an accident of birth

I get it!
It isn’t always easy being who we are.
We didn’t choose to be born,
or to find ourselves labelled at birth.
Why are we male, not female?
Black or white?
Why are we not as clever?
As healthy? As wealthy?
Where is the justice in being
tethered to a name that bears
little recognition, whilst others bask
in glories assigned to them by the past?
Are we wrong to expect more than our lot?
Wrong to curse our luck?
Or to feel envious as we look
across an ocean of divide
to see our dreams take
shape in other’s hands?

We kid ourselves
that all are equally blessed,
such things as wealth
are within the grasp of
each and everyone.
That those who stumble
do so through their own fault
or misapplication.
Blinded by privilege,
convenience often hides the truth
and paints dreams
to silence the voice
of dissension.
I do not doubt that such rosy fate
blooms in many gardens,
but in earnest, how would you fare
if you are accidently birthed
in a wilderness of disappointments?

50 Word stories: Touched by fate

Inspired by reading Richard Ankers’ writings, I’ve decided to try my hands at the 50 Word Stories, hoping to further develop my writing skills.

Torn between worlds, the eye of fate now turns to admire the long forgotten landscapes etched by time; only to be appalled by the future’s determination to cling with futility to the wilderness of opportunities that, for good or bad, had been set aside to cast shadows on another life.

misfortune

even a world
spun out of the
purest silk
adorned with
the most precious
of stones can
be shattered
by a summer wind
whose ill temper
cares not for
the promises
of spring

unannounced
misfortune comes
to bring
fate’s heartless blade
to slice and dice
by endless cuts
the body
of meaningful
existence
whose hasty
departure
it forestalls

the storm
that chaos brings
is swift
turning day to night
with but a moment
arriving as cold
as a daggered hand
to reap havoc on
on a well made bed
once shaped
to invite comfort
– now, no more –

too popular

O lovely flower
what a fate to be cut in
the prime your life

unavoidable fate

 

knowing where death waits
is of no great advantage
falling from the sky

J M Lysun

All come to an end

falling from great height
an unavoidable fate
all must follow death

 

 J M Lysun