Missing the Bus

I have missed the bus

Deliberately

It was full

And I didn't like traveling long distances

Standing and swinging

Experiencing Newton's law of motion

Or perhaps Maharshi Kanad's

Several times I have rushed

And caught early buses

But I have not experienced any advantage

You might start early

But you cannot command the time of your destination

Destiny governs the time of your destination

You might board early

But the arrival and departure depends on the driver

The number of railway crossings

The heat in the engine of the bus

And also the wrong siders

Speaking of the driver

I am reminded of the Bhadwadgeeta

Mind chauffeur of the chariot of body

Which I think so worthy of remembering

And yet keep so easily forgetting

In my childhood, I used to play with bricks and stones

Just as today's children play with Lego bricks

I made characters out of stones that could

Stand horizontally

Pilots, Bankers, Policemen, Soldiers, Halwais

So many, that I would sometimes forget

That I have left someone frozen on his journey

I guess the higher power does the same with us

But always recalls what he has abandoned

In the darkness there should always be a hope

One bus ordained for me remains

Where my spot is vacant

Which starts the last but reaches the earliest.