War & Peace

How long must a man go on

Till he finds some time to rest

Must he go on and on and on

Till he’s fully put to rest.

 

How long must a man run

From early morning till late at night

Must he go on and on and on

Till his body’s put alight.

 

How long must a man run

To reach from poverty to richness

Must he go on and on and on

In the endless pursuit of happiness.

 

How long must a man run

To escape from all his fears

Must he go on and on and on

Till the eyes go dry of tears.

 

How long must a man run

To be a man for the world to see

Must he go on and on and on

Till you realize what you wanted to be.

 

Stop!

Enough!!

No more!!!

So I want to wave the flag today

The white flag of surrender

Let the victors take the spoils

For I wish to end my war

Put an end to this endless, mindless running.

 

I no longer want to be a winner

For I have realized this is a never ending race

Endless running takes its toll

Physical and mental

And I no longer wish to be drawn

Into this battlefield anymore

There are runners more able and fitter than me

It is okay for me to just walk along a bit slower

Let glory be to those who deserve more

The daily grind of numbers

The constant ups and downs of graphs

Often in sync with your troubled ECG

Losing of a good night’s sleep

No, not any more

For I wish to be at peace with myself

For now I wish to take it easy

Take it slow, take it one step at a time.

 

I no longer want to change the world

Let those who eat green eat more greens

Let those who go to this temple or the other

Let the right be right and left be left

For I have realized

I just cannot change the world

I just cannot stop the world

Let it go round and round

All by itself, in its own motion

For I am just a speck of dust in the universe

For I am just a drop in the ocean

And I refuse to fight another man

Get drawn into endless debates

Lose my calm, lose my health

Turn into a demon now and then

Stalk, troll, blame, shame…

No, not any more

For I wish to be at peace with myself

For now I wish to take it easy

Take it slow, take one step at a time.

 

I no longer wish to have more and more

For how much is enough

Is a question that remains unanswered

When I see a man in tatters

Why do I feel guilty

When I see a boy selling pens on the road

Why do I feel guilty

When I see a hungry girl outside the eatery

Why do I feel guilty

And why do I just turn my eyes away

Avoid looking at these souls

Living in hunger, pain and poverty

Their state is not my doing

My enough is enough

Their enough is not enough

So I must accept today

That I cannot change this all

My war of guilt within must end

But not the desire to do my part

To sprinkle a little happiness

To spark a little hope

For those who cross my path

For now I am at peace with myself

For now I wish to take it easy

Take it slow, take one step at a time.

 

"You may say, I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

We hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will live as one.”

 

SS

PS. This piece is inspired by the songs of my all time favourites, Bob Dylan and John Lennon