[Poem] To any Reader - by Robert Louis Stevenson

As from the house your mother sees
You playing round the garden trees,
So you may see, if you will look
Through the windows of this book,
Another child, far, far away,
And in another garden, play.
But do not think you can at all,
By knocking on the window, call
That child to hear you. He intent
Is all on his play-business bent.
He does not hear, he will not look,
Nor yet be lured out of this book.
For, long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there.

Comments

Just like that!

One of my nephews is three and a half years old now. If you have spent a good amount of time with a kid this age, you would relate to the fact that they ask a zillion questions. Or should I say they ask the same question a zillion times? As most things are new to them, kids look at everything with boundless curiosity. As such, I am now being barraged with so many WHYs on a daily basis. Upto a point I would answer his questions patiently, but then it gets down to basics where it becomes increasingly difficult to answer. These basics are something I always believed that I understood, but with one of his simple 'why?', he destroys my illusion in no time. When it gets difficult to answer, I get angry. Because my ego is hurt! Is he teasing me? No! Because I can see the innocence in his face and these questions coming out of pure curiosity. Yet, that doesn't seem to be a very good reasoning. I try to console myself by thinking he is not old enough to understand all the nuances. H

Do we really know what we are looking for in life?

As we get older and older in life, until a certain point, all equations in life get equally messier. Kids live in the moment. Whatever is their state of mind, they stay in the present. Mostly active, curious, and happy, and sometimes hurt, crying, and sad. It is an intense state of living. Does a kid born in a rich family feel more happy than a kid born in a poor family? I am talking here of the depth of the happiness, not the breadth of it. Of course, a rich kid is always attended to, its whims will be satisfied quickly, and hence it may have more moments of happiness in life. On the other hand, a poor kid is mostly unattended, possibly subjected to traumatic experiences every day, and hence may have fewer moments to cherish. But I don't think the intensity of both kids' excitement and happiness differ at all. I was born in a lower middle class family. Both of my parents had to work to make ends meet. Thus I and my sister were hardly supervised. Though my parents genuinely tri

[Poem] The Burned Letter - by Pushkin

Farewell, Letter of Love! farewell: it's her desire. How long did I delay! How long refused, in ire, I to destroy the single joy of mine!... Enough! The time has come. Burn, scripts of love divine. I'm ready; nothing else can call for my sad soul… Now the greedy flame is touching its form whole… A minute!… it is flamed and blazing – smoke, light, With my bitter laments, is flying off my sight. And now the ring's stamp forfeited its form previous – It's boiling – the seal wax… O, Providence of Heavens! That's all! The letter's leaves are twisted, now black; On their light ashes their well known track Is whitening… My heart is squeezed. Oh, dear ashes, In my sad destiny, my poor consolations, Forever lie on breast, so fully, fully wracked…

Heart Complex

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