Preposterous? I do not see
Advantages of long careers –
Long I have no longer got,
And debts I have, and long arrears
Raised against my long neglect
Of roles my pity volunteers
Not accounting if, for long,
My work belongs where work appears.
If short I shall be, short is clear.
No longer will I heed or hear
The ones who are not near nor dear
And yet are keen to interfere.
If short I shall be, short is cheer.
No longer will I live austere,
Nor no longer wear veneer,
If I do not feel sincere.
If short I shall be, short is freer.
No longer am I Engineer,
Nor no longer Marketeer,
Nor no kind of Profiteer,
Just someone who will appear
Every time his souvenir
Opens to an open ear.
If short I shall be, short is here.
Minakhi Misra 