My College Days

Those were the best days of my life,

When fun and frolic was rife.

A refreshing realm of knowledge,

That was my college.

Funny friends and loving lecturers,

Freaky fundas and flexible study hours.

Riddles and rumours, gossips and giggles-umpteen,

Added spice to the junk I hogged at the college canteen.

I majored in English Literature,

And the subject suited my sensitive nature.

I was initiated into the world of stories, poems and plays,

Each lecture set my imagination ablaze.

My college was a literary paradise,

Where I learnt to critically analyze,

Every text that came my way,

Be it poetry, prose or play.

Free from the fetters of school,

I willingly jumped into the knowledge pool.

Where education was mixed with entertainment,

At college learning was never a punishment.

Kindergarten Kid

The conniving kindergarten kid,

Presents many excuses valid,

A variety of 'aches', he loves to feign,

Oh! Going to school is such a pain.

Alas! Mummy is never convinced,

She knows her child is an actor accomplished.

He goes to school with a long face,

The hatred for school, he can hardly efface.

He enters the classroom and faces his teacher,

Oh! how he hates this frightful creature.

He moves to the back bench cautiously,

For his shoes aren't polished properly.

He loves to read and write,

The dance and drill classes are an absolute delight.

Alas! If only he could do things freely,

Everyday he would go to school willingly.

The Terrorist

Terrorism is the gravest problem in the world today,

The terrorist judiciously keeps logic at bay.

Violence is his biggest obsession,

He revels in causing large scale destruction.

Communal hatred and extremist beliefs cloud his reason,

Warmongers instigate him to commit treason.

By slaughtering people he seeks to attain notoriety,

But the shameless sadist claims that he is reforming the human society.

The terrorist targets the common man,

Who dreams big and never hesitates to plan.

He works hard day and night,

And sacrifices his present, to make his future bright.

The terrorist loves to see the common man cry,

His craving for power, he must satisfy.

He detests all kinds of celebration,

So during the festive season, he causes the maximum destruction.

He plants bombs in crowded public places,

All the risks he willfully embraces.

Guided by false ideals, he becomes a suicide bomber,

And in a second the festive atmosphere turns somber.

There are charred and mutilated bodies everywhere,

The innocent common man encounters his worst nightmare.

With his own blood, his future plans are wiped away,

Alas! The terrorist holds his little world, in his sway.

Oh God! The universe is the result of your hard work and dedication,

You alone have the right to destroy beings of your own creation.

Then tell me God, why do these terrorists get away,

And why is Terrorism the gravest problem in the world today?

Beauty and Brains

‘All that glitters is not gold!’

Yet it is believed and often told,

That ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’,

Then why does a beautiful woman need to be clever?

For the lovely Lida, Lord Zeus turned into a swan,

Consequently, the beautiful Helen was born.

She became the cause of the Trojan war,

Alas! The great Greek men thought she was worth dying for.

Cleopatra had all the mighty Romans at her feet,

For Beauty’s sake poor Honour has often acceded defeat.

Then why should a 'Beauty’ bother her brain?

After all she’ll get everything without any toil or pain.

Oh! Heartless cynic dost thou know?

How hard it is, to get that galvanizing glow?

A nymph like frame, is not easy to maintain,

To look beautiful, the 'Beauty’ has to use her brain.

Hunger and temptation, she willfully desists,

Exposure to the sun, she judiciously resists.

Carefully, she observes every facet of fashion,

Exercising is her biggest passion.

Alas! She cannot always look like a mermaid,

With time, beauty does fade.

So, of her life, she takes the responsibility,

Nourishes her mind and polishes her personality.

It is written in accounts, authored by wise men,

That Helen and Cleopatra were both interesting and intelligent women.

‘The Beauty’ has now trespassed, the former male domain,

So the desperate dotard decries the 'Beauty’ who uses her brain!’

Wealth

Anything in excess is bad,

But an excess of wealth, never makes a mortal sad.

Alas! A human being is never satisfied,

His needs, wants and desires are rarely ever gratified.

A humble abode, he always resents,

For comfort and relaxation, he needs a luxury apartment.

Expensive gems and gyms, take care of his health,

Friends and females, flatters and fine people, are all lured by his wealth.

Designer clothes and accessories affect his deportment,

People hesitate to meet the wealthy man, without an appointment.

To his servants, he assigns all his work,

And greets everyone with a smirk.

He makes rules for others to abide,

After all, the best friend of wealth is pride.

Alas! Wealth cannot buy real respect, love and friendship,

If not used properly it always causes pain and hardship.

Remember friends, wealth befits only the wise,

For others it sponsors and supports all manner of vice.

Mother Nature

Spare some time to praise Mother Nature,
And she will ensure that you have a happy future.
Remember, she loves to avenge her ill-treatment,
Earthquakes and eruptions, floods and forest-fires are but shades of her temperament.

So plant more herbs, shrubs and trees,
Clean the rivers, lakes and the seas.
Conserve water and electricity,
Reduce the pollution in your city.

For an animal its natural habitat is the ideal,
Life in a cage is nothing but an ordeal.
Hunting and poaching laws must be revised,
Those who use animals for entertainment should be penalized.

Plants, animals and human beings are the fruits of God’s imagination,
Their harmonious co-existence gives him immense satisfaction.
You have a duty towards posterity,
So preserve nature with all your dexterity.

An Ode to Shakespeare

If of English Literature, you are a connoisseur.
It is impossible to overlook the works of ‘William Shakespeare’,
Through poetry and drama, he earned his high repute,
The dead bard still reigns the literary world, without dispute.

‘Revenge’ is the underlying theme of ‘Othello’ and ‘Hamlet’,
A tribute to ‘Love’ is ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
His works depict a variety of human emotions,
After analyzing them, people express different views and notions.

Many say that he never wrote his plays,
His works remain exemplary no matter what the jealous cynic says.
Even though his life was short and strenuous,
No mortal can match his literary genius.

They say that good literature mirrors the contemporary world,
It reveals truths that are generally never told.
Shakespeare’s understanding of the world around him was astute,
Thus, of the literary world he still is the monarch, absolute.