Joy With Woe Poem by DEEPAK KUMAR PATTANAYAK

Joy with woe
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Early eighty or so
The month was June
Beneath the clean blue skies
Were standing two guys
Unknown to each other
Amongst nears and dears
Strangers and friends
And a sudden downpour
Brought them nearer
In a shelter close-by
And we became friends
How well I remember
And how well I forget
Correct me my dear

Three decades since
Friendship pledged
Under the setting sun
And under the rising moon
Indeed a comely scene
Not to be forgotten
And under fair skies
It grew like a heaven
I gave you love for love
Belief for belief
Truth for truth
With faith innocent
Were bare all my secrets

Joy and sorrow
Hope and despair
Right and wrong
To you all naked and bare
Now you judge me
By my faults singular
What went wrong my dear?
Though of late
I was reminded of your character
Often overlooked and smiled upon
That you are jealous and suspicious
And anger enslaves you and your soul often

Suspecting an alien
May bring you dividend
But nothing it brings
And nowhere, it leads
Suspecting a friend
And when you get angry
You make me naked
Put me on a pyre
And leave to see
How I break into pieces
And burn to ashes

Now I am broken-hearted
The light of my soul has fled
Oh friend
Break not the heart of a friend
Before it's too late
To realize a friend in need
Is a friend indeed
And a friend true and sincere
Stands with you trusted till the end…..