Ideals

By Doel Sengupta

Ideals are like stars.

One cannot touch them with one's hands

But like a seafaring man on a desert of water

One chooses them as one's guides to reach one's destiny.

If you ask me, ideals I have many,

Idealistic as I am, I sit ideally

Submerged in this thought through joy and strife.

Above all else, I uphold the ideal of love,

And respect for all minds

And Truth that can unshroud the mysteries of life.

And above even this of course is the ideal of Grace,

The lessening of retribution

And to be a part of the cosmic symphony and race.

Even though now I sit a little idle, rhyming words

And casting charms,

My ideals will carry me across

The turbulent river of life

As they always have

And keep me surmounted from harm.

If you beg to differ, I have only this to say,

Just tell me what ideals help you kneel and pray 

And I'll cast on you an oracle,

And cite a prophecy clear,

What exactly are the ideals

You hold so dear?

I have face to show

And a path sublime

Because my ideals carry me forward

And help me steer and surmise.

If you think I am now clearly out of my mind,

You may unjoin your arms from mine

And some day when you've reached a milestone far away

You may to this poem rewind

All your thoughts and ways.

For I say it once again so you may hear it clear:

Ideals are like stars.

One cannot touch them with one's hands

But like a seafaring man on a desert of water

One chooses them as one's guides to reach one's destiny.

For what are you destined?

-- inspired by my father DJ Sengupta.