From Boyhood to Manhood

The four walls that I live in,

The four walls that I breathe in,

The four walls that I have grown in,

Are not just walls of bricks,

Are not just walls of stones,

They have ingrained in them,

The values of my parents,

The warmth of my parents,

The protection of my parents,

The limitless love and strength and the bosom of my parents,

And so as I transit from boyhood to manhood,

I must build my own walls,

The walls of my courage,

The walls of my thoughts,

The walls of my dreams,

The walls of my life,

But oh! The soul of souls,

The walls may be painted in the shade of my choice,

They will always have the heart of my parents.

At this point in midnight,

When alcoholism and smoke hover around me,

When the thickly lit cigarette fumes startle me,

May the fire within me prove to be mightier than those fumes,

And burn me in the teachings of my parents.

With a sea of stress and a mountain of worries,

With the monotony of each day when my heart starts pounding in dejection,

May the boy in me awake to the man in my father,

The man in my father that has given me birth,

The man in my father that has infinite ingenuity,

The man in my father that has relentless youth,

The man in my father that has grown old enough to succumb but that springs up each day,

And fills my heart with euphoric energy and ideas,

May that man bury my dejection,

As I transit from boyhood to manhood.

As I see those orphans,

As I feel their pain,

As I realize the worth of this majestic money,

As I see those pavements laden with poverty,

As I feel their struggle and toil,

As I realize the worth of this majestic money,

May the boy in me grow into the majesty in my mother,

That builds his own empire but also harbors the miseries of this world.

As this virtual world around me crushes me,

May the real world within me be as strong and firm as the blessings of my parents,

Whenever I stand on the sea of druthers,

Where I can either drown in the deathly entanglements of the common,

Or else I can fly high and high,

Touch and feel the uniqueness of the lit up star of my soul,

May I always find myself in the sacred skies of my parents,

As I transit from boyhood to manhood.