Pursuit of happiness- 2

In counting in the night-sky the uncountable,

The feral animals from the fable,

Ice-cream and cakes on the birthday table,

With the little sibling everyday quibble;

In holding your papa’s hand,

Colorful balloons on stand,

Watching waves soak the sand,

The kiss on the forehead that costs

More than a grand!

In sharing junk food with friends,

Homecoming from school in the rain,

In diving to stop the ball

From touching the boundary, the wall;

The nursery rhymes in family gatherings

The gestures, the mannerism, the noddings-

Earn you thunderous applause;

In winning the drawing competition,

Hands all dyed in red and green!

When I knew nothing of philosophy

My life was easy,

Like the child, who need not pay-

For being happy!

Pursuit of happiness

Miles away,

Uttering unheardof words,

In an unknown time-zone

Where thick is the layer of ozone,

Wrapped in colored leaves

Out of civilized bounds,

To chirping birds,

And to the tinkling of stream

That passionately kisses

The grey pebbles, as if in a dream,

Men and women dance

Around the newly born.

Their happiness is in the belief-

Of having been blessed,

Of having been rewarded,

For the agony that preceded.

Prayers and grateful tears,

Held as beads of pearl

Like the ones gracing their ears,

Would put to shame-

The civilized- the rich and the literate,

In whose eyes they are lame.