I have a hazy vision, fail to see things candidly
I am counselled to see a doctor
Age is catching up with me and is not difficult to see
The advice is to remove the cataract, and you can better see
I am not blind; I can see my face in the mirror,
Shocking are my expressions, unmindful of pain around
I do not fail to see the distant rainbows, stars and the dreams
Yet remain blind to the agony beyond
I faintly recognise people with their masks
I do not realize whether they are joyful or mad
I fail to share the pains of homelessness and sleeping in the rough
I know age has caught up with me and a blurred vision is a burden on me
I see bolts on temples, churches and mosques,
I understand the germs are keen to breed once the locks are opened, Amen
I see clinics and hospitals transforming to place worship
New messiahs in health workers, police and volunteers
I see no distinction in sufferings of different sects of people
Still fail to get past my parochialistic views on sect, religion, nationality
I pity my seclusion, indifference and confinement
As I see sparkling heart and mind dirtying their hands and feet
Mounds of food and bountiful love
They are everywhere doing their might
I know age has caught up with me and a blurred vision is a burden on me
When my cataract is corrected, I see an infinite vision
Ripples of love for doctors, police, essential services
As a gratitude placed them under lockdown
Expected baby boom dedicated as a national duty
State borders strengthened with fence and gates
Celebrate their symbolic rivalry, daily through beating the retreat
Vision with boundless ideas built on history and experience
Backpack circuits created to honour thousand-mile walks
Racing calendar dedicated to cycling for girls cutting across states
Relive Emperor Ashoka’s era with pedestrian tracks along highways
Balconies turn to venues for concerts with
Bells, Conchs, Lamps, symbols of notional unity
Vision becomes apparent, while fears over and done
Future navigates through tech-savvy education and work
Expanding the definition of home, workplace and ethics
Chasing new goals of growth while still working from home
Work is no more a destination but a new hope together with family
Everyone climbs the stairs into a new reality
Vision is transforming into desire with a goal
Children are winning over mighty small challenges
All small things moving in the right direction
Blessed am I, in getting improved sight with a new vision
Purely through a corrected cataract…