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Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of four books. She often participates in the short story competitions, and her winning stories are now part of international anthologies. She has seen her short stories, poems and Haiku published in other anthologies as well She has also been actively involved in the editing, proofreading and book designing of various anthologies. You can read more about her writing career at the below link: https://www.facebook.com/archanaknagpal/

Friday, January 10, 2014

New Year Gift - CIRCLE OF LIFE ....

This poem was written as a Xmas gift and New Year Gift for my readers. It was loved and appreciated by Robin Strattson of BLM (Boston Literary Magazine). It was unfortunate as it reached in their database after the deadline for the Fall 2013 Edition. But I received a letter of appreciation. I did not stop and approached Friday Gurgaon for getting this published for my people to read it. 

It is published and can be read at this link - http://www.fridaygurgaon.com/news/4410-The-Circle-of-Life.html

This is my best poem till date as it made my people cry. My people loved this one. It is for all my readers to believe in God and the circle of life. I took two weeks to write this poem and it is very close to my heart. I want to die with a smile on my face not a fear or tear in my eyes. As I always write - LIVE LIFE. DO NOT LOVE IT!

I am posting it here as well:

CIRCLE OF LIFE


It was only a moment ago,
When I felt like a loser, 
It was not about winning the battle against pain,   
But the fear of losing my life, 
Time turned the whole world against me,
And nothing seemed more impossible,
Being in touch with my inner peace was not the same as being happy, 
I felt a sense of detachment from my surroundings,
Deep inside my heart,
I tried to re-establish my relationship with God,      
I found myself in true spiritual darkness,
As I was not able to answer my own questions,
I thought to question God;
I was slowly losing the will to live,
So I preferred to make silence as my fighting tool.

The days were following one another,
And my cancer was killing me,
Death was near,
But I was falling in love with life again,
I paid attention to the view from my bedroom window,
I could see the snow covered pine trees,
Every house was decorated with Christmas lights,
The bottle of red wine in my closet,
Wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree,
Or the amazingly delicious red velvet cake,
The glittering Christmas decorations on front porch made me imagine,
I might not live to see the next Christmas,
I felt my surroundings were filled with deep peace and love,
I closed my eyes to make a wish,
I asked Santa Claus to give me the gift of eternal life.

Tears rolled down my cheeks,
I tried to be calm to sleep more easily,
The next morning dawned bright and clear,
I found a poinsettia plant in a golden pot next to my bed,
I felt to thank my family,
But to my surprise, it was Santa’s Christmas present for me,
I went closer to the golden pot,
I could see my reflection in the flowers of poinsettia,
The days were following one another,
From Christmas to New Year,
I tried to cherish every single day,
The plant dropped the leaves gradually, and not all at once,
I kept the fallen leaves in a basket,
I watered the poinsettia plant to replenish it,
But I could not save it.

I understood the fascinating circle of life,
God created us for a certain purpose – we all are born to die,
The falling leaves of the plant around the golden pot,
Had taught me the greatest lesson I have ever learned in my life,
To remember the beauty of being alive,
To relive our good memories in the difficult times,
To enjoy the short journey from birth until death,
The preserved fallen leaves of poinsettia,
Helped me to restore my happiness in the ending days of my life,
I began to cherish my morning walk with my wife,
I enjoyed reading bedtime stories to my son,
Every night I slept looking at the empty golden pot,
It gave me the courage not to fear my pains,
And then one fine morning, I closed my eyes forever,
But I died with a smile on my face, and joy in my heart.


 :)