By Dr Vidushi Jolly
The age of thirty
Made me feel weak.
I walked and walked
Down the road of life,
Trying hard and keeping up with my frights.
The age of thirty
Made me feel burdened.
I had it in me, I knew.
But luck; never did I mention.
With a family of six
And the privilege of being the eldest
I can tell very well
That my wife earned at its very best.
I felt proud of her, I swear!
It was the age of thirty
That made me feel weakened
That made me feel unclear.
Together we thrived,
Me and my wife.
She loved me enough
Believed in me, all blind.
I knew I had to keep that trust.
I knew I had my kids watching me.
I knew that I can do as a one man army.
I knew I had to face my fears calmly.
I started barefoot one day.
Took on my journey against life.
Worked like a bull unaware of my destination,
Followed my heart, sharp like a knife.
I went in all directions,
East, west, north and south.
Focusing on fighting my small shadow,
With an empty stomach and dry mouth.
The sun scorched right above my head,
The rains poured upon me roughly.
The winds tried to break me
And the crowd surrounding laughed.
Tough like a tree I stood all seasons.
Sometime shedded leafs,
Sometime blossomed.
Keeping my roots intact deep inside the ground,
Hid all my scars and tears none found.
My heart believed my honest intentions,
My mind worked like a clock.
With clothes all rugged,
My footsteps never blocked.
I started growing, born a new like a flower,
The clouds above faded and the sun shined bright.
My beloved wife and my offsprings,
Stayed beside me in my tough thirties fights.
It was time to grow huge,
Mark my steps large and bold.
The hypocrits now praised me,
Just as I marked my majesty and my fears sold.
It was my forties, I now was in my forties.
Living in our palace as king and queen.
Everyone envied our prizes,
But the bleeding feet remained unseen.
Life passed on with certain ups and downs.
My kids grew up in families of their own.
Never did I turned my back,
never remeniscenced the past.
Kept holding on my whiskey glass,
Made sure my kingdom lasts.
My queen stayed always by my side,
Like my heartbeat and my breaths.
We together cherished the whole world,
And made sure to never rest.
Time passed along the golden globe,
It made me strong and wise.
I was now in my seventies,
It made me realize.
I still had that zeal in me,
To keep walking that path I chose.
Never did I wanted to stop and retire,
This chapter I didnt wished to close.
My life in seventy,
Seems like uncounted decades.
I still wake up everyday,
Realising why I started it all in the first place.
My life in thirties was frolicking. I would say!
But my life in seventy,
I feel younger at heart with each passing day.