The Tragic Smile

A soul-searching, evocative poem, by Dr. Jernail, that deals with the ways of gods and men, life and living, exclusively for Different Truths.

If you ask anything from gods,
They will give you
As a bounty 
Without making you lose your dignity

Not so with worldly lords
Whose wealth is limited 
Yet how limitless is 
Their sense of Lordship!

Gods give us boons of life
And then, some joys
Interspersed with pains
And finally, death.

They keep pinching 
To keep us men 
Awake to our divine belonging 
And testing our loyalty.

They are pained to see
They give and keep giving 
Yet few, very few of us 
Believe in giving away 

When in joy who thinks of gods
But in sorrow when we 
Remember gods
They look upon with a tragic smile.

Are we characters of a tragedy
Born to cry and in pain
And sorrow 
Make anguished prayers to gods?

Neither are they wanton boys
Nor do they kill us 
Like flies
It is our follies which summon disasters.

Visual by Different Truths