A ship without a compass

I once saw a ship at sea that sailed funny
And the people on it said strange things too
    We need no compass to sail, they said
    We don't need to know North from South
    Our ship sails so fast, it is so good
    That we will somehow figure it out
Saying so, they merrily sailed along
The toiling crew with a privileged few

But who am I to laugh at them

For I am on one such ship too

    A pretty one, it is shiny and new

    I've heard it is called "Economic Progress"

    It is hurtling at top speed towards God-knows-where

    And the crew is too busy to find its moral compass

A reluctant passenger, I silently sit and pray

That we are not hurtling towards our very doom

August 14th, 2021

Inspired by the book "Small is beautiful" by E. F. Schumacher

Truth

Truth, a funny thing
It has very many sides
And no matter how you try to say it
One of those always gets left behind

I wondered why I could never find
A voice that was always right
I now understand that words, however nuanced,
Cannot capture Truth, try as they might

As age tempered with experience silences
The unanswerable questions of youth
I now understand why no one says —
“Silence is the language of Truth”

August 1st, 2021

The march to death

"Time for your bath", his mother yelled
From up the stairs, at little Johnny
Johnny, who hated his bath very much
Began the march on his dreaded journey

On his way up the stairs, he picked up a doll
And then a book and a truck and his old coat
He wore his coat and felt so smug
And picked up a few toys and then some more

As he heaved up the stairs with all his things
His mother looked and shook her head
"Take off your coat and drop your toys", she said
"You can only get in the bath fully naked"

In the bath, Johnny wondered why he accumulated
So many things when he knew
He couldn't keep anything on him in the end
Not even his favorite few

After thinking a while, Johnny chuckled to himself
As he looked back at what he'd done
"Well, I didn't dread my bath as much today
Sure, it was all pointless, but at least I had fun"

"The march to death" Written April 4th, 2021. 

The bird and the tree

Once upon a time on a giant tree
There lived a little birdie
He loved the tree as his brother
Oh so very fond they were of each other

But soon it was time for the bird to fly
And then the bird began to cry
He wanted the tree to come along
Because, he thought, together they belong

When the tree refused, the bird lost his cool
And called him a loser, a fool
Why does he stay stuck to a place, he thought
Doesn't the tree get bored at all?

The wise tree smiled and thus spoke
"My dear brother, I hate to see you go
But it is my dharma to take roots and stay
As is yours to grow wings and fly away

To who we are, my dear, let us stay true
And let us each do our duty as nature willed us to
So fly away, dear brother, to a new tomorrow
Do think of me, but without judgement or sorrow"

The bird, now happy, took off to fly
Spreading its wings in the sky so high
It looked down and waved at the tree
And saw on its branch another little birdie

Written on March 27th, 2021

Standing by the door

The lights are shining, the music blaring
Everyone is dancing merrily on the floor
Too shabbily dressed, too shy to enter
I resign to watching from the door

My heart yearns for a good dance
But my feet refuse to leave the door
Then I look around and I find him
As much a misfit as I am, perhaps more

"Shall we?", "Let us", our eyes converse
We hold hands and take a few steps gingerly
A few songs in and we find our rhythm
Soon we are lost in the ecstasy

So don't fret if ever you are not
The star at the center of the dance floor
You can still dance a great dance
Even if you are just standing by the door

January 16th, 2021

A million times

Your heart beat inside me
A million times
Before it stopped all of a sudden
I wonder what I did wrong

I will think of you
A million times
Wistfully in the years to come
I wonder what you would've grown to be

I will also smile
A million times
As the sorrow fades and life moves on
I wonder how the heart heals so fast

Let me say this out loud
Just this once
You gave us joy and hope for a few brief weeks
I wonder if we will ever feel complete

Originally written January 14, 2017. 

Wedding Vows

They say life is a roller coaster ride
With many ups and downs along the way
Some falls, I may be able to save you from
But some I cannot, try as hard as I may
I cannot promise the ride will be smooth
But I promise to hold your hand all through

They say two people cannot always agree
Raised as we are with different faiths and views
Sometimes, we may listen to the other and change ourselves
But sometimes, we may do what the other doesn't want us to
I cannot promise to do all that you ask me to
But I promise to always do what I think is good for you

They say the path of life has many forks
Which path to take, we have many choices to make
Sometimes we may follow the same path, holding hands
But sometimes, we may choose to walk along different paths
I cannot promise to be with you every step of the way
But I promise we will be back together at the end of every day


In every healthy relationship, including marriage, it is always good to know what you can promise, and even better to know what you cannot.