At the traffic signal, I crawl up
Next to my friend's Mercedes
My thirty-three year old scooter
Hardly one-fourth its length.
My friend, his business worth crores
Puts down his Blackberry on the table
Beside my five-year old Nokia,
Scratched, scarred, and shoddy.
He hugs me, his cologne- laced shirt
Wrinkles its nose
At my faded cotton -
It tries to hide the button-less hole.
He said how, one day
He had this vision of a huge Banyan-like tree
Ants marching, monkeys jumping
Birds singing
Children playing, plucking fruits.
He talks about his mission
About the five thousand acre arid land
Turning it green, growing organic cotton.
He talks about his company
Employees more than five thousand
About his effluent treatment plant
Where, even the sludge, bacteria-treated
Lets onions bloom beneath the soil.
My friend's arm thrown over my shoulder
I remember how I once saved his life
From drowning in the river.
Osho says do not compare
Accept the you you are.
I guess I have to accept
That Giant Redwoods
And coarse grass as well
Have their own places in the grand scheme of things.
************* Balachandran,
Very true Balnji everything has its own space in the scheme of things. Very thought provocative. Enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteyou are not just part of someone else's grand scheme, Bala, you are the grand scheme itself.
ReplyDeleteAsk K
i hate it if u had felt a tinge of sadness in the comaprison.im sure u r far more eligible in so many things than lot others are.including the Mercedeswala.
ReplyDeletebtw,nice template.
@Me-aow: No, no. No sadness or envy. You see, the good fortune of your friends is your own. For eg., I was telling somebody about this friend and that he had breakfast at my house, I could see the respect in that man's eyes. 'Oh you are that close with him!' Yet, like Kuchela, one cannot help feeling crestfallen that one missed the opportunities to grow, for whatever reasons. Grow in the sense of utilizing the time given to one in the most possible productive manner. It is like what the grasshopper feels about the ant. But in a way, I too have contributed to his fortune - by jumping into the falls at Aathirappally and saving him. It was long ago, about 25 or 26 years back. There were about 7 of us. Only I jumped into the swirling waters, risking my life. So you see, I am part of the plan too!
ReplyDelete@K, Gopu: Glad you liked it. I am trying to reflect on the lessons life teaches me. The aesthetics of poetry is secondary to the thought.
First will have to copmpliment the new look of the blog and the lovely painting that goes with this beautiful verse. Coming to the content, will just say that modesty and imodesty both have their own importance, had you not saved this man, he would not have given employment to so many, niether grown organic coton, leave alone the merc and the bluberry!!
ReplyDeletenice :)
ReplyDeletePeriwinkle: Somehow I had missed your last post. I wanted to comment but don't know why, the comment link was not opening! :( . whats wrong?
ReplyDeleteExcellent!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete