You Die; I Die - Love Poems - Part 2 by Nikhil Parekh - HTML preview

38. ONE MUST LEARN 

In order to taste the sweet kernel of coconut; one must learn to break

open its obdurate shell,

In order to experience the ravishing aroma of waves; one must learn to

tenaciously swim in the choppy waters,

In order to imbibe the splendor of the desert; one must learn to traverse

audaciously on the blistering hot silver sands,

In order to relish the coolness of ice; one must learn how to scrupulously

masticate  it,

In order to savor the flavor of milk; one must learn to adroitly squeeze it

from blossoming cow teats,

In order to enjoy the scent of lotus flower; one must learn to bathe in a pond replete with a curry of slushy mud; blended commensurately with creepers sprawling in all directions,

In order to hear strident tunes of music; one must learn to keep his ears in close affinity with the rustic country discotheque,

In order to bask in pure light; one must learn to sit perseveringly under fiery golden rays of the sun,

In order to extract exorbitant amounts of gold; one must learn to dig till unfathomable depths; with hostile blade of pickaxe intermittently brazing against the knee,

In order to embellish the body with serrated crocodile skin; one must learn to kill the ferocious beast; then adroitly strip its skin from its diabolical network of bones,

In order to uninhibitedly smile; one must learn to flex ones lips profoundly; stretching the cheeks as far as possible,

In order to sip delectable tea; one must learn to burn his taste buds profusely; as the steaming liquid came in proximity with the tongue,

In order to witness exuberant wails of an innocuous infant; one must learn to deliver the same after undergoing months of painstaking agony,

In order to sketch mesmerizing shapes of the hills; one must learn to commensurately blend root color; vivaciously swishing the brush on sprawling sheets of plain white canvas,

In order to envisage celestial fairies and angels; one must learn to exert the tendons of his brain to fullest capacity; and then dream,

In order to get bountiful crops; one must learn to sow the right proportion of salubrious seeds,

In order to make the morbid surface of walls sparkle; one must learn to whitewash them; with mammoth chunks of chalk powder and paint,

In order to feel tangy perspiration trickle down the nape; one must learn to clamber up the mountain barefoot in sweltering waves of heat,

In order to survive; one must learn to stand unflinching against the hostile vagaries of this world; prove his true mettle in every sphere of life,

And in order to love; one must learn to unselfishly sacrifice; wholesomely dedicate his mind; body and soul to the deity he reveres; the person who made him feel every unveiling minute of the day; that he was breathing; he was alive.