Tuesday, July 22, 2014

The Stubborn Break

My last poem was posted as a break from the Gratitude series, but the break seems to have made up its mind to stay a while longer. Although Gratitude 7 has been written, it is being saved for a certain occasion. Meanwhile there may be further Gratitude poems, but this one's a standalone outside the series as well. The thought process for this poem was triggered by a personal disappointment (note the first stanza), but then it went off in a different direction.
Let's see how it looks on paper... er, screen.
===================================
All

You think you've seen it all
Until you see your heroes fall --
Until you watch them go in circles, aimless
Like a little canoe in a riverine whirlpool,
Arms extended, feet unsteady, like children
Playing a game of Blind Man's Buff :
Groping and stumbling, the slightest shove
Throwing them off their paths.

You think you've heard it all
Until you hear a dying man's call,
Begging for life, crying for water,
For Mother, for child or beloved one --
Invisible, inaudible in a street crowded
With multitudes jostling for precious space,
Precious protest, precious commerce --
Each living off the other's life-blood.

You think you've done it all
Until you find an unbreached wall
Standing strong against your pride --
Brick on brick and mortar thick,
It holds its grandeur in your face
"I'm indestructible, invincible", it says, leering,
Daring you to ram it, scale it, conquer it,
To reduce it to rubble and ruin.

You think you have it all
Until you find all is nothing at all --
All is not enough if your idols crumble,
If your faith in humanity dies with a man
Crying on the street, if your priceless freedom
Is paid for by closing you in with walls.
For what seems to be all is hardly all at all,
And even if it is, it's still not enough.
===================================


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

HSMS Students Council, 2014-15... and good tidings!

People, this is a short post to share some overdue good news. This 1st of July, Tuesday, after a postponement due to rain, and finally braving the rain anyway, the HSMS Students Council 2014-15 were invested with their badges. The preceding Saturday, the Principal, Vice-Principals and some senior teachers had interviewed potential candidates for the various posts available to Class XII students...
The Badge. Slightly battered by
time, but hey, who cares?
(The Head Boy's badge is identical
except for being inscribed 'Boy'
in place of 'Girl'.)
... and I'm pleased and grateful to announce that they chose me as Head Girl! the second time I've held the top post in a school. To add to that, I've hardly been in HSMS for over a year.. I'm so damn happy!
It was a grand, grand moment, despite the rain, to wear that ornate badge and to take oath with the entire Council repeating after. The wait of so many days, the nerves during the interview, the speculation from all my friends, the three preceding years of student body work in two different schools culminates in this : the top post in my last year, not to mention
Alongside myself, my friend Nihal Singh was chosen as the Head Boy, a choice that I am hitherto happy with. He is formally new to this Council, although he did volunteer work with us last year. Hopefully his leadership alongside mine, and my collaboration with him, will enhance and fortify what the preceding Councils, including myself last year, have built.
Personally, I am loving the opportunity to finally lead the Council formally. After the seniors left school last year I was informally in charge, but this is a whole new ball game. As I write this, we have had our first meeting with the Council, wherein I have announced everyone's duties from this year's new roster, which combines my experience from being Coordinator last year with new ideas from Nihal and myself. We (the Heads) have also divided the supervisory duties between the two of us... let's see how it all works out, and please wish me (and all of us) luck.

P.S.: Pictures of badge coming soon! (Edit: included in post above).
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