Group 5 — Fate

If you are on the trail To find the Holy Grail You live in your own jail And are condemned to fail Cause it’s hidden behind the veil. Instead the winds of silence sail Whether you’re strong or frail Winds of active service hail To the minutest detail This is the Grail Trail Tale.

You say you want to feel free to speak your mind Even if what you say I find unfair and unkind You don’t want a censor, a gag, or another bind yet you don’t want me to respond in kind. So to control my chatterbox What most communications blocks I shut the door and turn the locks Of my chatterbox, won’t respond to knocks. Whenever I have the courage not to fear The messages that silence brings to ear Then of useless chatter I stay clear And truly listen such that I’ll hear. I still need not like what you say Though I may not try to change your way Yet in this exchange and this interplay You keep on talking, lest you sway. Sometimes I want to tell you to just shut up You admire silence, yet talk non-stop You’ve filled to the brim my ear’s cup To clean the mess I need to use a mop. Silent, peace, just be still And you will find it takes some skill To see the light, but not until Chatter of your box muffle or kill.

In battle if a bullet bears your name You can be sure, just the same No matter who you may blame You’ll go down, or up in flame. And you can be sure that in life’s game If it is your time that fortune and fame Destiny’s hardships and challenges tame All it takes is one smile from Luck’s dame. We structure our life, give it frame Arrogant, self-praising, without shame Pointedly focus upon our selfish aim Yet by fate made impotent, helpless, lame.

I didn’t put on my shirt, must be fate To move around half-naked, is my state Perhaps with grace of God, sooner or late A shirt will be put on me, if only I wait. Perhaps God may even drop it on my lap But I must pick up the shirt, myself wrap If I accept my flaws as fate’s map Irresponsibly fall in karma’s trap. Life’s purpose is my flaws understand Against my karmic flaws take a stand Full awareness of myself must demand With my highest truth my life command.

I saw the truth, not just to lie I came to life, not just to die Detachment, for sometime, I try Then reattachment sanctify. If I’m to live, only to die God’s work, I can’t justify; If life’s purpose need satisfy Must live in truth, before dead lie. Thus I detach, unbind the tie Reattach before uttering last cry.

What is life but a sailing ship in forward motion Self-directed, succeeding and failing at the mercy of the ocean Overcast skies or sunshine, calm waters seem to be the norm Yet out of nowhere, appears a dreadful raging storm; Like a twig going up and down with the monstrous waves For calm waters, every captain in his right mind craves Yet if the ocean were all calm waters, smooth sailing The monotony of the journey becomes worse than failing. The purpose of life is not to have the ocean calmly behave It is to be alert and alive, zestfully riding the wave. The big question each one asks is why are we alive Are we free to sail, or in the ocean of destiny survive? Freedom or destiny? The Holy Grail behind the locks! Which one is the key? Or is it yet another paradox? Dogmatic fatalist freedom scorns, destiny hails His sailing ship is rudderless, yet all sails; Pragmatic materialist rudder in hand, also fails His sail-less ship will not be propelled, not even by gales. In the tyranny of life, each ship must leave its berth And sale the ocean of life, traverse the earth. To not set sail is like refusing to be born The first storm that hits the shore, the ship will be torn. The best way to face the storms of life one must Face the rage of the waves amidst the ocean with trust; And in times of steady wind and calm waters, with full sail The ship goes through the waters, blazing its trail. And whether the ship is wrecked in a storm or reaches the distant shore Matters some, but to sail with intent courage matters even more. The freedom to choose the destination, and courage to face the waves of fate Is to live the paradox of life, the destiny of the great.