a loser

you surely have won and are at a place i have longed to be at, all my life..
they say, and as they say, you are a gifted soul..
you have got a good strategy, and an attitude to conquer and make everything of the opportunity that comes to you..
now you are at the peak of the mountain,
while im lost here in the doldrums of the desert.

you struck the right gold soon..
and listened to, and followed the paths winners have laid..
while i went wherever my wavery mind took me,
a big risk for a person like me..with no one to guide

i have, indeed blundered unforgivably in my past..
have been too complacent, and im paying for it
but what matters the most to me, is that
i know why my present is, the way it is

i havent earned a millionth of what u now possess,
but i have learnt about my secret treasure..
the bundles of mistakes i have made,
both by lack of chance, and lack of sense..

now, failure is one's biggest fear,
for u suffer a lot from the fall from the peak.
u for sure, have a great life up there..
but im proud that life has made
that fear a habit,
now immune in me..

i might never be able to reach the cliff on which u r,
but, i shall, someday, find the right 'road not taken',
and make a hillock of my own,
atop of which, i can see the once-scary desert
as a silent distant route

and shall cherish the feeling
that you've probably never been aware of-
-or perhaps you have forgotten,
that once, long ago, for a moment or so, you were lost like i am..
those like u have once been someone just like me,
looking up to the mountain--
a loser

have you ever really...??

ever clothed the aging lady lying by the winter lane?
ever given that half filled pepsi can to the hungry boy at the park,
or bought a pencil for the kid of your watchman, busy learning from the sand..??
have you ever let the helpless cross the busy road..
gave way to the ambulance, while rushing for a meeting,
or let the old or weak have their seat in the bus??

ever saved ur pocket money-ur 'the' asset-to buy mom a radio?
ever surprised parents by reaching a day ahead, back from hostel..??
have you ever held your umbrella for four,
or paid a coin extra to the man serving cane juice on the summer mid-day?
ever let your younger sibling have that extra share of cake,
or made a call to a distant lonely relative just to 'catch up'?

have you ever taught your maid's kid how to add,
ever switched the radio for dad's classics when it was the rare hour of rock??
ever done the dishes long before mom reached home, tired..?
have you ever waited patiently for a friend to catch a tune?
served chilled water to the old man buying paper, dying to make ends meet,
or sacrificed the one-important-appointment to cheer up your beloved??

ever given your blood,
or atleast, your time to listen to what your grandparents want to tell you??
ever planted a kiss on the abandoned cat's head??
ever grew a tree in memory of someone, or just like that!?
have you ever been a hint of music to the deaf,
a shade of rainbow to the blind, or a voice of confidence to the speechless??

ever felt like god??

a tribute

i sip another..yet another dash of lemonade
in the scorching sun melting the walls of my home
listening to the most melodious tunes
the headsets bring me cool bliss
and oh, the newly fit ac is running well too..
and as im so busy, catching up with all the action
ive been missing for the past sem,
the 5-second gap tween the music tracks brought me back to reality
to the world around me..in my very home..'house', that is..
for it's being 'refurnished'...a facelift it had always deserved.
what occured to me was not the will to wait for the next song to come,
but the rhythm of the carpenter's saw grating its way over the plywood.
he's been there..a howard roark of a sort, working with what the world treats him best at..
since morning, this summer day..hands moulded themselves
to hold the tape with such precision..an engineer??
nay, just another man of labour..but what makes him so perfect??
i am sure that the best of the well paid iitians
cannot use fevicol for the decolum with such accuracy..not a drop wasted..
not a minute taken to rest.
bending and mending, he works his way,
as in no time, he builds a marvel in wood.
..a marvel without which the 'house' would remain one,
and not a 'home'..a place with cherished mementos shelved..

it's then, that i realise
that though he doesnt see life as i do-
-no books, eat streets, computers in his world-
it is me, who is inferior, to this creator
who builds what matters a lot to us..
who helps build the soul of the place i live,
to help build his life..