Gems Of Thought Poem by Venkateswaran Krishnan Sreenivasan

Like the dewdrop on the lotus petal ever unstable
Earthly life always remains a gamble
Stricken by disease and ruined pride
Sorrow and suffering this world betide

Cast away your thirst for lucre, O’ fool!
Nurture sane thoughts of eternal truth
By whatever you earn by toil or tool
Entertain your mind and body in sooth

Boast not about your youth, pelf or sway
Time steals these in a moment away
Enlightened by the world’s illusory ways
Enter the immanent spiritual forays

Prosperity beckons all like the beehive
Full of honey to sip and thrive
On other’s labor and wealth
They desert when the money dwindles in ill-health

With profligate pomp that pulls people to you,
When indigence strikes, where is your retinue?
Old, infirm, penniless and decrepit,
Your flickering lamp, there is none to lit.

Learn your lessons by example and precept
On the code of living and be adept
With a stressful life to cope
Lest in mishaps, you lose all hope

Nurture these pearls again and again
To energize your brain and strength to gain
To meet the challenges you face
During your voyage in space