Shall we fail or shall we
try to achieve a little before
we fail in any case ;
If we forget the words
to a song won’t it
get sung ever again ?
Putting our hand up first
with the answer
we invariably incur the wrath
of the dullards behind us ,
who wait in perpetual dread that
they might be called upon to think ;
Do we try to extinguish the candles
on our birthday cake one by one
or all at once ?
what gain is there if one is left
to flicker flicker alone and serene
amid the encroaching gloom .
What a lovely poem, I read it twice to have a lovely taste of it. Happy Birthday dear Louis, have a great time.Life starts at 60.
thought provoking …
Happy Birthday Louis .. whatever the life offers we have to face it with a cool heart … there is only one in this world that can go on as a friend without hurting us – that is the self … May you be enjoying the peace and serenity in the coming moments all along 🙂 best wishes 🙂
Happy Birthday, Friend. Enjoyed your affable ways with the world and your modesty should be lauded.
A poet leaves so many candles in this world in form of his or her poetry. So it doesn’t matter how many candles he extinguishes on his birthday cake. His poetry will keep illumining the world forever…. Happy birthday. 🙂 extinguish as many candles as you wish either all at once or one by one….
Another lovely binary gets explored here by the birthday boy Louis in his typical style of setting up and then demolishing that premise in a Socratic mode of query. The inner dialogue is very illuminating and suggests to reader a sense of impermanence.
As usual, different in texture and feel!
Enjoyed its cadence and flow…
Proverbially on the money as always.
An introspective poem on turning 60. An interior monologue of rare excellence.