A story in verse

AIN’T LIFE GRAND?

By Umair Ishaq Khan

For those who think their lives are damned,

Let me tell you there was once this man;

Filthy rich, he had everything that money could buy,

Still, thinking of his existence made him break down and cry;

What was he hiding in the vestiges of his broken heart,

Of which no one alive could be made a part?

Everyone could see and envy his immense wealth,

But what was behind this expensive black suit, no one could tell;

Even his servants who called his house home,

Never saw him in his study crying alone;

I first met him at an international convention,

And gathered there were many from our profession;

By pure coincidence, I saw in his eyes that no one could see,

And right then I knew that to end his troubles, God had sent me;

To talk to him I had to ask him for a ride,

Ironically I was going to be his guide;

On reaching our hotel I invited him to my room,

Mainly to know the cause of his gloom;

He immediately accepted, I don’t know how,

I think he had finally found a companion now;

We went inside and lit cigars,

To get him to talk, I didn’t have to go far;

I guess he was looking for someone to talk,

His heart was a stone, but not yet a rock;

Now comes the story that might bring tears to some eyes,

And clear the misconception that only the weaker sex cries;

It had all happened some ten years ago,

He was a famous doctor, but of it he never made a show;

People all around the world had heard of his success,

But one day he encountered failure even though he tried his best;

There on the operation table lay the limp carcass of none other,

Than someone he loved the most, his very own mother;

Dumped by his fiancé and disowned by his family,

He tried in vain to convince them, he was no magician after all he was only thirty;

He had never talked to them ever since,

He continued his practice but it was only pretence;

It was now time for me to play my part,

I had to end his gloom and free his heart;

I thanked God for granting me the power of persuasion,

I immediately knew how to handle the situation;

I somehow convinced him to call home there and then,

He finally did and we found out that they were as lonely as he was without them;

His fiancé had never married these ten years,

This fact alone made him overcome all his haunting fears;

Happy as a lark, he could laugh out loud again,

That night despair had lost and only hope reigned;

We boarded the first flight and headed straight for his home,

Both of us knew now that he will never be alone;

So all of you out there get up and take a stand,

After all my friends, ain’t life grand?