

Yet I do not feel ready to get entangled in or explore

The phantasmagorical web of artificial intelligence

I want to celebrate human creativity with fervor intense

As I am exposed to more and more “perfect” AI-generated content

I want to draw, write, paint imperfectly to a greater extent

I want to engage with the world in a more tangible way

Despite knowing well that AI is here to prosper and stay

For learning languages, I thought I had no knack

The ability to pick up words in different languages I seemed to lack

Even in school, I never really tried

To learn another language, I did take pride

In being proficient in the two languages I knew

But learning a language I did not grow up with is something I was reluctant to do

*

When language-learning programs became widely available, it appeared

It was finally time to let go of my linguistic fears

Spanish on a well-known platform I decided to learn

It was a low-stress way of learning, where daily rewards could be earned

For completing lessons and modules at one’s own pace

I thought I could learn a thing or two about Spanish in this space..

*

I started out with a great deal of enthusiasm obviously

Beginning lessons were considerably easy

But soon the grammar became too complex to comprehend

I found myself slacking much more than I did intend

I managed to continue, realizing that I was not

Making as much progress as I had originally thought

*

Although I have persisted in my efforts to learn Spanish, I now know

Learning a language is hard, it is difficult to grow

New neural networks for language in the brain

Nevertheless I show up for my lessons again and again

In Iceland people buy books as gifts and read quietly on Christmas eve

That is the tradition most suited to my taste, I believe

The consumerist culture around Christmas I need to forget

Use this holiday to explore new books and set

Reading goals for the following year

The more I dwell on it, the more attractive this idea appears..

*

In the ideal world, mostly books as gifts I would like to give and receive

I’d rather buy everything else for myself, but books I perceive

As ideas worth sharing, therefore I would appreciate

A book selected by someone else according to their taste

*

I would love to have a friend read a book that has influenced me profoundly

Bonding over the shared love for a book is one of life’s greatest pleasures for me

Next year for all my friends I shall carefully curate

Books with which we can mutually relate

For the longest time winter solstice appeared to be

As the shortest day of the year, a melancholic day for me

I would try to catch the last ray of the winter sun

Before the long, dark night would have begun

The winter solstice marked for me pervasive darkness

It amplified my deep feelings of loneliness..

*

These days on winter solstice, I look at the brighter aspect

After this day, longer days and shorter nights we expect

Although there are several months of winter to go through

Thinking about longer hours of sunshine drives away my blues

*

For the ancient cultures the longest night of the year

Represented rejuvenation, allowing crops to grow and animals to reappear

From hibernation as the days progressively longer grew

It was a time to get rid of the old and welcome the new

*

Though I am not observing any rituals to celebrate this day

I am celebrating this turning point of the year in my own way

By using the long hours of darkness for rest that I sorely need

And in the quietude and stillness around me, an engrossing book read

It is December and on various platforms appear

Lists of the best books of the year

Curated by editors, publishers, influencers and even a former president

For avid readers like me they are meant

In these handpicked lists I take interest keen

I measure against them to see how prolific a reader I’ve been

*

I must have been reading in another universe this year

I am disappointed to see hardly any of the books I’ve read appear

On various lists of best books, I wonder what the reason could be

Am I losing interest in books with merit literary?

*

On closer examination I’ve found that a lot of books listed

Include dystopian scenarios and plots impossibly twisted

From such books I have tried to stay away

I don’t want books to leave me perturbed throughout the day

*

Books on a wide range of subjects I have read

But I have not chosen them randomly, instead

I have focused on books with characters grounded in reality

I have sought authors who hope for our future see

*

I did not read read editors’ picks but I did read

A number of excellent books this year, indeed

My patient who has come in with his wife for a visit hands me

Sheets of paper tabulating his vital signs that I can see

There are notes in the margin indicating symptoms as well

The record-keeping is impeccable, and I can tell

That the patient and his wife have painstakingly

Followed each instruction to the letter “T”

His medication list is meticulously maintained and updated

He has shown better compliance than I had anticipated

*

On the other hand, when as a patient to my appointments I go

I am completely disorganized, I know

Doctors make the worst patients, that aphorism I exemplify

I cannot seem to follow medical advice properly, even when I try

Cognitively I understand my doctor is right

But my obstinate brain still wants to fight

About fifty percent of the time I follow advice

The rest of the time my compliance does not suffice..

*

Maybe from my compliant patient I should learn

How to be a good patient and the doctor’s approval earn..

Whenever I see people use their hands to create

Something beautiful or functional, I naturally gravitate

Towards them- I want to watch them in the process

In a world where most of us are obsessed

With increasing levels of productivity

I find it quite refreshing to see

People making things using manual skills

Watching their labors of love my heart fills

With a warmth that nothing produced in a factory can provide

I want to see their eyes shine with unmistakable pride

As they near completion, ready to display

The work they have done in their unique way

*

Increasingly I have come to value

Handmade objects, especially if they are one of a kind too

In a world where AI is set to dominate commercial design

Handmade for me the ultimate luxury defines

These days I find myself low on inspiration

My creative expression does not meet expectations..

*

I struggle to find something to write about that does not appear

Rooted in despair, cynicism or fear

The world increasingly seems to be

An unsafe place, full of volatility

All the events occurring in the world evoke

Strong emotions, my simmering anger stoke

As a rule of thumb, I do not write

When feelings of anger I am trying to fight

Anger suppresses my flow of ideas too

Writing a verse is the last thing I can do

When I am upset at the deplorable state

Of the world- I let my anger abate

Before starting a creative project in writing or art

To express myself well, I need tranquility of the mind and heart