Poems by
Neethi Srikumar

LIFE

a poem by Neethi Srikumar

I ask myself about LIFE…
What is it?

Is it this ability we have to breathe,
To feel, to smell, to touch, to taste, to hear?
But that is just a part of what we know as life.
What then is it that we mean by LIFE?

To sit back in a cozy chair, propped up
With cushions, a long cool drink in my hand,
The soft mild wind caressing my cheeks
As I sit waiting for the Sun to set
On a day that has been filled with peace.
That to me is LIFE.

LIFE… to have my loved ones near and safe
Warm and well fed, ensconced in love
A soft giggle, filled with mirth
A gentle sigh of contentment
A look, a smile, and twinkling eyes.
That’s Life…

To be together, in joy or pain
To be forever bound by love
To be there when my family needs me.
To be there to share the triumphs
To be there to take on all the blame
To be there to show how much they are loved
To be there even if they don’t need me.

Life is for living, not just existing
To try again and not stop persisting
To pick up the threads
And patch the fragments left,
To never give up, but to start afresh.
To learn to give more, to give and only give,
For in giving, we find we are receiving
A gift so precious, so priceless indeed
There is nothing we shall ever in future need.

That’s Life to me
And it shall always be
More than breath, food, drink, and sleep.
More than all things I have had before
Or will ever have hereafter.
It’s now that matters, for now is all I have
Now is Life and Life is now.
Let me cherish it, nurture it, value it well,
For its ALL to me, more than I can tell.