I am the ocean, some call me the sea
I have many names in different languages
I  was one of the first things to be created
Life upon earth began inside of me

I have been around for so long, I have lost track
Of how many millions of years or even billions of years
Many creatures were born and lived inside of me
So many are lost forever, never to be seen

Man has been fascinated by my might and power
He has travelled upon my back to far-off lands
And if I am in an angry mood, I drag all
Who rides on my back into my belly, deep down

I was there before the land was created, long before
I can swallow all of the land, ask the ones inside of me
I am not an angry, menacing monster, please note
I am the sea, a massive collection of all the waters

When the river empties itself into me, it trembles
Water is like me, but my mighr terrifies it
Yet the river knows there is no turning back
It empties itself into me and becomes a part of me

I look at the tree standing tall
It's just standing there in rain and shine, and wind
It doesn't move,  it doesn't talk, not a sound
Sometimes I wonder, what is going on inside of it

The tree is there to serve us, asking for nothing
No rent is charged to the birds that make it their home
No sitting charge, no waiting charge, no matter
For how long you stay on its branch or under its shade

Apart from that, the tree is giving us flowers and fruits
It produces them for the birds and animals to consume
It consumes none of its output, only gives it away  
To come and take as much as you can FOC

I sometimes wonder, is this tree for real
How can you give, give, give and only ask
That you leave it alone to do its work
It's work of serving you wholly and totally

I salute you, O Tree, and I salute your creator
For all that you do, for all that you do
For the birds, animals, humans, and even insects
Thank you, O Tree. Thank you, O Tree

School is beautiful, school is great
School provides us with an outlet , taps into our talent
School is where we learn new things and make friends
Friendships which some of us will carry well into adulthood

Were it not for school, where would we learn
And how would we know what we are good at
What we are not good at, what we  like, dislike
How would we learn tolerance and understanding

Tolerance and understanding  make us better human beings
Were it not for school, would we learn to read and write
Had they not gone to school, Dickens, Tolkien, and Twain
Would never have written the classics they did

School also teaches us the importance of numbers
Successful and rich people know their numbers
Money likes those who know their numbers
That's why the majority of people remain poor

School teaches us so many different things, so many
Some things help us in life, after school, others never to use
But knowledge is power, and its good to know
That we can stride out into the world with full confidence

Who am I in this world we call Earth, and our home
By species, I am a human being, supposedly master of all other species
We were made to look after and care for this planet called Earth

Instead we have ravaged, plundered and ***** the planet earth
In our blind quest to obtain control and dominance over all

Are humans masters or slaves of their egos, their pride
Humans believe they are invincible, they can do anything, to anyone
Man's greatest enemy is man himself, a beast beyond all beasts
So, who am I, man, the master or man, the beast of all beasts

I am two sides of the same coin, the master and the beast
There is a struggle inside of me for dominance, for control
Sometimes the master wins, other times the beast wins


I fear, I fear the beast will gain control and dominance over me
I have seen the power of the beast unleashed, a madness, a rage
A madness, a rage only a beast from hell can possess, it scares me

So, who am I, man, the master or the beast from hell
It's very difficult to know, as I keep changing all the time
Will someone please tell me, please tell me, please tell me
Who am I, Who am I, Who am I

Fear is the key, Fear is the key
Fear is the key to unlock all the doors
Fear can make you stand still, rooted to the ground
Like a giant oak tree which has stood unmovable for decades

Fear can also give you a turbo-boosting propulsion
Like a rocket launching into space  at supersonic speed
Fear can lock the propulsion inside of you, hidden all along
Like a giant mass of icebergs beneath the ocean

Fear nothing but fear itself
Fear is good, Fear Is Bad, But Fear Is Necessary
Fear Is Necessary For Your Survival, Know Danger
For If You Know Not Fear, You Know No Danger

Know Fear, Understand The Fear. Embrace Fear
But Do Not Let Fear Control You, Rule You
Fear Is An Insidious type that can Creep Up Behind You
Always There Lurking In The Shadows

Who am I in this vast, open earth of different species
A species of the human race created from a clot of blood in the womb of a woman
One of a billion or more humans all created in the same way
But why was I created, what is my purpose on this vast earth
For surely nothing was created without purpose, otherwise why create at all?

So I was born in a hospital somewhere and there was happiness all around upon my arrival.
A new addition to the family someone to carry on the family name
I came into this world crying and all around me people were laughing with joy
If my arrival brought happiness why was I crying so much?
And so begs the question who am I and why was I created?

Like all humans, I was given a name to identify and make me unique.
Different cultures have different ways and different ceremonies to name their newborns.
But how come of all the species on this earth only human beings have names
Why don't animals, birds, insects who also produce offspring don't give names

So why was I created and what is my purpose on this earth?
I am still trying to find that out, just like a billion other human beings
After all, it cannot be that we were just put here on this earth
Everything that is here was put here for a purpose, a reason

I am sitting at a roadside café relishing the taste of freshly brewed coffee.
The waiter who brings me my coffee and croissants knows why he is there
To ensure the food and drinks I have ordered get to me on time
The right things are delivered to the right people at the right time

I also know why I am at the roadside café sipping hot coffee and enjoying hot delicious croissants.
I am searching for the answer to my lifelong question
Who am I?
I gaze deeply into my coffee, hoping to find the answer there
But all I see is a hot brown liquid with a fresh sensory smell

My name is Umrao Jaan. I am a Tawaif, an Indian Classical Dancer, Singer
My other names are Saheb e jaan, Nargis, and Anarkali, many names I have
I am trained in fine arts like classical dancing and music by ustaads or teachers

My work was to entertain kings, noblemen and wealthy patrons who visited my court.
My court is known as a kotha in the Hindi Language, my residence and workplace
Here I reside with my family, my sisters in trade and our fellow musicians.
We are financially well off, but what we yearn for, love and respect, we do not get

Trained as artists who entertain kings and nobility, we are sadly now disrespected
Our services now are desired not for their true value but to satisfy desires.
The desires of wealthy men who treat us as concubines but will never respect us
Sadly, the nobility and value of our profession have been eroded completely now.

This erosion started with the British Raj when they colonised India
They never valued our services and degraded us to the level of vaishyas(prostitutes)
The evil that men do lives on after them, and the good they do is buried in their bones
Even after India gained independence, the cultural values of the Tawaifs were never restored
It died with the end of the reign of Akbar, Shah Jahan and other Mughal kings