BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS: a sonnet-award winner

BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS: a sonnet


Should I be happy it is my birthday,
As I complete today sixty five years?
I cannot with any certainty say,
I harbor only hope and have no fears.

The only hope in an old man's heart is,
A dependent's life he may never live.
For, the one thing that frightens one is this:
When he needs, no one may attention give.

In fact, long life may not be such a boon,
If an old man is crippled and diseased.
He often wishes death may kiss him soon,
And from throes of pain he may be released.

Often to an old man death is welcome
After he has lived a life that's fulsome.


* Awarded Honourable Mention prize in One-off Birthday Giveaway,"Invalid Item"  organized by realsteve, April 2008.


M C Gupta
6 May 2007