Childhood

To crawl out from bed in my dad's cosy arms
And be brushed and rushed to school each day
To brawl with my siblings, and play in the barn
And go riding my trike every Sunday.

To snuggle up each night next to my Mom,
As she reads me tales of fairies beyond
To feel her cuddle me, keep me warm
And hear her lullabies, her love abound.



To know what's so special about being a teen
To know about years eleven to thirteen
To feel that crush my sis talks about
To be able to take a friend out.

To eagerly wait for that day with my Dad
When we'd go to have fun fishing together,
To beat him at tennis as a grown up lad
And cheer him on when he plays another.

How I wish I were now in my little den
Counting to live up to a Ninety Two
How I wish I could just pretend,
That this dreaded day never happened too.

Belief

I'll hold to my roots like that blade of grass as the winds of despair rush past me
I'll free my mind of "Me, Myself", I'll keep my ego small - as small as it can be.
I'll look boldly in the face of trouble and question its very existence
I'll be strong, I'll sail on, I'll sail on in the waves of turbulence.
I'll extend my thoughts to reach the far horizons, I'll ignite that zeal in me
I believe in my heart, I believe in my soul, I believe, I believe in me.

Agony

"Would I see an Angel?", asks my child as I tuck her in gently tonight.
"Will the bells ring to welcome me?" she wonders,"will there be a Light?"
"Will the Heavens be as receiving, Would it be as good and real?"
"Would this pain end then? Tell me Dad dear, will all then be well?"

Her throat's choked with cancer cells, and her body's in despair,
She's been through so much pain, there's much agony in the air.
It sears my heart - the pain - as I see my little one so weep,
I wish the Lady Night spreads her calm; I wish there's finally some sleep.

I pray I find an answer tonight, and I pray my heart stay whole,
I search for peace in a painful present; I search deep within my soul.
I know no answers to her many questions, I know not Heaven's ways.
I know not whether Angels would come tonight to kiss her pretty face.

So as she lies there in her little bed, draped in sheets milk white,
And the lullabies from her bunny doll try fill the air tonight,
I whisper to her in the dark, "If the Heavens so wish, my daughter dear,
You will see the Angels bathe in Light, and as the bells toll, the pain disappear."

Letter to Santa

Dearest Santa

Before you disqualify my letter based on age limits let me assure you I thought about it a lot.

I come from the era when kids did not have access to the advances in technology the world enjoys today. I am mostly assuming that your offices are up to date in embracing the latest tools to run office like say, exchange servers to send and receive mails at the least, and probably fax as well. You see these days a child does not have to worry about non-delivery of his mail because there is a very low possibility of the exchange servers like the giants of Google, or Yahoo failing to do their jobs. In my childhood the postal services were set in the manual mode. So while the postman that goes from door to door could have been a true hero, the system was still not as perfect. There were times mails got lost in transit, or got delivered very (and by that I mean very very) late. So when the technology arrived, we embraced it fast and ensured our kids do not end up with the same kind of troubles we had. Just in case you were wondering why you have so many emails this year and not letters stuck underneath the Xmas tree, that is the reason.

Why am I telling you all this? See, I know you are always inundated with requests from children across the world and with the ever growing population your staff might be a trifle challenged each year to keep up with the rate of increase. Yet, I am told you and your staff go to great lengths to ensure that every mail received is read and addressed. I remember I was fond of writing letters when I as very young but the whole concept of writing to you felt a bit awkward at first because I did not know you as much. Add to that the fact that everything I read about you said you would arrive through the chimney but my house did not have one. So I was not so very optimistic that you might choose to respond or even if you did, how would you come in right? That said, I think I did post a letter to you but I never heard back. Now that i think of it, i doubt it ever reached you. You see i used some scrap of paper that I found lying around, it might not have weathered your arctic cold well. That is if it really made beyond my local post office. There is a greater chance it might not have. So when my son ended up typing you a letter I felt i should just let you know that there is one pending from me as well and comes with "URGENT" marked all over it since it is long overdue.

I have grown through the years since i last sent you that mail, so the contents therein my be a bit outdated. I mean what is the point in asking you to give me a hand wound toy when every kid now enjoys a batter powered one? I sure do hope that you would give me some concession so I can re-do my list of requests. After having hit 5 and 30, and as a parent of two kids, I do realize that age is a limiting factor when it comes to carrying weight. You are so good at heart you never say 'No' to kids and want to hand deliver all gifts to place them under the tree, but I can understand. I will not add to that load. So here is my updated list (but my priority still stays, correct?):
1. Turn down the anxiety levels in every human mind to zero. I believe half the world's troubles are because mankind is so restless and impatient. 
2. Let every heart know it is okay to be satisfied with what we have and that happiness multiplies when it is shared with others. Tell us that the key to happiness is not always hidden under money.
3. Help us help others everyday, everywhere, regardless of who they might be. Tell us that these boundaries do not matter to you and so should not matter to us when it comes to fulfilling other's wishes.
4. Help us educate ourselves to gain knowledge and not just degrees. Tell us of what you see out there so we realize we are acting like frogs in the well.
5. Last but not the least, check my son's letter and get him what he needs. 

Now that I am using the latest technologies to get to you, I am positive you will get this note, and then if what the fairy tales say is true, you would definitely place me a note under the tree this time telling me of the status of the requests (my house has a chimney spout now).

Thank you.

Your friend
Sravan.