I've Been

By Lianmuanlal Samte

I've been the hunter in the wild-

Someone who seeks value and worth,

Seeking to game day after day.

Hunting as one with hungry might!

Life's jungles have never been kind.

I've been the prey thrown to the waste-

A wanderer lost in the world,

Crying to sleep night after night,

Struggling as a stray child unclaimed!

The claws of pain are my daily dread.

I've been the lover who was not loved-

For the ones I love, love me not...

And all my foes were once my friends,

I've been the loner whom all have known,

The big dog whose tail hangs so low.

I've been praised and I've been scorned,

I've been a hero turned a villain,

Yet youth I have and death is yet to come.

Great are my losses, as great shall I gain,

As each new sunrise begets a new hope.

By Lianmuanlal Samte