Troublesome Forty [21 To 25] Poem by Rajendran Muthiah

21. It is pernicious to give more to the one not satisfied with
what is given. It is pining to eat with those who don't share.
It is a pique to fall ill in old age. The words of the Seers
who sing not holy verses are plaquing.

22. It is pricking to see a king without the army of elephants.
It isn't joyous to eat meat to grow our body.
It is horrifying to taste the honey and the ghee souring.
It is precarious for a hamlet to be in the middle of a stream.

23. It is hounding to protect the gate of an old town without fort.
It is strenuous to wash clothes being at the water-course.
Words of the speakers who bang the drum are arduous.
The penance of those who rein not senses is painful.

24. To live in an old town that is not walled up is grueling.
To be in the company of the immoral is shattering.
Life is in peril when lust is brimful.
To befriend an egoist brings harm.

25. To see a friend in penury gives pain. It is odious to see
the self-conceited foes. To live in an old town
without control is miserable. To steal the money
of friends by gambling is also harrowing.