To A Better Life — Day Thirty of NaPoWriMo 202

I’ve seen beings grow,
witnessed them age,
Those wrinkles have stories to tell,
of sacrifice,
and achievement.

I’ve heard familial elders,
talk of their life,
which was so airtight,
that they were obligated,
to not see another way ahead.
That their wishes and dreams were shattered,
by the funnel of expectations.
So they forgot.
They accepted a life of exaction.
They transformed the very purpose,
that made them happy,
inline with what their elders,
expected of them.

No!
Their elders weren’t tyrants.
The family just did not have the means,
to access the luxury of choice,
and with lack of means,
comes lack of time,
and no second chance.

And the result was this,
the transformed beings,
now shone with happiness,
only when their forced purpose,
seemed to translate,
to actuality.
and if it failed,
they tried and tried again,
since the sole purpose,
was now to give the new kids,
a better life,
a life of choice,
which wasn’t airtight,
where expectations did not shape you.
and this required financial bedding,
elastic enough to overcome the impact of failure.
So they tried hard,
and they earned,
hence we lived.

Being born with,
the means to sustain,
and the time to ponder,
over life choices,
is an accumulated privilege,
due to a series of sacrifices,
mostly compulsive,
by previous generations,
like mile points earned,
on a plane,
to get that upgrade.

So let’s respect the privilege.
The privilege of choice,
of witnessing,
a comforting smile,
on their face,
even when life did not work out,
and the surety that it eventually will.

Written by Tejas Kulkarni for MTTN

Artwork by Hani Abbas