When the mind is troubled
And the heart is thumping aloud.
When the present turmoil
Is making your warm blood boil.
When there is no light
And you are groping in the dark
When you feel like a little fry
Being baited to a shark.
When your talents are lying wasted,
Like leaves once green, now withered.
When your dreams are near shattered,
And your vision seems to have blurred.
Remember, it is these troubles
That hurt your pride, which make you strong,
So take them in your stride.
Remember, that barren winter tree
On which new leaves do usher,
In spring weather.
Remember, it’s that little fry baited
That saves its head and grows big,
Having for long waited.
Remember, that even a blind in the dark
Can view the light with his inner eyes,
And that is what we call HOPE:
The one and only reason to live our lives…
© Vidya Venkat (2006)
[First published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta]
An anthropologist among the journalists 