The Nothing Poem

'Invisible Art', by Yves Klein, 

Non existing installations, in a space that is clean.

'Immaterial Sculpture', by Salvatore Garau,

Auctioned for 15,000 pounds, I recoil in horror.  

 

Banana taped, to an empty wall,

Cattelan's Comedian, venerated by all,

Sold for 120,000 dollars, eaten promptly by the purchaser,

Also eaten by a college grad, hunger trumps being a connoisseur. 

Commissioned by a museum, to depict income inequality,

Jens Haaning sends two canvases, with a poignant quality,

They are blank, labelled, Take the Money and Run. 

Court orders him to pay back, doesn't join in the fun. 

I'm daily writing poems, that signify and mean nothing,

My poems a blank canvas, you can paint them, I think.

 

Love, Anyone?

With time the wound heals, only the scar is left, 

Over time the arteries harden, the heart of tenderness is bereft. 

After you consume the antidote, still lingers the aftertaste, 

When you're left high and dry, don't seek closure in haste.  

When the moon gets eclipsed, it seems the end of the world,

When you run out of words, the choicest abuses are hurled,

When you miss the bus, the world turns a darker shade of gray,

When you've loved and lost, you can't friendzone right away.

As you age and mature, responsibilities make you stoop,

From the whiffs of youth romance, you are now out of loop. 

When the laughter has died, the silence takes its toll,

From love to a connection, you keep moving the post of goal. 

I love you dearly, it has taken years to make peace,

You are clearly my imagination, please don't come back to haunt and tease. 

Killing Me Softly

Some are brazen and unapologetic, calling for 90 hour work week,

Others are polished and diplomatic, hinting you need this to reach the peak.  

Some are wedded to the old tradition, when they were young they had worked so hard,

Justifying Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi phenomenon, they now want slaves for their backyard. 

You are young, you should be ambitious, how long can you stare at your wife,

Better still we'll hire from bachelors, you're anyway not supposed to have a life.

We'll make the hustle culture a norm, you'll have FOMO of not coming on Sunday,

Rewarding role models who are workaholic, we'll throw in an occasional official fun day. 

It doesn't matter if the long work hours, make you sick, work anyway kills,

What matters is the company growth- that ensures you're able to pay the bills. 

Don't be lazy, sloth is a cardinal sin, don't advocate for breaks or a 20 hr week, 

To work and to work is the hallmark of life, to love and be content is only for the weak. 

To work hard for something meaningful, for long we've been told this lie,

If it feels like work, you're killing yourself, better to say to toxic cultures bye.  

The Saving Types

Earned while still in college, saved it all to buy a bike,

As career started taking off, wasn't carried away, with each hike. 

The habit of saving substantially, was ingrained since birth, 

Bought the first car with saved money- for what its worth.

Took a loan in life just once- on first home to save some tax,

I pay 'all dues' on my credit card, never on this I am lax.

Service nearing retirement, but saving shouldn't end,

Whatever little I earn these days, to the egg nest I upend.

 

Save for your child's education, save for the rainy day,

When the storm comes, uninvited- you'll be left shattered - anyway.  

Some save so they can invest and feel, the kicks of turning money to wealth,

I save to take care of medical emergencies, or fund my startup, still in stealth.   

From the cradle to the grave, we keep saving stuff,

The insecurity is mostly in our mind, there is always enough.

A Typical Day

Monitoring critical student alerts, ensuring they're responded to, 

Reading through words of pain and despair, and some slivers of hope too.

On a typical day with the help of team, diffusing crises and averting suicide,

The job made easy with the help of SPOCs, and in-house counselors by my side. 

Designing solutions to address student needs, both of performance and well-being, 

An AI chatbot or an automated campaign, ensuring they're empathetic like a human being.

CBT tools that are evidence based, are transformed to use in a digital form, 

Scripts for videos, or new assessments, with the team I daily brainstorm.

Meetings make up a larger part, with peers, with team, with boss, with clients, 

Achieving alignment to seal our place, a fledgling David amongst the giants. 

Discussions abound on strategy, on Ops, on product, in daily standup,

The day is filled with purpose and chores, just like any other thriving startup.

I don't know whether what I do, can be labelled as #JobsOnTheRise,

But I have found my niche, my North Star, and this job is a dream, a cherished prize.

The Law of Numbers?

Buy a hundred stocks, remain invested over time,

Avoid the panic sells, your portfolio would be fine.  

The power of compounding, over time will ensure wealth,

Few will drive the growth, while majority diminish your financial health. 

 

Launch a dozen startups, or have multiple projects ongoing,

One of them will give returns, on others you'll be money throwing.

That much entrepreneurship is required, to ensure a unicorn,

Only from ashes of the failures, the phoenix of success is born.   

Write a thousand sonnets, create on a daily beat,

One of the themes may resonate, and reader's expectations meet.

Most of them would be duds, only one or two masterpiece, 

Its important when you don't find an audience, you don't desist and cease. 

 

To be a part of a beautiful relationship, should I just keep experimenting with new folks, 

Or invest in a relationship deep and sound, and ensure my love is true- and not a hoax.

Skill or Luck?

Winning the lottery, investing at right time in the right stocks, 

Buying a property early, in the upcoming premium blocks,

Inheriting an unexpected fortune, lady luck shines all the way,

You attribute to your skill and strategy, shrewdness - come what may. 

Wealth does not always compound exponential, you mange a steady growth,

You save regularly by earning well, avoid like leech greed and sloth.

The roller-coaster of gambling, is replaced by a strong work ethic,

To keep your job and avoid layoffs, you placate planets that are malefic.

Cooperative banking scam happens, you lose your retirement kitty,

You put all your eggs in a basket, they are now rotten- what a pity. 

Investment in art and crypto, didn't pick off or were regulated out, 

You blame yourself for your situation, that risky bets led to your rout.

Be it success or failure, that shouldn't decide whether we were right or wrong,

It's not a matter of either skill or luck, without lyrics there would be no song.