towards my final journey

A day will come when I will have to bid adieu
To all those who are near and dear
Bidding farewell not to relocate
But to leave here and meet fate.

When the hourglass of my life
Ticks towards the final journey
I wonder how prepared I should be
Who and what can I take and leave?

Will my love come along with me
Will my siblings or kids give me company
Will I have to be alone in the final journey
When my soul leaves behind the body?

Will the jewels and wealth be of any need
Or will the attires I had be of any use
Will I have to leave behind my lovely house
And all that I had prized along with my spouse?

Will the anger I sometimes showed
Over power the love I had showered
Will there be some cherished memories
Or remembered of my great follies

I know I would not need jewels or wealth
Nor would I need house or the clothes I held
For life is short and full of surprises
And we are left with no choices.

I realize that all I want before I leave
Are some fond memories and happy thoughts
By leading a life filled with joy and cheer
And be remembered by all I hold dear.

Friendship is what we did share
Relationship so very genuine and rare
And then some acts I began to misdo
Too late when I began to rue.

A jealous feeling engulfed me
For I wanted friends to be close to me
And so I tied an invisible rope
Binding them, and not able to cope.

Writhing very much, heart filled with pain
And yet from me they did not refrain
Waiting patiently for me to understand
That friendship sans any type of band.

Fool that I was I failed to get the message
Bind I did tighten, and created a slippage.
Endurance power they seemed to lose
And soon to me they bid their adieus.

I stand all alone looking at the horizon
Because of the folly never to be undone.
Filling my heart with feelings of jealousy
Losing everything, I wander aimlessly.

To my mother

As I entered my mother’s place

I felt a shiver run down my spine
Waiting were you inside the ice box
For your son to have a glimpse of you.

Your face showing a look of serene
As if under the caress of gentle sleep
Decades of pain you went through
Now you are released from all sorrow.

Kith and kin paid their condolences
Crying out loud - why you had to leave
And this ma makes me wonder
Are you aware of the love they shower?

Their heart filled with gratitude
Your generosity they had forever valued
For even in times of pain all day through
You invited them with a loving smile

It hurts a lot to let you go
But we were given no other choice
And then I feel you sent a smile
A smile that says I am with you.

A whisper too you send to me
Telling us not to grieve
For you have joined dad above
To shower us with eternal love.

The blind beggar

Seated on a bus by the window side
I saw him climb up with cane as aide
His eyes covered with dark glasses
He extends the bowl to the masses.

Tapping his cane he reaches each seat
Saddening the travellers at his pitiable plight,
Into his bowl the coins find the way
He profusely thanks and moves away.

The driver returns to start the bus
We shout out to him in chorus
Helping the blind man climb down
Happy we feel to erase his frown.

As the bus moves, I happen to notice
A Change in our blind man’s status
Dark glasses his face sans
And the cane waving in his hands.

Laughing heartily as I look by
He bids me a barbed goodbye
From the bowl he counts the coins
Moving ahead his group he joins.

The manipulated lot

None to care or show concern
Different places they stand to earn
Be it temple entrance or street side
Garbage bins or station platforms they reside.

Some blind, some dumb too
Sick to the core, their numbers accrue
Some handless, yet some on crutches
Their face is marked by wrinkles and creases.

Tapping at your car window
You see a face filled with sorrow
Eyes that sunk deep by starvation
Dishevelled revealing poverty-stricken

As you lower down the window pane
You notice her with kid deep in pain
She says, "hungry ma for many days
A little mercy would show some ways."

Suddenly you see her face turn in fear
Her emotions seem totally unclear
Turning towards the direction of her eyes
You see a man one would sure despise.

The sad plight of these beggars
Is revealed when they hand over
What they earned by way of begging
To the ruffian, without thinking.

Taking away the lion’s share
He moves away as they stare
And meekly the beggars go their way
For tomorrow they face another hard day.