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A boy fell for a dame.
The wheel of time rotated fast.
He came of age and Destiny willed.
He was wedded to a life partner,
Not the one whom he cherished and adored,
But the one whom all others coveted.
He played a hubby good,
Did all the chores as a wedded partner.
None could blame him for a while.
But the old flame stood still,
In the book and volume of his psyche.
II
When he was alone and when he saw
Pairs loving, moving hand in hand with each other,
As hubby and wife together,
He was seized with a frenzy acute,
No less than a lunatic’s absolute.
He wanted to shout to all,
The flame of love for his maid was still alive,
Though he was tethered to his wife.
None bought his ideas queer,
That he loved his wedded partner no less but his maid more.
Some cronies sympathized while others chuckled;
Some dubbed him a case “abnormal”.
III
Believe me, he faced torments great,
Both within and without.
None could believe the cycles of the decades three
Could not drive his maid out
From the mansion of his mind and heart stout.
Whenever he got an audience good,
He offered his paeans of love as food.
Heavens heard his prayers great,
He moved for an assignment new;
Though he was not separated yet.
IV
At the city new, he had the freedom
To adore the maid dear,
Now he's settled for his comforts old,
Like a diamond in the gold.
Can you guess the lover and the maid?
You can’t!
For the lover is none,
But the being of one who scribbles it down.
Guess his wife?
The department of customs and central excise
His maid’s name is English poetry.
The maid whom everyone seeks to solicit.
But she obliges those few
That have been bestowed with sensibility great,
And a worthy tongue to sing her praise.
(Note - This piece reveals my dilemma. While working in the Central Excise & Customs department, I had to deal with dull and dreary subjects of taxation laws, far away from the luscious experience of enjoying poetry. But this estrangement was over after 25 years in 2010.) |
