When Lightening Strikes

When Lightening Strikes

The tall angry flames which consume all in their path

Which spare no one from their wrath

The torrential rains which strike everything under

Washing through, to no might it does surrender

The cold wind which sweeps away every leaf on the ground

Brings down trees, rips apart fences like an furious hound

The air which the rich and poor breathe alike

The water which satiates the bedridden and the youngster on a hike

They all know no difference, it’s all the same to them

Whether it is me, whether it is you

Whether these are paddy fields or wastelands

But look at the lightening which knows where to strike

It strikes the chosen, there is no fair play

It might be you , it might be  me

And there’s no good reason why it is so

The going might be good

And all that you want yours

In the best of times tragedy might strike

You may ask why, you may ponder for long

But the answer, my friend, is this

That it is not always going to be fair

That it always was, up till now

Does not challenge what is to come

It comes as a blow, destroying the moment

But don’t let it take more than that

Because it has taken what it could,

Don’t give up what it didn’t

For that is for you to build on

And to build everything from it, yes, you can.

Vani Venugopal

8/4/2013, a fine spring night with mosquitoes having a party on my toes