The River of Life
by Thomas Campbell (1777–1844)
THE MORE we live, more brief appear
Our life’s succeeding stages:
A day to childhood seems a year,
And years like passing ages.
The gladsome current of our youth,
Ere passion yet disorders,
Steals lingering like a river smooth
Along its grassy borders.
But as the care-worn cheeks grow wan,
And sorrow’s shafts fly thicker,
Ye Stars, that measure life to man,
Why seem your courses quicker?
When joys have lost their bloom and breath
And life itself is vapid,
Why, as we reach the Falls of Death,
Feel we its tide more rapid?
It may be strange—yet who would change
Time’s course to slower speeding,
When one by one our friends have gone
And left our bosoms bleeding?
Heaven gives our years of fading strength
Indemnifying fleetness;
And those of youth, a seeming length,
Proportion’d to their sweetness.
Life Within Life
by Hasmukh Amathalal
A concept followed by us since ages
Skillfully adopted and managed
That we lead double standard life
To beat the people with words of double edged knife
Some people are expert in putting false front
They may have all comforts in life yet show it as absent
May live with poor standard as if they have nothing
In fact they are misleading self for something
They may show to others that they are sympathetic
Worry about human sufferings and feel pathetic
Politicians fall under this category and thrive
They get hand on big rehabilitation programme to survive
Even doctors prefer honorable service
They devote few hours in charitable places
Their main objective is not to serve needy
But call them in their clinic just to show they are not greedy
Teachers hardly stay in school to teach
Many good lessons they may take on hand to preach
They may concentrate more on outside tuition classes
They have worn the mask to fool the masses
Traders put label as honest suppliers
They adulterate food and prove as liars
They play with the health of people
Only poor people suffer and land in trouble
Country suffers the field of budget allocation
The aid does not reach to the people in question
It makes way straight to fund managers
Politicians are eager to grab as scavengers
The social service has become tool of unsuccessful
The person, who has failed in life, comes forward to do needful
It is strange and funny to witness such scoundrels
But they are well disciplined to offer orchestrated tell