#volunteering
1.
I successfully survived the accident,
Thanks to my good Karma in this life
Not in a previous one.
2.
In '09-10, I volunteered for the society,
Educating underprivileged kids and
Their parents too.
3.
Now I'm a successful professional,
Thanks to equitable opportunities
Available in Bháràŧà.
4.
I may have lost my golden years,
But I am in no way literally lost
In the competition.
5.
That accident triggered a cascade,
A chain of unfavourable events
In my family.
6.
My mother lost her knee caps,
Due to her efforts to bring me back
And long standing hours for that.
7.
My father broke his acetabulum,
When trying to save me from falling
While he retrained me.
8.
But I'm thankful to Bhàgàwán,
That both of them are alive
And I'm finally successful.
9.
I don't resent my destiny,
For costing me more than
A complete decade.
10.
My ordeal began on May 7, 2010,
When I landed inside the hospital
On my potential deathbed.
11.
But I knew that I must survive,
For my sentence is not yet over
Here on this planet.
12.
My spirit didn't depart that day,
Although I lost years & friends
Due to the accident.
13.
I didn't fall from Grace of the Lord,
Instead I was sent back with a mission
Amidst the humans.
14.
To teach the lesson of love,
Not through conversion
Or bloodshed.
15.
But through the words of wisdom,
Consideration, love, truth
And experience.
16.
Through these poems of decency,
Rhyme, structure, rhythm
And magic.
17.
The magic is love,
The structure is evident
And the rhythm is so divine.
18.
My parents smiling is my success,
The golden sheen of future
Is my redemption.
19.
In the end,
I speak to you, O Gauri,
You do realise that you're my future.
20.
To you I have promised,
The intensity and the
Love you deserve.
21.
Not short of words ever,
Not because of vocabulary
But because of my passion.
22.
The passion for my life,
The passion for my love
And my love is you.
23.
Never forget what you want,
I'm solely yours, darling,
Yes, you want me.
Jul 3, 2024
Jul 3, 2024 at 8:59 PM UTC
On a recent Saturday morning, I was blue-collar grinding (volunteering at a local hospital), when one of the doctors I've wo-manually labored for stopped by briefly to check on a patient. She had her young daughter, Ivy, in tow. I’d met little Ivy before. The doctor asked me, “Would you mind keeping an eye on Ivy for a minute?” “Sure!” I committed, bending down to get eye-to-eye with the girl and engage.
Ivy’s an adorable little human. She’s a sober 4 year old, about three and a half feet tall, with wavy chestnut brown hair down to her waist. She was wearing a yellow, “Beauty and the Beast” dress. Ivy’s into all things Disney (who the shiar isn’t?). Disney seems to home right in on impressionable young minds like hers and mine.
Ivy asked me, “If you could have a wish, what animal would you be?”
I believe we should talk to children as if they were adults - my parents were like that with me - which partially consists of complicating basic ideas and observing where the kids go with it.
“Where would I BE, as this animal?” I asked, after all, it was an important consideration.
“What do you mean?” she asked, puzzled but genuinely interested.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to suddenly become an elephant here in the hospital - would I - or a bear in the middle of the ocean?”
“NNoooo,” she said, so scandalized that she took my hand to reassure me.
“I’d probably want to be an alpha predator too,” I was thinking out loud now, “you know - no use becoming an animal only to get eaten.” She nodded, scouring me with her wide, unblinking, brown eyes and I finished with, “since humans are the #1 alpha predator, I suppose I’d like to be.. me.”
“NNooo,” she said, sternly. Her body language radiated impatience. She’d decided that I hadn’t understood the question - or I didn’t appreciate the magic possibilities of transformation.
Her mom returned, just then, and after touching base with the duty nurse, she turned to Ivy and me, “Ready to go?” she asked. Ivy immediately changed allegiance by releasing my hand and taking hers.
Doctor-mom thanked me and as they walked away, Ivy gave me a bashful, half hearted, goodbye wave.
I’ve discovered that if I do my volunteer work early on weekend mornings, from 6 to 10am, it's almost like it never happened at all. Afterwards, I’m not tired and I have the rest of my day free. I had to give up something, of course - my early, weekend, antisocial coffee consumption and writing time.
Coffee shops are my favorite places to write but few of them are open at sunrise. I’d found one that I liked close to my dorm. The most direct route is to walk through an old cemetery. At sunrise it can be dark, foggy and dew soaked - a scene right out of “Night of the living Dead” - creepy-ish, but I’d take the shortcut every time.
Nov 9, 2022
Nov 9, 2022 at 12:35 AM UTC
Sophomore year’s clocked-up my free time. Last summer I made some core promises (to my mom) to go harder on the pre-med track. Perfect grades are ok, I’m told, but they’re underdog, alone. So, this year, my “spare” time is split between hospital volunteering and a (nominally) paid research project. The goal of all this hustle is to pad my resume up, as proffer, for a 2025 med school slot. I’ve never felt so observed, judged and weekendless, but playas gotta play.
Last week, Peter (let’s call him my BF) was invited to some random alumni event. He wasn’t excited about it, but he thought, “Ooo, free meal.” Actors and doctoral students are all about free food. Then, after he signed onto it, they told him the group was going, by train to Washington DC, on an overnight trip (all expenses paid) where they’d visit the White House and meet the President.
They took the train through New York and down to DC arriving late at night and then they had to meet in the lobby, the following morning, at 7am to get COVID tested for the White House. He said the White House experience, and the meet-and-greet seemed surreal. While he didn’t get to meet Joe, he shook Jill Biden’s hand, and in a parting, fog-headed moment, suggested she “have a good one.” (Hopefully, she did.)
As an extra, on the way back, at union station in DC, they heard gunshots and there were a few tense moments where they saw people in the station (outside the train) running about in panic. Eventually, security pronounced everything safe. A man WAS shot in the foot but that passes for a calm night in DC. All-in-all the event and train travel made for an exhausting trip for poor Peter.
Bizz, BIZZ-BIZZ-BIZZ. At first, the alarm sound seemed unreal and unimportant. I opened my eyes and through my three, open dorm windows, I could see stars still flickering busily, like light off of so much broken glass. “What?” I mumbled.
“I have to go,” Peter said drowsily, as he kissed my forehead, “it’s getting early.”
It seemed I blinked, and he was gone. After he left, I woke up several times. The silence seemed heavy, almost solid and it easily pressed me back into sleep.
Oct 13, 2022
Oct 13, 2022 at 12:40 PM UTC
Two different churches, two denominations
Two separate cities, a real conglomeration
Coming together to help those in need
First as strangers replaced by fast friends indeed
And we, though many, begin to be one
Throughout work and during play
Dew in morn, crew time at end of day
Working side by side, laughing, crying, sharing,
Praying, growing, changing, and above all: caring
And we, though many, are becoming one
Sharing a meal, the churches; they two
A common bond is shared between me and you
New friends are made as time goes along
Doubting no longer; happy you were wrong
And we, though many, are nearly one
A family we are now: close knit and firm
Through our experiences, much we have learned
A power there is, far great than any;
That makes beautiful the one with the many
And we, who were many, are now as ONE!
May 27, 2014
May 27, 2014 at 12:21 PM UTC
To new friends and family made this week:
Warm Fuzzies, crew time, RECORD HEAT!!
Time spent together: laughter, sweat, and tears,
A relationship to grow in future years.
Songs, prayer and fellowship abound,
Hugs, smiles, and joy all around!
The work completed a testament to:
The fact that, with God, all things we can do.
We seek you Lord; hide not from us your face,
And help us Lord to persevere as we each must run the race.
You have blessed us with many gifts indeed
Remind us You are there, in our every need.
Thank you for keeping us safe from harm
And in Your loving embrace please keep us warm!
We love You, thank You, and praise You Jesus Christ.
AMEN!
St. John Neumann and St. Marks ASP 2012
May 26, 2014
May 26, 2014 at 12:52 AM UTC