A Tragi-Comedy Poem by Ajit Das

Different snapshots, a moving kaleidoscope -
life expresses itself in contrasting ways,
while leaving footprints on the sands of time.

The caravan sets out with a feeling of release
from everything that sets rules of conduct,
limits freedom, curtails what is spontaneous.
But absence of values vitiates gradually
the spirit of joy, renders it to be an illusion.

The journey enters into a changing scenario.
There is a touch of restraint in the air, striving
to cure excesses, repressing exaggerations,
expressing the feeling of morality that supports
the happy mean: comfortable, yet righteous.

Then comes the milestone where disillusion
starts setting in for failure of positive attitude.
Doubts creep in to undermine core values.
Outward dazzle subdues inner brilliance,
shaping desires to be satisfied by outer crust.

The stage is finally set: an upheaval razes
over the canvas, uprooting the status quo,
shaking human soul out of its very depths,
bringing face to face the good and the evil,
glorifying life in the triumph of the divine.