Life’s Duality – A Poem by Kailash Nath Khandelwal

O, Life ! Why are you callous and unfeeling
Though beautiful to perceive
For some you are a time to rejoice
‘Eat, drink, and be merry’, so they say
A festive phenomenon,
An opportunity to be happy and gay
Nothing less than heavenly
experience.

But for some, Life is a tale of sufferings
Hope doesn’t stay for a moment, as they say
It’s fleeting, ephemeral, and short-lived
It’s a burden to be dragged as a compulsion
“Life is a tale told by an idiot
Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.

We dance on the edge of joy and pain
A paradox of bliss and sorrow,
forever sustained
Leaving us with questions, and doubts
A mystery that may never be
understood,
Till we say goodbye.