A Walk Across The Graveyard Poem by Shankaran Kutty

It was a Monday, early in the morn
When buses and vehicles were few
The fastest way to the railway station
Was across the graveyard, I knew

I made my way across the yard
Where the rich and poor together lay
And on those tombstones, the epitaphs
I read along the way

Here lies a man who all his life
Yearned for love and nothing but love
He yearned to earn it from somewhere somehow
Yet, all it did earn him was nothing but strife

Here lies Peter, who had only one goal
To make more money till he was covered with gold
He did make it, but when he died when he was old
He left them behind and alone went his soul

Here is one who lived for all
Who was always around with a helping hand
There wasn’t a soul he hadn’t helped in that land
Yet not a soul was there when he got Lord’s final call

Sweet old Mary was always scared of death
She always thought she was in such poor health
Yet when at last they brought her dead
Three years had past since she turned one hundred.

Lies here John who pursued his dream
Of a life of riches and fame
Yet as a miser who never cared for the needy
Had he mostly made his name

And as my path reached its end
Past the last unknown grave
My thoughts were with those who lay there dead
Who lived their lives so brave

Yet each one of them would have been a fool
In choosing their life’s final goal
They forgot, as we do now, that short indeed
Is on earth, each person’s role

The wealth, the dreams we pursue this life
We have to leave behind
And our greed, to the true goals in life
Does make all of us go blind

If we lead an honest righteous life
God’s kingdom for us does await
Blessed are those who realize the truth
Before it is too late