Pride,

I had wrapped myself in it.

A garb of the young,

a cloak of the naive,

A delusional veil of the ignorant!

Fear,

Yes, a bit of that too,

perhaps…

I knew not,

that time spares none,

Yes, not even me!

Why was I surprised

at being thus reduced?

Wasn’t it but inevitable?

Wasn’t it meant to be?

It was.

And it did do away

With my claws,

My edges,

My height.

My walls,

My disdain,

My might.

I was to be

Stunted,

small and slight,

In stature and in circumstances.

Was that it?

Aghast,

I lowered my eyes,

With disbelief at first,

With humility later

And with acceptance eventually.

I am ready, I said,

To chip off a bit more,

To crumble in places,

To be reduced as deemed right.

And now here I am…

Blunted,

Softer,

Lesser,

And yet at peace.

I am proud still,

But of others.

I am garbed still,

But in reflected glory.

I am resplendent still,

But that’s a joyous sheen you see.

A seamless, serene and sequinned mist,

That lends light to every pore in me.

In my nothingness, I discovered vastness,

In being lesser, I received more.

I surrendered,  and I accepted the inevitable.

It’s when I drifted that I found my shore.

(Lesser© by Prionka Ray)