WITHIN MY OWN SELF: award winner

WITHIN MY OWN SELF: award winner



I embarked on a journey
to discover myself.
Cluttered, dingy, dusty dark,
I found my mental shelf.

Heaped in a corner I found
a variety of thorns,
meant for those who earned my hate,
with whom I had locked horns.

I found in a corner some
thank you notes which I could
have sent but thought lazily
that the next day I would.

In a silken box I found
plenty of broken dreams,
which were too precious to throw,
but had no use, it seems.

I found a diary where I
had written, bold and clear,
resolutions made, but not
followed by me each year.


Then dumped on the floor I found
a rusted, broken frame,
having a young man’s picture.
But can you guess the name?

Lo and behold, I found that
it was Jesus Himself!
He said, “I wish you cleaned up
a bit your mental shelf”.


• Written in abcb, 7-6-7-6 format.
• Originally written as entry no. 484438 in the book "FAITH, NATURE & INSPIRATIONAL" .
• Awarded third prize in ‘Pertaining to Poetry’ Contest, "Invalid Item" .
• Showcased in the Spiritual Newsletter dated 26 April 2017.


M C Gupta
30 January 2007