If I were Kipling I would put in verse
A map to ease your stay in this universe
But I’m not, so I’ll do my utmost best
Not to repeat Ruddyard, but say the rest:
If you can traverse this uneven road
With real reverence and humility
If you can hold head high with heavy load
Rounding each bend optimistically
If you can smile when you feel emptiness
And your insides churn with melancholy
If you can lift others out of their sadness
Using the strength deep inside your belly
If you can say thanks with sincerity
Even when you feel slighted or insulted
If you can maintain your manners persistently
When everyone else’s has abated
If you can sustain your deep convictions
In this modern time of fleeting truths
To withstand a world of opposition
Nurturing trees of facts to bear fruits
If you can always keep your mind open
But ensure that your screen keeps filtering
Knowledge you’ll find again and again
While rubbish you will go on rejecting
If you can with fellowmen empathize
Even when it is inconvenient
If you can always to the moment rise
And on one self never be lenient
If you can strive harder for distinction
In everything that you set out to do
If you can use failure as motivation
To propel you toward heights that are new
If you can do all these things my dear girls
More often than not in your lives to come
Your legacy shall be a life of pearls
And you’ll be persons I’m yet to become
DEDICATED TO MY DAUGHTERS Ariana and Alyssa
© Fazir Khan July 2007
