I'M Going To Hang On In There Poem by NAYYAR SHABBIR AHMAD

To Agents & Editors Everywhere
Beware!

I’m going to hang on in there
no matter what the consequences
I’ve written 45 short stories and 15 plays
and, I have no idea whether any of them
will ever see the light of day
Still, I’m going to hang on in there
even if it costs me my life

My Dad once said
“If you take your writing with you to your grave
the World won’t know what it’s been missing.”
Being my father
you feel
“Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he? ”

But, I tend to agree with him
my writing is quite reasonable
especially when compared to other people

The other day, I read an anthology of poems
and found it to be pretty mediocre
I write better
I’m glad to say

Perhaps, I’ll die a pauper
unrecognised in my day

Never mind
History is littered with literary figures
unknown in their lifetimes
Motzart is buried in a pauper’s grave
Van Gogh sold one lone painting during his lifetime
(The other year, 'The Sunflowers' was sold for $20 million)
The list is endless
Sometimes one has to be dead 400 years
before one is recognised

If anyone is to set an example
it must be Bizet
His opera, “Carmen, ” was a complete disaster
when it first opened
He died three months later
never knowing
that his work was about to become
the greatest opera of all time

Well
okay
i don’t need to be recognised right away
as long as I’m recognised some day

Remember that old adage
“You have to be in the right place, at the right time”?
Perhaps
But, more important than that
one has to have faith in oneself
confidence
and, a steely determination to hang on in there
Regardless of what the critics
or any one else has to say

Some people, it seems to me
live solely to try and pour cold water
over ones dreams!