Complexities of Human Relations – A Poem by Kailash Nath Khandelwal

The whole life story is
Of me and all.
I make choices, attachments
Abhorations and dislikings
Select people of my type of
Attitudes and alleniations
Offer them a sky-high seat
In the core of my heart.
I devote a lot of time
Thinking generously about them
But that’s not all.

Those who are on the
Other side of my liking
Often verging on contemptuous
Neglect,
The ‘outcasts’ still engage our attention
No less than the insiders
Both the sides of the pastures seem fertile
In their own ways, affecting us
Straight and obliquely
The other way round, the whole humanity
Keeps us in softer dreams and tricky illusions.

Let us break free from these narrow bounds
And welcome all with open hearts and minds
In this shared human experience, we find our common ground.