The Old Man in the Afternoon

-K Radhakumar

I am in my sixties
But says the boy in me,
‘I am not proud of you.’
Me neither.
I will be an old man grown old before my time
And I know he will not smile with satisfaction.

They say a mirror is an inanimate object
A flat glass that reflects images;
You can see yourself
When you look in it.
In the morning
I look at myself in the bathroom mirror.
I do not know if it tells lies
I do not see myself mirrored in it;
I see somebody’s face
Which is not the mirror of my soul.
Wonders will never cease!
I know I am telling the truth.

Wine improves with age.
What about me?
My hair was greying at the sides
At an early age;
Now I am a balding man with thick glasses.
I have put on weight of late;
My belly is swollen.
I have read a lot of books,
I do not find it hard
To make friends with other people,
I have learnt many things from experience,
But I am still none the wiser.
I have but few words of wisdom:
God will never appear before me in this life
And the next, if I have any
Like a white cloud appearing on the horizon.
Strangely enough, I do not feel
My world is a spiritually sick world.
I know I am telling the truth.
Love is not the feeling of affection
Between two persons of the opposite sex
Before they pair off as husband and wife.
Love encompasses the whole life;
It is understanding beyond reason.