As we all know
Life is full of ups and downs
However, a lot of people advise you
To see the positive side of everything that happens
Well, it's not exactly an impossible task
But easier said than done
For instance, if you've lost someone close to you
You'd be hard-placed to find any positives in that
After all, once someone is gone
S/he is gone forever
And all that remains of him/her
Is the memories that you carry with you
Of course, you do need to move on
And you become stronger in the process
But that's still nothing
Compared to the grief you've gone through
And the pains you've taken
In order to overcome that grief
And get your life back into top gear
Anyway, let's take a less extreme example
Imagine you are in Recruitment
And handling an extremely difficult requirement
Where finding the right people
Is even more difficult
Than booking a tatkal ticket through IRCTC
You do your very best
Search frantically in various portals
Talk to a truckload of people
Face rejection after rejection
But refuse to give up
And keep on searching
As well as talking
Till you somehow manage to find a couple of relevant candidates
Who are genuinely interested
However, your client rejects them
And thus you are back to square one
Well, there is a positive side in all this
You've now got more clarity on what the client wants
Or rather, doesn't want
But look at what it has cost you
All those hours you've spent
Are not going to come back
And on top of it
The requirement has become even more difficult
So, all those people who advise you
To see the positive side of everything that happens
Need to understand, once and for all
That it may be easy for them to say such things
But actually following their own advice
Is a different matter altogether

"Don't you know?
Poetry ain't my thunder today,"
I tell them.
It ain't my muse.
It doesn't fill me with sounds and suppositions and beautiful, beautiful melancholy today,
No.
No,
It hurts me.
Stabs me,
No,
Rolls me like dough in it's
maleable, hardened hands.
You
Are weak.
I
Am strong,
It says.
It snears,
A lion lurking over it's rounded and bloodied prey.
No.
Poetry ain't my friend today,
Friend.
Poetry won't save me.

Not today.

In the land of silk
goods traded hands-
cotton, ivory, wool, gold, and silver -
down one stretch of land

a down side to this trade
that led to much disarray
was the bandits and disease
that also traveled this way