The rearview mirror

Every once in a while, we do the inevitable gesture of looking back at our past. And we are confounded with a myriad tirade of emotions. We are either glad that things were not as bad as they seemed, or sad that they were not so good after all. We are either happy that the tumultuous ugly-duckling phase of our life is over, or we lament over its continuance. We are either happy that our past played a pivotal role in shaping our future, or we are sad for pretty much the same thing.

I did something similar in the past 2 hours. I went through the old neglected sectors of my hard disk (ah! I miss those primitive days of a simple, humble shoe-box!) And I came up with some really puerile stuff. Here is a poem I wrote in the beginning of my first year of graduation. (I used to flatter myself by calling them poems... I hope you allow me to live in my sweet ignorance.) The poem is about the truth of college life.

It’s a transition encompassed, in a step through a gate:
A transition from a time when ignorance was a virtue.
When a modest past merges with an extravagant uncertain future,
To give meaning and form to words like aim, dreams and expectations.

The media’s mirage slowly crumbles, as reality floats before the eye,
To prove that all that was heard from “experience” was, after all, just a lie.
No maidens or angelic incarnations. No comedic sidekicks to while away loose time.
No song and dance at the drop of a hat. All considered to be an integral part of being sublime.

The “extravagant uncertain future” slowly dissolves so that only “uncertain” is true.
And the notion that life would start with a step through a gate, was just a case where mind misconstrued.
The transition after all was just a change of costume. The gate by its side had a moat.
And the freedom that the soul wanted to rejoice, was the freedom of a hapless scapegoat.
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Such is the irony of life..... I still find this poem to be true..... lets give it some more years to cure... maybe it'll taste better.... maybe....

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