In The Race With Time Poem by Padma Devkota

In the race with time that ticks away with a steady pace
On tiny turtle legs of glory, discipline and grace,
My heart with joy has beaten much faster than my legs
Which linger, stop and run around a silly little peg.
I have held with endearment all sights within my ken
And felt a deep and bursting urge to look at them again.
The rainbow and the clouds hill-hung, meadows, pastures green,
The song-birds in the rose-bush, mustard fields half-seen.
The joys that all the senses bring to bear upon my heart
Weigh more than victory in a race where toil must joy outsmart.
I dream of more than victory, rejoice in little things
That twang the strings of life until the world around me sings.
Fine dreams are dew-drops on the rose that blooms inside my heart
Where I nap, awake and nap again to muster all my art.
Let Turtle Time move on its pace never slowing down,
I'll take my rabbit naps although the world should jeer me down.
Each portion of the race I win, a hop, a scurry fast,
Time may reach the goal post first, or arrive at last.