This is the downside
     of scholarship:
     perched in the ivory tower
     it's estranged from common fellowship

    its myriad intellectual peers
    it leans to constantly keep
    upon others it tends to frown
    towards self-aggrandizement it stoops to leap.

You can't run away
from the 'collective they'
their full force is upon you=
every moment, every day

some might bring joy
others,  much chagrin
you're caught in the whirlpool
the rub and the grind

one would have thought
life is the culprit and the trouble
experience will prove you wrong
the truth is lamentably---people!

The 'collective they' is ubiquitous:
it's at the market, your work-place
the church, the club, the tram, the beach
beware!  Your problems it will exacerbate!

You can't run away
from the 'collective they'
their force is upon you=
every moment, every day

some might bring joy
others,  chagrin
you're caught in the whirlpool
the rub and the grind

one would have thought
life is the culprit and trouble
experience will prove you wrong
the truth is---people!

The 'collective they' is ubiquitous:
it's at the market, your work-place
the church, the club, the tram, the beach
beware! Your problems it will exacerbate !

The past:
some said
it was heaven-

others,  a burden
yet there were those
who believed
it was a prison
and a dreadful pain

and I
an ordinary guy
unlearnt
and never urbane

who dwells
in the present

pressed by
so many demands
have no time
to turn
to what went
before
and find
no gain
to tread
those paths again

isn't life so strange
people hardly learn
that all regret
and desiring
is but in vain?

Peace I've found
and such I've
managed to retain:
live the day well
in kindness
and gratitude
life then
would be
happy and sane
minus
the needless
angst and bane

Th self-diminishing
is life's greatest achieving

It was beneficial -
I was young and foolish
life's basic lessons I acquired
the better became my future

the world is never
as one would conceive
much deception does loom
and cause widespread grief

I was foolish and young
wise words from none did I receive
my way I had to find over time
but with experience in well-living I did succeed

Too much sugar
such can you bear?
Some discontent
life must have :
any surfeit
would lack
a fine fit

too much salt?
All will avoid:
things have
to be borne
in balance-
that's the best way
to live

and by now
my heart
you can easily read:
to extremes
it doesn't swing
it rests
on you
in harmonious beat

If life were all certainty
zombies we'd all be
gone would be the beauty
and the mystery!

The more you speak
or write--the more
will be your mistakes:
learn to be brief
your ignorance will not leak!

Much of life
is lacuna:
clarity is rare
understanding is far

love I will pursue
without any bar-
that's enough comfort
without the mar!

Confused and bewildered
   the common human lot:
   peace, calm and joy
   they have not

   their minds have
   too many a thought
   on none firmly anchored
   no gain or comfort is wrought

   silent I will keep
   in no fixity will I be caught
   the net of freedom I will cast
   my worries will be nought.

Life---waters uncharted
each has to struggle on their own
so many lost their way
left bereft, sad and alone

my boat I will construct
with my heart as my compass:
the wildest storms I will brave
and find the shore for my rest

.. but I'm no longer the idealistic person
   you knew long ago:
   I've greyed, changed and soured
   by what had gone before

   love, friendship and wonder
   they had all been washed ashore
   from life's once pure and serene water
   and they will return no more

   ah, beauty has withered
   and its voice is but a weak echo
   but when you were just twenty
   the meaning of life you'd hardly know

What can I give
if I've not?
Even if you were to strip me
nothing would be wrought

love long ago
in my youth I got
someone stole it away
and now I've nought

if you wish to give me
I'll accept the whole lot:
by some mystery -  a new path
of love I might once again trod

The beauty outside
is only physical
that which is most beautiful
resides inside

Myself I have
that's enough
with the grain
I care not the chaff

The smartest
have their deficient ways
the dullest
have their some bright days

This man
   in my imagination :
    he loved not
    nor was he loved
    lived alone
    in the distant remote
    tilled a tiny farm
    troubled no one
    the world he gave up
    questions he didn't ask
    to him happiness
    never entered his mind
    and such
   he cared not to find

   one day a terminal illness
   fell suddenly on him
   and to himself he said:
   I'm about to depart
   who would take care
    of my farm?

People don't respond to reason
much more to their mood:
know how to read them
lest they turn unreasonable or rude

Easy to remember
hard to forget
this is the human lot-
the result is endless regret

I dare to be wrong
knowing I'm not always right:
this will testify whether
I'm morally weak or strong

how sure is the crowd
how loud they beat their gong
aside I stand to watch and reflect
but to them I can't belong

My vulnerability is my strength:
I've set patience in place and am forearmed
into life's murky waters I fearlessly wade
I suffer not the least of  harm

the strong are complacent
they proudly proclaim their certainty
unprepared for any contingency
they fall apart in their adversity

thus, this anthem I'll sing unreservedly:
I triumph ultimately in my vulnerability

That which is forced
knows no peaceful course

Love is viewed not with objectivity, but subjectivity

Know less
feel more
with life's joy
you will better score

If by everyone else
you're loved
but love not your self-
where's the worth?

The world might dance
in abundant mirth
but it means nothing
if you aren't girded!

Don't just say:
'I love you':
prove it
let it be true!

It might not be
the best landing-place
but be grateful
if it contains some grace

Don't follow me
you know not my folly:
look within yourself-
you'll need nothing else

If you've loved
you've understood
it might be sour
or good

if you haven't
the story is different :
love must be lived within
to make sense

I have no religion:
only that poetry and music
has led me to an indescribably
sublime and divine region

The day is most likely
to be marked by grind and clamour
but there's nothing that will
make me lose my  sense of humour

Some fear the night
but its hours I like
inspiration from such
I draw to write:

the day's harshness
has all taken flight
the silence soothes
under the moonlight

they who fear the night
have something to hide
the darkness threatens
they feel safer in the light

I'm a friend of the night
in a bond that I take pride:
my door is open to you
at these hours--you're welcome inside!

Much of life is murky
we've to learn how
and where to see
in our journey

lost they are too many
despite the best intentionality:
life hides its true identity
it thrives on its mystery

It's not popular--truth
to most it doesn't suit

Not everyone likes
to be hugged or embraced
stretching out your hand
is often enough grace

Give me someone
without blemish:
his friendship
I'll readily cherish

What matters
is personal freedom
that which is social, national
or international is bunkum

When those who are broken
have emerged from the ruins
which they have undergone
they are each an eternal star born

never to fear again
nor have any need to moan:
all darkness has been dispelled
and the most endurable courage is earned.

There are many occasions in our life which make us indignant-
when our self-respect, integrity, freedom or right are being challenged or threatened.
We can't say 'never mind' and walk away--that would be a lack of moral courage and would diminish us.

It isn't our intention to fight or be in variance with others-
our recourse to indignation is the measure of what we stand for.
This has nothing to do with heroism or self-aggrandisement-
far from it.  It's as though we have been driven by others to the wall on account of their malice, spite or even schadenfreude in the extreme.

There's no Machiavellian element in our response and we have no reason to apologise or explain.

The cathartic feeling we'd have is therapeutic as we'd have shaken up the offending party.

Bravo for our moral indignation!  We'd not go down in history as heroes but would have become larger than ourselves.
Those who have watched us might be inspired to do the same and be grateful to have been around at this moment of truth.

I'm human
not an advertisement
not a trading item
in the supermarket frame

I thrive on commonsense
to me much of philosophy is nonsense

...but love is not reason
    most of it is imagination

When we came to know
what we wanted not
that would be a moment
of truth-  wisdom we'd have got!

I've no money
but can write poetry
despite  owning very little
I'm totally happy

if I were to
have money
but can't write poetry
that would be my misery

so I conclude --happily:
between being wealthy
and writing poetry
the latter I'll celebrate fully!

A few might like me
many might not
but I'm a stoic
it doesn't affect my thought

I've trained myself
not to be caught
by external circumstances
in this my freedom is wrought

So you want a favour
whom should you ask thereof?
it's none other than the person
you know best--your own self!

This is the education
of illness:
your wings are clipped
humility makes its appearance

I came last
but learnt so much!

Don't split hair
with him
he's bald-
that's really unfair!