MY DESTINATION

They say, destination is fixed
before the birth of a man;
but still today I don't know
about my own destination
here n hereafter.

I don't know whence I sprang
nor where I have to go hereafter;
n in the blindman's alley
I'm absolutely lost,
assailed by doubts n distrusts.

Rudderless I drift away
on the shoreless waters of Eternity,
being buffeted by the bellowing waves
n the wildly whistling wind
from all directions.

Knowing nothing about my destination,
I lurch back n forth
with a distracted mind,
collecting weeds n pebbles
on the floating surface.

THE DOOR N THE MIRROR

Build a house
n fix the door.
Nail the mirror
in its place.
Let them look straight
at each other' face.

The visitor comes,
the door welcomes,
opens its arms
to receive the guest.
But here begins
another quest.

Faces ugly or lovely,
dreaded or undreaded,
repulsive or fanciful -
nothing escapes the mirror.
The glassy sentinel unmasks
the emotions of the comer.

The vulnerability of the door
Is guarded by the mirror,
Envied by all, they
serve best their owner.
They ever keep in mind
his fame n honour.

One day it so happened-
a storm rattled the doors,
n sent shudders to the core.
The door suddenly creaked,
n the mirror cracked,
n falling apart both shrieked.

SUCESS IS LIKE CLIMBING A TREE

Success is like climbing a tree -
a smooth, slippery tree,
One step up lets two steps down -
down n up
up n down
then u feel like a clown.
Even a slight hope of reaching
a crotch or a foothold
eludes you like a mirage.

If you are still daring,
n thru skill n strategem
somehow cross the hurdle
n reach atop the tree,
you are really very lucky.
Nothing succeeds like success.

But that is not all,
as the majority can't reach there.
Most still strive n scratch
at the rotund bottom,
with chances of slipping down
n breaking their vertebra.

Hare Ram! Hare Ram!
The shriek sound breaks the calm.
The climber in great agony
demands lotion n balm.

LIFE IS A RIDDLE

What were you before being born?
What are you now n here?
Where will you go hereafter? -
These questions haunt the mind
n set it in restless motion.

Life is an impregnable riddle.
Sphinx-like, difficult to solve,
neither sole body, nor sole soul,
but an admixture of both.
Virtues n vices are its ingredients.

To follow it aright, you needn't go
after the masses in the street,
nor after the tinopalish leaders,
who are all transparently naked
below their shining white apparel.

Solitude n silence
may taech you more of Life,
of common evil n of good,
than all the world can;
but first sever the thread of illusions

LIFE'S LITTLE IRONIES

I was born to be agrarian
in the sleepy lap of Nature,
but became a professor
with my academic venture.

I dreamt to be bureaucrat
riding the horses.
but became a civilian
hounded by the bosses.

I wanted a pack of sons
to illumine my house,
but got a pack of daughters
amid grudge n grouse.

I passed those exams
which looked to be tough,
but failed in those
which seemed to be untough.

I heartily greet
life's little ironies
that make us men
with additional calories.

MAN AND BEAST

Man n beast
have lived together
for ages past.
But in nature
n habits, they
are quite apart.

Being cerebral, man
thinks n acts
more wisely than
beast. But in
sex n impulse
beast is man.

Both eat, sleep
n copulate alike;
but then drift
quite apart like
a river boat
on turbulent waters.

In copulation, beast
may be more
exposed n vulgar;
in manners nil,
in culture zero,
in habits uglier.

But the beast does not aasail
his breathren without
a definite purpose.
Man is selfish,
down n out.