Two Sides of the Same Road

Two sides of the same road,
And I stand at the boundary,
A side resplendent with joy and celebrations,
Another dark with sorrow and suffering.

A nippy November night,
Calls out for sweaters and mufflers,
And around a small fire,
A brother grinds his teeth,
As he battles between frigid winds and the warmth of his sister,
All on two sides of the same road.

A mother struggles with a picky eater,
Another worries about picking something to eat,
Hunger cries out everywhere,
Somewhere it’s whet, somewhere it’s suppressed,
All on two sides of the same road.

A kid complains about school,
The other stands at the gate peeking inside,
Both are forced from their position,
One away and the other towards,
All on two sides of the same road.

Fancy wines on the shelf,
Serve as a good buster of stress,
And in the corner of a hut,
A drunkard’s wife fears every day,
When her husband returns home with stress,
All on two sides of the same road.

A mind sighs at the repetitive songs on a playlist,
Another finds comfort in a mother’s lullaby,
Some unwind at the hands of a masseuse,
Some at the sight of a smile,
All on two sides of the same road.

The skies light up with beautiful fireworks,
On the night of a festival,
And though the view looks same from both sides,
One looks away to the next batch,
While the other remains glued with longing,
All on two sides of the same road.

Flesh and soul on both sides,
Same air to breathe,
Humanity lost on both sides,
Either of lack or plenty,
Everyone trying to ‘live’ a life,
On both sides of the same road.