Do you dream, sir?
No, I am not talking about
Those blurry, flimsy, wispy clouds
That you see at night
With your eyes closed
Those are dreams alright
But it is not what I am alluding to

What I am alluding to
Are the dreams one sees
During one’s conscious hours
The thing that compels one
To wake up earlier than usual
The thing that stops one
From sleeping peacefully

The dream I am alluding to
Is the fire that burns within
The heart; the spark that lights
Up your eyes; the thought that
Absorbs you within itself

Yes, that is precisely the kind
Of dream I am speaking of
Those are the dreams that every
Person has in the most
Intense degree possible
These are the dreams that
No human being is immune from
For fire burns within each of us

Do not tell me it is rare
I shall not hear of it
I shall not be convinced otherwise
I am certain it is commonplace
I am definite of its presence
In each and every being
That claims to have a soul

It may not always be visible
Some show it upon their face —
The passion, the fervour
Whereas some nurture it
Quietly in the deepest, darkest
Chamber of their hearts

It may be wealth or success
Health or popularity
It may be jotting the thoughts
Inside your head on paper and
Exposing them to the world
Or it may be something as simple
As starting a family

Now imagine a common being
With such an ardent dream; working
Towards it night and day; gradually
Inching closer to the
Destination and preparing to
Celebrate the achievement as the
Fulfilment of the dream draws closer

Imagine such a being and then
Imagine also that this being
Is parted from his dream
Just as it was about
To be his or hers
By the cruel and wicked hands
Of Life; or perhaps I shall say
Of Death

Picture him or her trying to cling
On to the shards even though
They pierce through the skin
Visualise such a person
Trying to find joy
In hopelessness

One can easily then see
What the logical conclusion will be
The person will sooner rather than later
Realise the loss; the futility of it
Will dawn upon the mind and all
Around they will see nothing but
Despair

A man is nothing if he has no hope
When one loses one’s dream
One also loses one’s mind
Yes, Life is unkind and
Not all have enough fortitude
To face such emptiness
Do you dream, sir?
Yes, I know you do
We all do

Let us play a game
I want you to guess
My
Name
Come on, it is not
That difficult, is it?
I’ve
Given
You
A
Start

I’ve been hopping all my life
From one rainbow to another
Sliding along the curves, hoping
I’ll land upon a pot of gold

With every failure now I know
How my hopes have begun to fade
Every disappointment, every loss
Is now etched upon my fate

Still I dream, still I dream
For these dreams are all I have
Still I hope, still I hope
As I climb another bow

Hold your cards close to your chest
And a secret up your sleeve
Bluff a little and let the rest
Depend on how well you deceive

Every once in a while
Smile

Every hour or half
Laugh

Every person you meet
Greet

Every other day
Play

Every now and then
See a friend

Every month or two
Review

Every year or so
Grow

I looked at the indicator
Which informed me that my train
Was due in two minutes

I opened my phone
To check and reply
To some messages

I heard some women screaming
I turned in their direction
And saw a man lying on the tracks

He was motionless
Barely an expression
On his face

It was hard to tell whether
The man intended to be there
Or if he had fallen over

A few men jumped down
And pulled him up
Safely upon the platform

The officials
And then the train
Arrived presently

A life was saved
In front of my eyes
By a few good men

A little crowd had gathered on the scene
None of them had their phones out
To record the incident

The leash was strong but not strong enough
To keep a lioness in check
For over a year she was bound
And helpless as she
Let others pelt stones at her
And her lion, who too was
Bound and helpless

They instigated her for no reason
Provoked her and scarred her
She kept quiet and suffered
She was taught to ignore the fools
She was told to forgive and forget
But kindness is often viewed as weakness
And they kept pelting her
Day after day
Night after night
The ring master and her staff
Thought it to be a sport
A little fun to pass the time away

It was indeed all fun and games for them
Till one day the lioness snapped
And with her the leash
She unleashed herself and her fury
Upon the men who dared
To disturb her and her lion
And tried to suppress them
And turn them into passive slaves
For entertainment and chores
It had been a long time coming
But coming it was
When it did, all hell broke loose
The lioness roared