Things to Do Before I Die

From unconsciousness during childhood
To eye opening self realization during adulthood
Transitioning through all shades of black & white
With colors hidden under layers, in quantities just right

Casting my paintbrush on the blank canvas
Strokes taking form & shape without any fuss
Drawing seamlessly across the boundaries
With color vibrant, having their own crease

Building of my own castles
Watering my own greens transforming them into pastures
The tarmac transmuting into a flowerbed
Embracing one & all with open arms

Niceties & courtesies
Offered to comfort & please
Me, humane in all my acts
Plugging nulls & voids of the adversaries

The craving & the wanting to do more,
Exploring the unchartered, initiating new ventures
Preying the opportunity
& grabbing it like vultures

The Very purpose of existence
Meeting the obligations, fulfilling the predetermined duties
Me, just a medium to lay the tarmac
With pebbles, tar & the sand ruck sack

Enduring the edginess to live up to the name
Delivering on expectations, to win the game
Embracing & cherish the good & bad alike
Alighting cautiously after a great hike

Accumulating material gratification
Satiating on all the dreams & desires
Gradually transposing from scratch to lavishing
Keeping firm & grounded even with the riches so ravishing

Lending a hand to the one in need
Pulling up their spirit with the soul freed
Tread the path that's righteous always
Morality & ethics my only guiding rays

Praise just a pat on the bent & aching back
Soothing… yet compelling to go on with the same knack
High on morale, & eyes gleaming with hope
Tough times, just a weathering storm

Failure only making sweat, tears futile
The spirit unscathed, with the same bile
Me calm & poise, treading with an assertive tact
God & conscious watching over my back

Forgiveness for the idiotic defaulters
Compassion just a way of life
Seeking mercy for the committed crimes
Just tranquil felicity at the end of times

14 Days of a Butterfly

Butterfly, one of the most enchanting creations of God, full of vigor, brilliance, & vibrancy. Its beauty serenading the eyes, enchanting the heart, & satiating the soul with joy & contentment. Swinging & swirling as if intoxicated with nectar. Wings as if dancing, to the tune of the whistling wind, fluttering & cajoling. The miniscule hair on its body giving it, its wonderful color palette. So much that lifts the spirit instantaneously. Full of effervescence & bubbly natured life. Blending into the colors of the flower, while sucking onto its nectar as if an integral part of that flower. So much beauty filled in its each & every part.

The egg of a female butterfly hatches to let the offspring come out of its shell. The wings at this stage are folded onto its body. The fluid from its body begins to fill the wings, letting them to spread & taking form. The wings are then left open to dry. Once dry, it springs into action to hop on to the flowers to taste the first suck of nectar.

Ever wondered what the life span of a butterfly is. My honest first impression was that it would be a couple of months. But the truth is that its life span spreads over just a fortnight, mere 14 days. Yet it leads such a beautiful life, even though its days are short. It makes more beauty & meaning in each day of its life, even if it is short lived. Makes those around, happy & fills them with pleasure & joy, soon rest follow suit too.

It is hard to believe that such a beauty is mortal too. Hard to believe yet so true, that this nature’s masterpiece meets rubble one day. Just like all other good things come to end, so does it. However during its entire life span its spreads only beauty, vibrancy, brilliance, happiness, & contentment around. A person can never get bored of watching its playful acts, its hops from one flower to the other. Always dances to the tune of the wind, swinging up & down, right & left, to & fro. It is never concerned about its mortality 14 days forth, & lives its life with so much of ado, beauty, serenity & penchant. Inspiring, attracting & serenading all around.

It is so much engrossed in sucking the nectar out of the flowers, that catching a butterfly is a child’ play. In my childhood days I caught many of them, with bare hands. But always made sure not to harm their fragile wings. The strategy is simple. While the butterfly is sucking on to the nectar, reach out for it in complete silence, & with 2 of your fingers cling on to its wings softly. Don’t apply too much force while holding it, else you may damage the wings, or the color may come off onto your fingers. After I admire its beauty up so close, I used to place it back on to the flowers.

Seeing its beauty would make my jaws drop, in awe & mesmerism. Nature has its own ways of exhibiting beauty. Beauty that is all around us but we are blinded to see it most of the times, being entangled in our own vicious circles. We also miss the beauty within & that on the outside, because we are engrossed with our daily chores. We often fail to appraise this beauty, often fail to make more meaning & beauty out of our life. We simply don’t have time to stop & admire beauty / people, because for us, life moves much faster than the hands of the clock. There is a lot that we miss this way. Perhaps a little metamorphosis in our lifestyle would just be too great a boon for us. Perhaps there is a lot to learn from the beautiful butterflies, who lives only for 14 days, but its beauty stays forever, immortal indeed.
Shali Amit