Flipping Fate (A departure from my earlier posts)

I met a friend of mine (who chooses to be anonymous) after a long-time last week. Himself a grand success, right in the footsteps of his luminary father. He lost his dad in the pandemic, much like many of us (I lost my mom too). Amidst many other memories, he was recollecting what his father’s last thoughts were. I found it so brave and delightful that I took the poetic liberty to convert it to verse.
(So relevant as a marker for many of us who want to live life to the fullest.)

Flipping fate

A smile to every lip abound,
and a joy to many hearts;
Those days when you were carried around,
warm, caring hands caressing your parts;

You had arrived o’ bundle of joy,
as an answer to many a prayer;
Flowers, wishes, some gifting a toy,
to parents that just got greyer;

But whilst you came as a joy to all,
you came with wails and cries;
Was that agony, or was it just a call,
to chart your path ahead that lies.

Years later…

Now the bed is stony, icy cold,
and you are being carried again;
Your memories are being shared and told,
with teary eyes of sorrow and pain;

You lie though with a smile on your face,
after a life lived to your fullest;
No grief, no pain, not a sinking trace,
no scars of war when you dwarfed the tallest;

Content, joyous, you are set to go,
leaving millions in grief and tears;
You had come the very opposite, though,
when you were teary amidst a hundred cheers;

If you too flip your fate: this way my friend;
Thence your work’s done: and your time’s Godsend!

Read more from CEO speaks Column:-
– 25 years of growing up
– Integral for Integrity