THE SWING OF LIFE

          I've been delighted at the sight
                  Of berries in thickets,
       And have splash'd water at lasses
           At brooks, streams and inlets;
        With gaiety I have play'd up and
             Down bubbly laps of rocks,
 And stretch'd the roots across the swamps
               For swinging over crocs.

      I've suck'd love notes of birds across
              Riverine planes and hedges
   And chased down fowls and flies among
              Blue bells, reeds, and roses;

    With boundless raptures rock'd have I
            With brandies, and soft drinks,
       And, too, carried 'long day and night
           In rounds, and round my swings.

           Up from bestriding the big cats
              To sailing down the creeks,
           From frolicking at cascades to 
              Beholding from the peaks;
          Dictated have I, predated have I
                  By grit, by my conceit.
            Many a promise have I made
             To break through each limit.

         All over the land, the sky, the sea,
               Like the Ruler of The Three,
           I've look'd down upon others--
                 Entirely all and sundry;
        The time of present never moves
                And death will never be--
           And, so, no heed to the future,
                    I have glorified me...

           Today, admit do I, I stood before
                  The mirror and beheld;
               A phantom that I truly saw,
              And ask'd, in shake of dread,
          If that was really I; fake although,
                The answer betray'd 'No':
         How fast the life did flee! And how
                 Much long will I still go?

                           -- N P SAMAL