It's not about the sun, it's about the sweat

It's about what you build
Not at all about what you get
It's not about the sun, girl
It's all about the sweat
***
It's not about what you follow
But the examples you set
It's not about the sun, lady
It's all about the sweat
***
It's not about the fair skin
So, don't you at all fret
It's not about the sun, sweetie
It's all about the sweat
***
It's not about the silks on you
Or the shoes or hair, I bet
It's not about the sun, honey
It's all about the sweat
***
It's about your grey cells
Not about a pretty face yet
It's not about the sun, dearie
It's all about the sweat
***
Tomorrow won't remember you
For how you looked, my pet
It'll remember you not for the sun
But for all the sweat
***
Don't let them tell you ever
Or judge or issue a threat
For you are not a girl of sun
But a girl of grit, and of sweat
***
Dark or fair, thin or fat,
Well dressed or not, don't fret
Whenever the sun is out
Just go ahead and sweat......
*******

These will be my words for my daughter, whenever I have one! Life is not about shying away from the sun, but for sweating in it and building her life the way she wants it! To Hell with all those who tell her that her beauty is her identity!

I want to be a billionaire

I want to be a billionaire
Collecting it all, as I procced
Billions of talents & skills
Each one leading to a good deed

I want to be a billionaire
Seeking billions of eyes
Glued to what my hands create
With every one of it, expectations rise

I want to be a billionaire
Looking for faces that smile
Billions who learn what I teach
Teaching others all the while

I want to be a billionaire
Of not notes and many a coin
But of smiles, joys and sharing
And of everything helping our hearts join......

Fading into Oblivion

The dust of my star sparkles
Death is imminent but who will kill me?
My ambers are fading away
But who will douse the fire in me?

My ambers have kindled many a fire
Lighting up the cosmos with a golden glow
My star has burnt bright for long
Guiding many a walkers through grass, rain and snow

All around me remains as it was
Merry and bountiful and splendid
But my star and my ambers are dying
Unnoticed, unguarded, untended.....

As weeds grow under my feet
I look up at the sky and see
My star fading into oblivion
My ambers lying among the ashes peacefully

A star is a star indeed
Till it glitters and shines
And one day each star fades too
But while fading, it whines

I wish the world was fairer
And a star could die in grace
And not fade into an oblivion
A black, dark, lonely place..............

Cock Eyed Stallion

A lone gunshot, and a million cheers
Springing forward, with all my might
Leaving them behind, all my peers
Gliding effortlessly, like an eagle's flight

The end line nears, I sprint harder
Cheers go deafening, colours so bright
Crying themselves hoarse, voices louder
End line welcomes, full of delight

My rider dismounts, hands in the air
Poses for shutterbugs, trophy in hands
I trot along, slowly, deliberately,
Alongside me, my proud rider stands

The day sets, and another comes
Out come the papers, a coverage too
My rider picks it, and glances at it
I see something flicker, an emotion anew

If I didn't know him, I wouldn't know
The shadow that passed, a tiny bit of it
A hint of embarrassment, of shame, I guess
He looked at me funnily, I have to admit

I saw something die, something fade
It almost seemed like a wall was built
The rider smiled, making up to me
To hide what I'd seen, to cover the guilt

I snorted, and stamped around
He too knew that I had guessed,
The passing shadow, the flickering
Having no choice, he confessed

"I look so good, holding that cup
And you did pretty well, in the race
But look at those cock-eyes,
At your funny, lopsided face"

A knife sliced through me, and that hurt
Race was forgotten, but not the face
Cock eyes got noticed, not the hooves
That ran with vigour, at breakneck pace

I wondered deep inside, if it was true
Humans just like to ignore what's good
What matters not the mind or soul
But only the face covered by a hood..................

- Pritesh

(PS: Image courtesy - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-0It7OLNLpK3UgCy7qITMXDbBo3NPNdswil2QBVmbZRuvhwCZSuKdVop4Zq7aXu_AhQaP3VtwOESxdveHQ33VaC6CW8T4_Ah8hArUyHuG83kang601Ke9IASXoM-RiX4H5YSfO5wdnUj/s1600/Quarter+Horse+at+a+Gallop-IMG_1454.jpg)

"I" talks to "Me"

From the mirror, the 'I' said,
Stay there and get beautiful eyes
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
I'd rather have eyes that can 'see' beauty

The 'I' said, your hands look bad
Want some hand cream, make them pretty
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
I'd rather create pretty things with these hands

Exasperated, 'I' said, your skin
Could do with some touch up to make you glow
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
I'd rather let a smile make my face glow

The 'I' tried yet again, take this perfume
Spray it and look like you're fresh off the garden
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
I'd rather walk in the garden to smell like I've been there

At the edge of its patience, the 'I' said
Here is kohl, mascara, eye liner, define your eyes
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
I'll let a naughty twinkle define my eyes

'I' attempted once more, look at your lips
They lack colour, here, take the lipstick
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
I'd rather that a genuine smile adorns my lips

A last ditch try, the 'I' said
If you're pretty and lady like, he will pay you compliments
And 'Me' replied, no thank you
He already sees me for who I am, not how I look

And then, my eyes opened,
Clarity flooded, sunlight streaming in
What a dream, oh what a realization
Prettiness gave in to beauty, let my day begin

With valuing me, for who I am
And what I can do with what I have
Brightening my inner glow, shining
With radiance of my inner beauty............

(Deliberately left unedited)

Cracks in the sidewalk

Slightly chipped, colours almost gone
That's how the stones in the sidewalk are
Third from the left, colour muddy brown
Has a dirty crack, much like a scar
--
Ten steps down, one stone displaced
Has an ant abode, ants scurrying fast
This is a fairly new one, ants and all
I think, it appeared, the year before last
--
Just round the corner, if I may add
One stone preserved, no wear and tear
Almost as if, never stepped on to
I've seen it always, sitting right there
--
Ask me the way, to the small shop
And I can tell it, crack by crack
For, sidewalks are really all that I see
Day after day, just to keep track
--
Just once in a while, I lifted my head
To see what all went on, high up there
Eyes were all I saw, staring unblinking
Scanning me all over, like a market ware
--
I lowered my head, vowing to keep it there
For I was taught, that's how men are
Back I am to cracks, in the sidewalks
The world up there, way too bizarre........
--

A poem that stemmed from what I was taught in my growing up years - lie low, don't draw attention to yourself, walk with your head bowed.............this will save you from eve-teasing. Almost as if eve-teasing was the norm, and I had to abide by it. As I revisit those "wise words", I wonder if things have changed! Have they?

- Pritesh

Alt Tabbing Through Life

Morning coffee incomplete without news on the web

One headline to another, interests very soon ebb

..

The lunch is incomplete without a SMS from the cell

No attention whatsoever to food’s taste or smell

..

Afternoon coffee incomplete without a status update

Within minutes replies to it is what we await

..

Dinner remains incomplete without a chat on GTalk

No catching up on the day, no post-dinner walk

..

No time to sit and just ponder, gazing at the sky

We’re busy Alt-Tabbing through life, not living it, just letting it go by……….