The Contemplation

By Amrita Manekar

In this rare moment of utter silence

I contemplate life and all it entails

The people who enter it and also those who leave

Why is it that we have stopped wearing our hearts on our sleeve?

When did it begin, this slow morphing from feeling to just being

From laughter crinkling in our eyes to a travesty of a smile gracing our lips?

And is this transformation even complete?

What else is left for us to see?

Will we be there to face the bitter end?

Or is there a glimmer of hope still left;

That things will not be as dreary as they seem?

As I sit here staring into the abyss of the darkness surrounding me

I wonder and ponder over what comprises a perfect moment.

Is it when we are so blissfully happy that we have stars in our eyes?

Or is it when we are in the throes of agony that we truly appreciate the gift that is life?

Through all this deliberation, there is one conclusion that comes to my mind;

It is the legacy of sum total of all our experiences that we leave behind;

It is the perception that we have of people that makes our hearts cry or sing;

But most of all it is the courage that we show in facing each unknown; the strength that we gain when we surmount the hardest of tasks,

It is this that turns us from merely existing to someone living.

By Amrita Manekar