WITHIN MY OWN SELF: award winner

WITHIN MY OWN SELF: award winner


I embarked on a journey
To discover myself.
Cluttered, dingy, dusty dark,
I found my mental shelf.

Heaped in a corner I found
A variety of thorns,
Meant for those who earned my hate,
With whom I had locked horns.

I found in a corner some
Thank you notes which I could
Have sent but thought lazily
That the next day I would.

In a silken box I found
Plenty of broken dreams,
Which were too precious to throw,
But had no use, it seems.

I found a diary where I
Had written, bold and clear,
Resolutions made, but not
Followed by me each year.

Then dumped on the floor I found
A rusted, broken frame,
Having a young man’s picture.
But can you guess the name?

Lo and behold, I found that
It was Jesus Himself!
He said, “I wish you cleaned up
A bit your mental shelf”.



• Written in abcb, 7-6-7-6 format.

• Originally written as entry no. 484438 in the book "FAITH, NATURE & INSPIRATIONAL" .

• Awarded third prize in ‘Pertaining to Poetry’ Contest, "Invalid Item" 



M C Gupta
30 January 2007