I look at the deep blue sea,
stretching endlessly before me,
as I sit on the sands, alone, very alone,
pondering over the vicissitudes of life.
It has just been a day,
since I had buried my soul mate,
of forty-five odd years,
and grief was choking every pore of my body.
It would be so easy to walk into the sea
and do away with myself and my grief.
It would be easy to drown for I had never learned how to swim,
I rose; my mind made up to take the plunge.
At that moment, I catch sight of two young souls
with rags covering their malnourished bodies.
They were giggling and laughing
and delightedly picking up shells from the sands.
I stop for a minute as I move towards the sea,
and instead, walk over to the two little cherubs.
I catch their eye and ask them what it is,
that is making them so happy.
The younger of the two pulls out a small bag,
and opens it carefully and lets me peep inside,
I see a multitude of multi-coloured shells,
in a variety of glorious rainbow hues.
I look at the two children in sudden wonder.
A thought pierces my heart like a vicious arrow.
In rags and with no food in their bellies,
these children can still find joy in picking seashells.
And here I am a grown-up,
unable to withstand my grief,
planning to walk into the glorious sea
and add to its countless drowned souls.
I look at the children and ask,
“Can I join you in picking seashells?”
They look at me doubtfully and then the younger one says,
“Yes, if you promise to give us the shells you pick.”
Ah! a hard bargain, that is for me,
but I say with a smile, “Okay, fine,”
and I go seashell hunting with my newfound friends,
instead of taking a plunge into the deep blue sea.
I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.
Poignant and hopeful at the same time, Jai. Lovely start to the #MyFriendAlexa campaign.
Thank you so much, Mayuri. I am entering the MyFriendAlexa campaign this time with a bit of a writer’s block. Thanks for the praise. It is really helpful.
Loved the poem, Jai! You’ve started on a brilliant note.
Thanks, Tina. Looking forward to reading your posts too.
My heart sank upon reading the reason for grief. However, you did leave me at a hopeful note in the end, Jai.
Thank you Nitisha. Glad you liked the poem.
Awesome read. Insightful.
Thank you so much.
It’s been long i read poetry.. So touching and very well expressed..
Thanks for the praise, Pratikshya.
Awww so saddening was the first part
While the latter was totally awesome!
This activity indeed brings joy
As we pick up shells and happily hum!
I liked the hard bargain though! So cute!
Thank you Cindy. Glad you liked the poem.
It’s a wonderful poem jay, loved it!
Thank you Vidhya
A beautiful and poignant poem, Jai. Lovely start to the challenge, good to read you after a long time.
Glad you enjoyed the poem Vartika. Yes it has been a long time since I visited your blog also.
That is so lovely and touching. Beautifully penned.
Thank you Nils
Beautiful poem
Thanks Dixita
So beautiful and poignant Jai. I have not seen this side of your writing before but truly appreciate it.
Thank you
What a beautiful poem! it starts off with such loneliness and finishes with such hope!
Thank you Harshita. Glad you liked it.
Ah the sea always makes me forget things and forces me to stay in the now. Loved this curve of despair turning to hope via the medium of sea and shells.
Loved your comment. Quite poetic. The curve of despair turning to hope. Nice phrase. Glad you enjoyed the poem Suchita.
This is beautiful. So well written. Tugged my heart.
Thank you Priya.
Such heartwarming poem, Jai. Loved it
Thank you Pushpanjalee
That ray of hope he found at the end was the most beautiful part. Loved it!
Thanks, Neha and glad you liked the poem so much
It is a beautiful poem. It gives me hope. Thanks for writing.
Thanks for visiting Neha and glad you enjoyed the poem
The simple pleasures bring so much hope..Lovely post
Thanks for visiting aarti.
I didnt know you wrote poetry. Soulful writing.
Thanks for visiting Lavanya. Yes. I do write poems. 🙂
It is such a beautiful poem. Filled with grief but ends on the positive note of happiness. Loved reading the poem.
Thank you, Shail. Glad you like the poem so much.
I’m so glad I came across your blog through the Alexa campaign.
Loved the poignant but hope-filled poem. Picking seashells, picking up the broken pieces of one’s life; two urchins in rags teaches a life lesson albeit unintentionally.
Happy I got to know you through this campaign too, Radhika. I think I have already visited your blog. I will continue doing so.
I love how you’ve beautifully churned hope from the ravine of grief, sir.
The poem is nothing but a glimmer of hope & a lesson too.
Thank you Ashvini. Glad you liked the poem.
That’s beautiful! Shells always fascinate me. Absolutely, I would be the happiest finding a conch shaped one, a long one like am ice-cream cone. I think I do have some still, hidden away. Finding joy in small pleasures of life. That’s it. So simple. Why don’t people get it?
Hope you find a conch shaped shell someday and relish it. 🙂 I have a collection of shells myself.
Lovely poem, Jai…happiness can be found in the simplest of things…
Thanks for visiting and commenting Jayanthi.
Yes grief is most difficult emotion to handle, and when reason is loosing your soul mate than it becomes hardest. Love the way you had expressed this emotion beautifully in this poem. looking forward for next.
Thanks for the comment Surbhi.
So profound, poignant and joyous!
We tend not to look beyond our own grieves – even the smallest of things give the biggest of the reasons to smile!
Yes, if we could find the correct line of thought the bigness of our grief will disappear in a jiffy.
Your poem touched me when the character mentioned to have lost his partner. Can’t imagine what it might be like! Nice poem. Looking forward to more.
Glad you liked the poem Seema.
Beautiful. What a turn of a hopeless heart. Sometimes we get moved by the things that we always found not so important. It is our outlook that at times give us a different sight and thus hope.
Agree a hundred per cent.
Ahh.. I had a smile while reading the last part of it.. Just implies one’s grief is always huge in their own eye.
Yes, our grief appears big to us till we open our eyes to the vast universe and reflect.
So poignant, so heartwarming poem Jai, read your poems has always been a great joy!
Thank you, Archana.
A ray of hope amidst the sea of sorrow. Lovely poem showcasing deep feelings.
Feels good to read you after long time.
Yes. I have not been writing a lot recently. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
These are such beautiful lines, I love the way you have written it! Hope is all we have now – for so many things 2020 is throwing at us!
Absolutely! Agree with you. 2020 has been a very difficult year. And we need some cheer all around.
Glad to know you found a way to overcome your grief and sadness.
Listen Kinshoo, this is just a poem. It is not a real event in my life. It is a figment of my imagination. My soulmate is safe and sound and in very good health. 🙂
A beautifully penned poem. Enjoyed reading it.
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
Loved reading these beautiful words so well put in. Keep sharing more
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
What a lovely poem! Written with so much grace, wisdom and in-depth. The first part saddened me and the second part just excited me. Sometimes we adults seem to drown in our own sorrow, unaware of the lining of hope that lies ahead just of us. Children teach us so many things like finding little joys to brighten up our lives and move ahead!
Thanks for the appreciation. Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
Uncle, to be honest, I am not sure about the poem as I ain’t proficient in that but the thoughts were very deep and beautifully expressed. There are moments in all our lives that there seem to be nothing to live for but all we need to do is pick ourselves like you picked the seashells and smile back at life.
Absolutely! You have made a very intelligent observation. But the only thing is this poem is not a real-life occurrence that happened in my life. IT is a figment of my imagination.
It’s inspiring read finding the possibilities out of life. #MyFriendAlexa #dewreads
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
Beautiful poem!! There is so much depth in each word. #myfriendalexa
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
The poem is so beautifully penned with simple words having a deep meanings.
Thank you so much for the kind words Parul. Glad you liked it.
I think grief is the truest of all emotions and its so personal that only the individual knows about it how he/she feels. You have truly written a heart wrenching poem about missing your partner. Keep the good work going.
#MyFriendAlexa #ContemplationOfaJoker #Jokerophilia
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the poem
This is so poignant. I read it twice to feel it better. Poetry needs more time to be assimilated 🙂
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the poem
Beautiful lines! Loved it.
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the poem
Beautifully penned, Jai. I read all the three posts in the series and liked them all. Loved this one.
Thank you so much. I am happy my poems struck such a deep chord in you that you read all three in the series.
That’s really a beautifully penned poem. Picking up sea shells is like picking up moments of small happiness with those tiny friends. This is how we try to find hope and solitude. Your poem tells once again of learning life lessons at most unexpected places and people. Lovely lines.
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the poem.
Grief & pain can only be felt by an individual who has gone through the turmoil. The emotions are really well expressed and I love how the emotion changed from depression to hope. lovely poem. Coming back for sure for more!
Hi Chinmayee, I am so happy you liked the poem. At the same time, I just need to tell you that this poem and the events in it are a figment of my imagination. My soulmate is perfectly safe and sound and in very good health. 🙂
The pain is always felt through words and Jai Ji your words always make such an impression of soulfulness.
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the poem.
The simplest things in life are often the most… inspiring. As Dumbledore says in Harry Potter, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”.
Thank you, Don. Agree with your observation one hundred per cent.
Poignant yet heartwarming! I could envision the whole scenario and that’s amazing because of your vivid description.
Thank you so much, Shalini.
Jai Sir, your poetry is straight from the heart and reaches the readers in the same way. I liked the poetry ended on hopeful note.
Thank you. I try to make it positive. No point in writing sad poems. We have enough sorrow in this world as it is. 🙂 isn’t it?