A few days ago, it was my thirtieth year on this planet. A lot happened in this while... I grew up, most importantly, for all concerned !
A lot of people told me 30th is supposed to be big... "its once in your life" ! But isn't every birthday - "once in your life" ? But still, in a world where we bundle up things, round up figures and look for milestones: 30 is a milestone!
Some people have welcomed it with fear and regret, some with joy and celebration, some with the mundane. I was curious to see which way I would go but as things happened, the birthday was a tiny distraction in a larger scheme of events. And so in some sense, I barely noticed it.
But then, several days later, as I flip through Pablo Neruda's collection of poems in the early hours of a sunday morning, I find this little gem...
And somehow, it is probably what I feel...
Ode to Age
by Pablo Neruda
I don’t believe in age.
All old people
carry
in their eyes,
a child,
and children,
at times
observe us with the
eyes of wise ancients.
Shall we measure
life
in meters or kilometers
or months?
How far since you were born?
How long
must you wander
until
like all men
instead of walking on its surface
we rest below the earth?
To the man, to the woman
who utilized their
energies, goodness, strength,
anger, love, tenderness,
to those who truly
alive
flowered,
and in their sensuality matured,
let us not apply
the measure
of a time
that may be
something else, a mineral
mantle, a solar
bird, a flower,
something, maybe,
but not a measure.
Time, metal
or bird, long
petiolate flower,
stretch
through
man’s life,
shower him
with blossoms
and with
bright
water
or with hidden sun.
I proclaim you
road,
not shroud,
a pristine
ladder
with treads
of air,
a suit lovingly
renewed
through springtimes
around the world.
Now,
time, I roll you up
I deposit you in my
bait box
and I am off to fish
with your long line
the fishes of the dawn!
PS - This is a photograph I took in 2009 during my first visit to the US, and this image has stayed with me ever since. Somehow, I have always seen myself in that image rummaging through life in search for something....
A lot of people told me 30th is supposed to be big... "its once in your life" ! But isn't every birthday - "once in your life" ? But still, in a world where we bundle up things, round up figures and look for milestones: 30 is a milestone!
Some people have welcomed it with fear and regret, some with joy and celebration, some with the mundane. I was curious to see which way I would go but as things happened, the birthday was a tiny distraction in a larger scheme of events. And so in some sense, I barely noticed it.
But then, several days later, as I flip through Pablo Neruda's collection of poems in the early hours of a sunday morning, I find this little gem...
And somehow, it is probably what I feel...
Ode to Age
by Pablo Neruda
I don’t believe in age.
All old people
carry
in their eyes,
a child,
and children,
at times
observe us with the
eyes of wise ancients.
Shall we measure
life
in meters or kilometers
or months?
How far since you were born?
How long
must you wander
until
like all men
instead of walking on its surface
we rest below the earth?
To the man, to the woman
who utilized their
energies, goodness, strength,
anger, love, tenderness,
to those who truly
alive
flowered,
and in their sensuality matured,
let us not apply
the measure
of a time
that may be
something else, a mineral
mantle, a solar
bird, a flower,
something, maybe,
but not a measure.
Time, metal
or bird, long
petiolate flower,
stretch
through
man’s life,
shower him
with blossoms
and with
bright
water
or with hidden sun.
I proclaim you
road,
not shroud,
a pristine
ladder
with treads
of air,
a suit lovingly
renewed
through springtimes
around the world.
Now,
time, I roll you up
I deposit you in my
bait box
and I am off to fish
with your long line
the fishes of the dawn!
I still feel like the little girl on the beach, sifting through the sand, looking for those little pebbles and shells, waiting for the waves to bring me more, hoping that one day I will find something brilliant.... ;)
Till then, I wait, I pick and choose and I learn about what I am and what I want with every passing wave - a little each time....
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