Humans, long a self-seeking breed,
Oft concoct love foreseeing need.
With tender grass lush green
Does a butcher fatten
His sheep in his own selfish greed.
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Translation |37.01.2025|
Poet’s note: Sanskrit has thousands of verses of wisdom called Subhashhitam. This verse says that man by nature is a self-seeking breed. Keeping in mind a selfish motive, a butcher concocts false love and fattens his sheep with tender grass. But it is only to fetch better price in the market, not for any altruistic love. The transliteration of the Sanskrit verse follows (sandhi duly separated):
Kaarya-apekshee janah praayah,
preetim aavishkaroti alam |
Lobha-arthee shaundikah shashpaih,
mesham pushnaati peshalaih ||204||
There's more to it than meets the eye,
A look we can't deny.
Beneath the surface, a hidden plan,
A secret scheme, a hidden hand.
Behind every smile, every word,
A motive, a mission, is inferred.
A hidden agenda lies within,
A purpose that's not always seen.
Sometimes it's for good, sometimes for ill,
A hidden agenda can't be still.
It moves and shifts, it's never clear,
A game of chess, a strategy near.
It's the unspoken words that reveal,
The true intent that we conceal.
A hidden agenda can be sly,
It can deceive, it can belie.
It's a double-edged sword we wield,
A weapon that can't be easily healed.
A hidden agenda can be a trap,
A snare that we can't escape from, in a snap.
But it can also be a force for good,
A way to help, a way to understood.
A hidden agenda can be kind,
A secret that can heal the blind.
So be careful with the hidden plan,
For it can lead to either ban or fan.
Choose wisely, and use it well,
For the hidden agenda can cast a spell.
© Roseline Sunday
22/03/023
Taken by a solitary moment
I look to see if anyone is near
I breathe and let it defeat me
I just wanted to make things right
Change a view, stop a pain, write a sorrow
I’m a memory, a lost ambition
A hidden motive, a destructive intuition
A rusted swing, a broken violin
Drop a tear, hum a verse
That’s all I ask of remorse
It only swells and dies inside
Dare not grant you trophy with a scar
I just needed something to get me by
Make love, soothe a burn, leave an itch
I’m a memory, a lost ambition
A hidden motive, a destructive intuition
A rusted swing, a broken violin
Drop a tear, hum a verse
That’s all I ask of remorse
That’s all I ask!
That’s all I ask!
That’s all I ask!
That’s all I ask for anymore!