To Be a Light Amid All Cares
pain and suffering is all that I see around
though now I don’t have them to seriously confront,
yet a nameless unease weighs me down
at the sight of hundreds cruelly beaten down
how many, under eternal shackles, tied
and in poverty, want and misery bide
with their hearts burdened and body strained
with nothing to hope for and all energy drained
many are lost in the arid deserts of life
with blistering feet wading through smarting strife
failing to distinguish the oasis from the mirage
often duped by life’s well aligned montage
under a raging sun that spits fire overhead
many are scorched and fall down dead
but the river of Time that winds its weary way
doesn’t have the elixir to quench their thirst away
while so many, without even a trace of cheer
wilt and wither in dark despair
some stay in pleasure domes of dazzling sheen
with their backs turned to life’s melancholy scene
I train my mind not to withdraw into my own shell
when all around, I see misery, hatred and violence swell
how I wish my heart were the fount of gushing love
and with the olive branch of peace, soar like a dove
I wish to shed a ray of light into a heart darkened in despair
give it a momentary flash of cheer through a kind gesture
I cannot be a beacon of light to illumine all around
but can be a candle to dispel traces of gloom that surround
when I strive to take others’ cares away
and lift them from the dungeons of dismay
peace and joy in my life will surely come to stay
and procure a bliss beyond all my power to convey
March.12. 2022
Being a Light to Others Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Anoucheka Gangabissoon
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