Us
and Them
O. P. Arora
My grandchild, with words miserly
in one of his dizzy moods
came up to me and tapped mysteriously:
What will you bequethe to me?
Sad and reflective, I painted
a mild picture of what he would inherit:
War-ravaged continents
terror-stricken humans
dry, withered, parched land
global warming, melting glaciers
vomiting, choking cities; dirty, dry rivers
immoral, corrupt, soulless universe...
The child, otherwise quite coy
shrieked and jumped with joy.
Baffled, intrigued, I naturally asked:
Why, what happened?
He came still closer and said:
You are great, grandpa
I have reasons to celebrate
I shall have some fun in this state...
You know, in my previous life
I was a Chimpanzee
and my grandpa then, a mole
obsessed with conscience and soul–
such a rigorous training
me in moral uniform, morning or evening.
*
“If you want to increase your success
rate, double your failure rate.”
-Thomas Watson, President of I.B.M.
“There is no success like failure.”
-Bob
Dylon
“If you want to make it to the top, fall flat!” Failure means you have got battle scars. There is no stigma.”