The leaf that does, forever, float
At the whim and fancy of each wave,
Does it ever, I often wonder, Ashok
Think of drowning or the need to shout, “save”.

I fancy not, O Enquirer
For, it simply lives its life,
It’s a leaf,  it knows, and not a bird
Fly it can’t, and so, must play the musical fife.

Lying on it’s back, as it were
The Sun, the stars, and the shining moon
All, in view all the time,
The music and dance must be fun

Dark nights too, a part of its life
As the Moon goes a hiding somewhere,
An unknown tryst with a lover maybe
Another admirer, someplace out there.

We’re all assigned a role, you know
All actors on some stage,
The tree, the bird, the mountain top
All from the Book called Life, each a different page.

The leaf, too, does toss and turn
With the slam of the mighty typhoon,
To then be assuaged by the gentle wave
Peace, in its floating cocoon

And, when it’s sailed the oceans
From shore to shore a million times,
Filled with memories sublime, divine
And some, with the out of step rhyme

It knows, soaked as it is lying on its back
Drenched, to the very core,
Some are destined to the bed of the ocean
And some, to the other shore

But, you only get what is destined for you
When time rings that alarm,
Why worry about that final “ring” now
And cause oneself, avoidable, harm.

So , as they say, idiomatically,  folks
Take a leaf out of this “Leaf’s” book,
Look ahead and at the skies above
And, surround yourself with love.

Even trying times know they must end
To the Will of God we must all bend,
Earthquakes, Tsunamis,  Volcanoes, Asteroids
With smiles and more, let’s fill the voids.

Keep prayer on your lips, O Kaafir you too
This is no time for blasphemous shout,
For, we well know that, in your heart of hearts
You are, for sure, plagued by Doubt.

Let’s take this Covid 19 for now,
Let’s vouch to work in Unison,
All together of one heart
A battle we must, and will win

Like, the leaf charmed by the waves
An amalgam of memories, good and sad,
That is just what we all are, no one different
All happy, glum, crying and glad.

(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)