Much before knowing the rules, comes watching,
Observing how others play their game
They did not have to be masters every time
That’s why watching and learning was never a shame
To his watching he wanted to give a name
And he decided to call it ‘the game’
So from one year to another, one street to the next
He went seeing from his mind’s eyes
Keeping all his notes safely folded in thoughts, not text
Never giving a voice to his nays or ayes
It isn’t easy to sift harmless untruths from damning lies
Nor knowing where the real and the imagined have ties
And then one game led to another and he wanted to be
Everything and know all there was to know
‘Must I be stuck to one part?’ he thought
With a single role how much can an actor show?
Like everyone else he hopped from game to game to know
All there was ever to know
He flew through the sky, dived to see the depths
He walked and danced and sang and drank
To know and show both high and low
To shake hands with serious intent or prank
Many stacks of many games in his bank –
Not one to give him an immortal rank!
Far better to know and then to play
A single game
To hold its beating heart high
And say, ‘I’m high above and not the same’
Let the crowds then chant your name
And pointing say, ‘This is fame! This is fame!’
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The game – poem – poetry – life –
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Arvind Passey
03 April 2016
