Perspective

Remember that conversation,
Of which you weren't really a part,

Cos twas between some others,

But you had no choice but to hear along?

Twas one such overheard conversation,

Between two pals who journeyed along,

A couple of seats away from me,

On a day not so long.

They were both young and exuberant,

Wanting to take the world by storm,

Both of them had high aspirations,

And dreams to have it all.

They spoke of their plans for the future,

Of grandeur days ahead,

The way their career would progress,

And mansions they would build.

Even as they conversed amongst them, 

I wondered how they'd both,

Face the challenges thrown their way,

How they'd play the game of life set ahead for them.

I glanced out the window deep in my thoughts,

And saw below the fluffy clouds, 

Beyond the rays that caught my eye,

The mansions and dotted landscape of flats,

All look like Legos scattered from the sky!

Listen

Are you a good listener, the preacher asked on a Sunday,

Do you hear what is being said and understand?
Do you try to piece together the context with the words,
Catch the nuances of what is left unsaid?

Or are you pretending to listen,
While coining a response in your head,
Rephrasing it a million times in your mind,
Wanting your response to sound the best?

Or are you even hearing, what is being said,
Listening? Forget it, is not even a part of your disposition,
You’re busy having conversations, with the noises in your head,
Leaving little ear for listening in to conversations.

Lift your head sometimes, he said,
Listen in to tales and connotations,
You might be surprised at times,
When you take time to be still, be open and listen!

My portion of the sky!

Don’t you feel you’re living in a concrete jungle,

With brick and mortar rising tall and high?

Often seeming to have a life of their own,

Springing up overnight where they weren’t before?

Sometimes in shapes resembling the next,

Oft one floor higher than the rest.

You hear the motor chugging, the drilling sounds echo,

The droning noise carries itself round and round,

Filling the air with a presence you just can’t ignore.

Don’t you feel your heart beat, in time to this tone?

There’s always work going on, something new being built,

You bet that’s another structure taller than the rest.

Are we any different from our predecessors?

Have we learnt any lessons from our ancestors?

Just beyond these concrete structures, the tombs you can see,

Of seven kings who reigned this land not that long ago,

Their only wish seemed, to be, bigger than the former,

And so, they built their own tombs magnificent and taller, than the rest.

Is it a wonder then, that my heart should sing,

When I see an empty plot right next to my inn?

It might be in line, waiting to spring,

A structure more grandiose than the ones next to it,

Till then I get more than the concrete jungle around,

Until then I have open access to a portion of the sky!