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 !