The Price Of A Signature Poem by AAHAN VARMA

His father taught him,

'Walk the honest road.

Work hard.

Keep your head held high.'

So he did.

No shortcuts.

No cheating.

No lies.

Just faith that effort

Would one day win the prize.

He stood in every line.

Filled every form.

Followed every rule.

Waited through every storm.

Then one day he noticed—

The line wasn't moving at all.

Until someone whispered,

'There's another way to solve it all.'

A file sat untouched for months.

One payment made it fly.

A door stayed locked for years.

One connection walked right by.

Some jobs were bought.

Some contracts were sold.

Some promises looked shiny—

But the system felt old.

The question isn't

Whether corruption exists.

The question is—

Why it still persists.

The question isn't

Who takes the bribe.

The question is—

Why honesty struggles to survive.

An honest man waits.

A dishonest man speeds through.

And every time that happens,

Trust breaks into two.

Because a nation doesn't lose

When money disappears.

A nation loses

When fairness disappears.

Roads can be rebuilt.

Buildings can rise again.

But broken public trust

Takes generations to mend.

We don't ask for special treatment.

We don't ask to skip the queue.

We just want to know—

If the rules are equal,

Why do they feel different for a few?