Tuesday 4 October 2011

The World Outside Me -- A Poem


The world exists without me, outside me.
I have only an interpretation of the world.
My interpretation of the world:
My happiness! And my curse!

I am prey to my interpretations.
I can't stop them, nor can I be free of them.
I am defined by my interpretations.
And I depend on them.

My interpretations form my feelings.
They form my knowledge.
They guide my soul.
I have no life without them.

My interpretations are not independent of the world,
Though the world is independent and outside me.
The world will carry on without me,
Without caring for my interpretations.

Can I blame myself, or the world,
That I feel the world is too indifferent to me?
Perhaps this is the irony of life,
The worst of all human paradigms!

--Sandeep Palakkal
April 7, 2011.
On a train journey from Chennai to Calicut