Pause For Thought Poem by NAYYAR SHABBIR AHMAD

Most boys
want to follow in their fathers footsteps
when they grow up

But, not Amin
He was determined not to
make the kind of mistakes
his father consistently did
all through his childhood

The Boy had been witness to
his fathers incapacity to hold his drink
Yet his Elder persisted in drinking copiously
Not caring about the sorrow and hardship
he was causing around him

Now
when the Father looks on 30 year old Amin
appreciating life
working hard
and enjoying his family
he pauses to think
and to regret
that he allowed his own youth to hurtle by
without thinking

....If only
he had resisted the temptation to drink
If only
he thinks
if only