Life,
One loves it,
gets high on it,
toils to keep it going,
even steals to spruce it up
with sparkles and lights

One stays on rigid tracks
neck stiff, goggled eyes
walks with careful steps
guided by red green lights
seemingly divine
distracted all the while
from being alive
That’s life.

One dreads the end
though it arrives eventually
under the garb of death
and for a moment
lifts the shimmering veil
from one’s eyes and percept
showing the desert that had been life
where one scrambled towards the next oasis
to find a mirage that vaporised
when approached
realising it then and there, one sighs
That was life

One never arrives in Shangri-la
rather Shangri-la comes to you
like a dream coming true
as one awakens
and stops the pursuit
it appears, when one is naive and wise
both at the same time
and when one realises
it’s a curse, as well as a boon
to be alive
And that is life