Still, I Rise

One evening during the monsoon, when I stepped out for an evening walk, I sat down on a hillock to rest after walking for some time. There, I heard someone singing a poem. It was a little bud. It was telling the sun through those words how he, the sun motivates it in every moment of its life and also holds a place of reverence in its tiny heart.

A singing little bud (Photo and Illustration by Dhananjay Patil)

So, here’s what it was singing:

Hey sun, my friend, blazing gun of the rays,
The don of the dawn, the god of the days,
You know, I know, I’m no bigger than you,
I’m transient, my hours of life are fewer than a few.

Don’t know how this time passes by,
But still, I rise, after myriads I die.

But sir, you know what? you push me like nothing,
I see myself in you like we’re related by something,
One shouldn’t judge someone for their size,
But I do follow you when you drown and again rise.

After every scary night, I afresh see you high,
Thence still, I rise, after myriads I die.

You can be a blessing for some, for some the end,
You’re the boss of the milky way, the almighty reverend,
The earth is your daughter and I’m her offspring,
A little bit I knew, this is my family, this is my everything.

I don’t fear winds, neither cloudy skies,
Still, I rise after myriads I die.

One day, I’ll go dry and might bid goodbye,
The petals of my flowers will be floating in the sky,
Some part of the earth, they’ll find a new womb,
Blossoming flowers with smiles, gazing at my tomb.

Only life’s the truth, everything else, a lie,
Still, I rise after myriads I die…

©Dhananjay Patil, 12 Feb 2023. All Rights Reserved.