Another Letter from Another Father to Another Son

Excerpts from the poem

Sonny, it is not my wish to advise you Though my tongue yearns to be advisor to the king. Sonny, it is not my wish to advise you Though this may end up as another piece of advice In another letter from another father to another son. For, it took years for my father’s sermons To traverse the miles between my ears and my brain And I learnt about most things After enough follies had been past. Let me tell you a single thing The way to go, seems to me From life to the book And not the other way around. So, let life teach you before your father’s words And let life teach you to outgrow The interesting stories that other people tell. For, nobody is really very sure. Earlier they used to tell Never look beyond the wall Now, they have built A ladder for you to climb. But, nobody is really very sure About the wall, forget the ladder. Very few boxes have been opened, my son It is still an interesting world out there. So, let me not offer you A book, a window, a jigsaw puzzle or my reading glasses Let me give you just these – My silence and my smile.