Worry Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

If I have to, have to do anything,
I get tensed up.
Why? Because it means
That I have to make more
Or lose money than I get now;
That I get name of achiever,
Of knowing more than other;
That I get praised
For efficiency or punctuality
Or whatever;
That I get or lose power;
That I don’t have the suspected disease,
Or I have it,
And so on.

If I don’t have to be tensed up,
I should not bother about money or power,
Fame or achievement or pain or disease:
If I reach that position,
The chances are I would be dull,
Bored and full of inertia.
Is middle path more important?

One should care about these things,
But not to the extent
Of generating tension.
Do one’s duty, and not expect,
Not have, any right to fruit the result
As Krishna or Christ advises.

Chuang Tzu says: “Success is not for him
To be proud of: failure is no shame”.
Such a Kingly Man too, like golden lads and girls,
Must come to dust and death.
Why then build up tension within?

Say I to my own self then:

I am worried whether I shall
Reach on time, whether boss will be unhappy,
Whether I have to undergo eye-operation,
And you are preaching about death.
As if I don’t know that everyone has to die.