Is this what it’s all about
The Plus’s and the Minus’s,
The simple arithmetic that rules all lives
Strengths and human weaknesses.

Black and white and the greys too
Rain and shine, bits of blue,
Silver linings to some clouds
And others, dark but very true.

The sweet sweat and toil of long ago
A fading haze in memory,
The salty drops of perspiration
And now, the slick contours of technology.

Antiques like worn-out feet
Bare-headed in the summer’s heat,
Unconditioned the sultry air
No summer’s conditioned, balmy, retreat.

The cycle and its punctured tale
A story all its very own,
No ‘choppers’ and flying wings
Everything simple, homegrown.

No fancy screens just chalk and slate
Banana leaves the fancy plate,
No fancy shoes, just plain feet
Ordinary lives in ordinary state.

Human values in a mother’s Lap
No ‘virtual’ sermons or webinars,
No dazzling lights, no late-night stuff
Just gazing at resplendent stars.

I could go on and on, forever and ever
But, Time’s the Master of one and all,
No ‘App’, no tube, no flix, no spaceship
Can save us from the eventual fall.

Let’s not gloat over where we are
A few more years add nothing to life,
If all you’ve done is amassed riches
Midst constant bickering and eternal strife.

O, for those golden days of blessed yore
Walks on sand and the sandy shore,
The only gold, the Sun above
Who would want anything more.

(The author is a prolific poet who has over 30 poetry books to his credit. He can be reached at ashoksawhny06@gmail.com/ www.ashoksawhny.com)