I watch my daughter plodding
her way up, a heavy bag of
books, slung on her shoulder;
Not to reach the stars
but to strike a toehold
in the teeming valley.

In three years, reserve a
slot in “computer applications,
engineering or medicine”; with
a wad of merit- (if fortune
favours the brave)- or notes
(if you make a fortune).

Where does fortune begin-
(I don’t know) but where
does it end (I do).

“Your time starts now”
the quiz master’s voice
is worth mimicking,
more than the countdown!
I brace up for a fresh
start, so do many, many.

The sweat on your brow
settling on a pot of gold;
What if the gold rusts
before birth? HRD Ministry!
Can you answer? Are you
suffocated by the stampeding
shrieks?