Reflection by Angarika Datta

Standing at the crossroads of life,

I pause to think for a moment.

I think of the past, the present and the future

And ponder who to choose.

 

I consider my Past, that long lost beloved,

With him I spent my childhood and teenage,

The 19 years of my life.

Alas! It’s long gone, never to return.

 

Past is like a movie, unfolds the times of yore.

The happiness, the sorrow, the achievement,

The failures, the mistakes, the praises,

And me.

 

He is my lost lover who will never return

So I reverie about my Future,

The one I want and what I want from him.

Lost in deep thought of my prospective lover.

 

Oh Future! How happy and tranquil you seem,

So fair and festal, with not a hint of shadow.

I see you, you are my love, for in you

lay my destination and aspirations.

 

But, behold! I cannot see the unforeseen.

Thou art uncertain and cagey

I have a destination and ambitions, but,

The pits and falls in the path are unknown.

 

Oh fair sir, you are the one I desire,

But the scruples of the way confuse me.

I am afraid of what lies ahead.

I pause for a while.

 

Poor Present, all this while he was standing here,

Next to me, with me, keeping me going.

He observes my state of trance, dreaming of Past and Future,

Ignorant of his presence. But he isn’t heartbroken.

 

He is confident of my homecoming

Befuddled, I look at him, feeling his presence,

For the first time since his accompaniment.

He smiles back at me, and my heart sinks with remorse.

 

All this while I was dreaming

Of someone lost or someone who might come

I forgot the one ‘present’, the one with me

The important one.

 

In my present I am the real me

Whereas in my past I was what I ‘was’

And in future I see what I want to be

But I ignore what I am.

 

Present is with me, wherever I go

Whatever I do, in pleasure and in pain,

In triumph and in defeat, through thick and thin.

It never deserts me.

 

Present, oh Present! How could I,

Ignore thee and consider others important.

You are here, with me, always.

What can be more important than you!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Angarika is currently pursuing B.Com.Hons. from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University. She can supposedly write on any topic but with us here at Observer’s Paradise, she will be writing about Life. Check out her post every Monday!