If I have to be born again
I will ask God one thing
Please let me be born
In a very modest family
With values that cherish
Forever and help others

I thank God for giving me
Those values in this life
Although it took me long
To realize how valuable
Some of my habits were
Growing up modestly

As a child when I first
Gave my spare pen nib
To my neighbor’s child
Who was sad and upset
For not able to complete
Homework with broken nib
Little did I realize that
I just didn’t respond to the
Need of a fellow being
But I opened a window of
Compassion in my heart
That gradually widened

When I broke the only
One candy I could get
Into three uneven pieces
And gave two bigger ones
To my younger brothers
And ate the smaller one
I barely felt the deep love
That urged me to give the
Best part of my life to others
That feeling grew in me and
Guided me to do research
Using the only asset I have
That is God-given creativity

The day when my mom
Cooked my favorite sweets
I instantly ran out with them
To share with other kids
In our modest neighborhood
As they were eating joyfully
Little did I understand then
My heart vibrates joyfully
When I share my cherished
Things in life with others
That navigated me to share
My cherished knowledge
With all those around me

When I was admitted
In hospital with sickness
As a medico with others
And shared my home made
Food with fellow medicos
Who were not able to eat
A morsel of hospital diet
I hardly realized that the
Real happiness I felt then
Was due to my lack of
Thinking about my health
While feeling bad for others

Lord, these are my assets
Which I want to take with me
To my next life wherever it is
Let me not trade them with
Worldly and material riches
That may make me forget
My real assets in my life
Give me the wisdom to
Differentiate the real assets
From the worldly attributes
That will not come with me
When I leave my body….

©Copyright: Bellamkonda Kishore

 
Soul is born Free
But, bonded in life
From day one on
It struggles a lot
To balance itself
Between the two
Eternal Freedom
If tastes within
The deep bonds
It feels outside

In this struggle
Of life with its
Joys & sorrows
Highs and lows
Touching times
Painful moments
Just like moving
Images on screen

There is one thing
That never changed
Will never change
That is the screen
Let us not forget it
Let us keep in mind
Without that Screen
There is no life at all
To hold these bonds

The show ends one day
Leaving the screen
Clean & unperturbed
Freedom in bondage
Is the secret of life

©Copyright of Bellamkonda Kishore

Life is too previous
It cann’t be measured
With valueless weights
Like money, fame etc.
It cann’t be pursued
With mirages in mind
Or to please this world

Life is a Gift from God
We should please Him
And work with passion
That is satisfying to us
That we did our part
In God’s Eternal Mission

If we work splendidly
God only matters to us 
Rest is a passing show
Praise and censure
Are like the ebb and flow
They come and go always
The deep ocean is quiet
Be a scuba diver in life
To find the deep treasures
Waves are for surfers
Who cannot dive deep

©Copyright of Bellamkonda Kishore

A brave soldier dying
In the line of duty
Is hailed as the hero
Honored with state funeral
Well deserved for sacrifice

When a dedicated doctor
Dies by contacting deadly
Disease from the patients
Just leaves a void behind
In the hearts of family
Heavy loss to kith & kin
Which cannot be replaced

A soldier knows the risk
In annihilating the enemy
A doctor does not expect
To die saving a patient
Destiny is cruel in killing
Those who save lives
There is no logic with death
Just like there is no logic
When a bubble pops open
And disappears in a second

We need to live with this
Hard reality of life and death
Which are inseparable like
Two sides of a golden coin
Which we cherish as life

©Copyright of Bellamkonda Kishore

With the weather chilling down
Extended family members
Gathering around the fire place
Exchanging their pleasantries
Remembering their pioneers
Who landed on this vast land
Five hundred years ago
In search of a new life
And religious freedom
Leaving everything they had
Back in their towns in Europe
Sailing to a distant land on
May Flower across the Atlantic
Surviving the harsh elements
Over the ocean and on landing
Without knowing their fate
And what was there in store
For them and their children
In a vast unexplored continent
With no one on it to welcome
Or speak a word of their tongue

Little could they imagine
Beyond the religious freedom
They were looking at that time
That one day the land they
Stepped on will become
The greatest free country
Attracting people from
All corners of the world
And establish Liberty
Justice and Equality
For all with no barriers
And become a beacon of
Light to all democracies
And help everyone to
Realize his/her dreams
Where an ordinary person
Can do extraordinary things

 
To those early pioneers
All of us who made the best
Of this land of opportunities
The land of dreams that work
For us and for our children
Are indebted deeply and forever

Let’s celebrate Thanksgiving
Just like our Diwali festival 
By serving Thanksgiving Dinner
To those who cannot afford one
And thus cheering up them
This is the minimum we can do
For the culture of our adopted land
God Bless the United States of America

©Copyright of Bellamkonda Kishore

As the first rain drops hit the parched earth
When Monsoon broke with a thunder
After a long scorching summer season
How can we forget that unique smell?
That made us to identify with Mother Earth?

Walking home in the rain from school
With slippers that flip-flopped in the water
With no umbrella or rain coat to protect
Covering the head with the school bag
As the passing cars splashed water on us
How can we forget those sweet experiences?

Playing soccer in the rain with barefoot
And in muddy water covered field
That caused abrasions on the feet
And ripped the toe nails with bleeding
The feeling of biting pain when mom poured
Tincture Iodine on those raw wounds
Those were the memorable events in our lives

©Copyright of Bellamkonda Kishore