In the warmth of a summer sunset I sat idle on the sea shore Looking at the grey enormity That heaved and swelled in turn
As I looked on, the breakers rose high Thundering sea waves dashed And crashed over the boulders Before me was the wild brutality of the sea! Though at times she is calm and windless, A smoldering volcano lies beneath her surface
I sat away from the crowd In a cool squire of quiet Inhaling the briny air And enjoying the foam and spray My mind then was light as that of a child That plays on the sea shore, making sand castles I watched small boats carrying men They were heading towards the Casino Moored in the inlet of the sea I felt those men were like flies lured by the flame They come either to perish or to prosper Most of them go back with empty wallets Very few fortunate to splurge in money newly amassed
My eyes stretched far into the horizon Bound by a vault of azure sky Swallows were circling beneath tangled clouds The tall masts of ships could be seen at a distance I watched waves taking the shape of curving scrolls Dolphins were seen leaping over the waters And ever growing ripples drifted and strayed As the fabric of blue got continuously shredded
For fun I scribbled my name on the sands But a wave came crashing against the shore And the very next moment washed it away Was it here or there, I had scrawled my signature I don’t know. It has vanished leaving no trace
Suddenly from a child, I grew into a sage How transient is man’s life on Earth How very tiny we are Set against the vastness of the sea In the wide expanse of life, as on a sea shore We scribble our names to stay But Alas! Some unknown hands wipe them away
It dawned on me that with time’s ceaseless flow The world will continue to speed away Without you or me Leaving no memorials behind!
In my sixties, I have begun more often to brood over the transience of life !