BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS: a sonnet-award winner

BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS: a sonnet


Should I be happy it is my birthday,
As I complete today sixty five years?
I cannot with any certainty say,
I harbour only hope and have no fears.

Often the only hope old men have is,
A dependent’s life he may never live.
The one thing that frightens the old is this:
When he needs, no one may attention give.

In fact, long life may not be such a boon
For old men who are crippled and diseased.
An old man wishes death may kiss him soon
And from throes of pain he may be released.

For old men death is too often welcome
When they have lived a life that is fulsome.



* Awarded Honourable Mention prize in One-off Birthday Giveaway,"Invalid Item"  organized by realsteve, April 2008.


M C Gupta
6 May 2007