J. S. Aanand writes

A DIALOGUE WITH THE SELF

     Do you think
whatever we have done
can be a matter of pride for our parents? 

     For those who fought
for India's freedom?
Who rose above the boundaries
and worked for the Universal good?

     The great sages the philosophers, innovators and poets of yore?

     Future beckons to us.
But when we walk, one step
remains in the past while the other leaps forward. 

     Our past
is a floodlight
which shows us the way. 

     We are descendants of God.
We must be great.
We cannot be otherwise.

     Let our steps be guided
by discretion
our love for our forefathers
and our reverence for our Great traditions.

     Humanity has to surge ahead
but we must retain
those qualities 

     of which
our family our country
and our world could be legitimately proud.

     For we are citizens
of the world and our sympathies
must extend
beyond our limited identities.