Caged, Captured or Enslaved?
am I bound, or am free?
Mere mortal in restrain,
or a lasting soul at liberty?
 
I often gaze and wonder,
as anxious crowds abound.
If only 'home' for them,
meant solace all around.
 
Wonder why at every step,
restlessness do people will?
Yearn for peace in turmoil,
lust for mayhem in tranquil.
 
Songs of solitude often are,
by feeble minds kept at bay.
Courage does in silence hear,
cries the voices never say.
 
I ask my heart, for reasons why,
alone I feel, in harmony?
Cause, it says, you do not seek,
camaraderie for ecstasy.
 
So O beings, where does it lie,
the elusive joy you seek to find?
In confines, I hope you learn,
happiness is peace of mind.
                                                                                                     - Ibad Mohammed
© Rhymes in Reason, April 2020

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Discussion about the poem:

Lockdowns, Quarantines and social distancing. It is surprising that what our super power nations could not achieve, a single microscopic virus accomplished in a matter of days. In times like these, I was compelled to ponder over the fact, that are we caged, captured or enslaved? And that too by a miniscule organism, or by the faux freedoms we believed we enjoyed. So this, dear readers, is my attempt to make sense of what’s unfolding in front of us.

The poem begins by asking the obvious question on my mind. That are we in some form of prison due to this virus? By just restraining our physical bodies, has this virus succeeded in capturing us? Or are our souls much larger and boundless that they can never be in any shackles?

It is my firm belief, that we have lost sight of what HOME really means to us. The next paragraph defines my understanding of what a home should ideally be. That is, a place of solitude.

I have often found people around me quite restless in every sphere of life. Hence, the next paragraph addresses my query regarding the same. Why is it that we always want to change our circumstances? It is quite obvious to want to change for a better life, but I have observed that in peace folks want mayhem and in mayhem they ask for peace. Doesn’t such ambivalence in our thoughts defeat the whole purpose of wanting a BETTER life? And what is this better life we are craving for in the first place?

Words of silence are in my opinion, the best advice one could ever get. But we not only need a strong mind to heed such words, but it also takes immense will power to walk on the path they show. This is what I meant by the next stanza.

Next paragraph is the answer I have found when I asked myself for the reason for the contentment I found in my loneliness. Though I am not a loner by any definition of the word, but it is also a fact that I have never craved companionship for mere merriment or to fill any unknown vacuum in my life.

Finally, I end the poem with what I think is the most important lesson that Life has taught me. We have complicated our otherwise simple lives, by running after some vague concept of joy that we have not even defined clearly for ourselves. This has resulted in all of us running a rat race in search of a mirage which may or may not even be true. Now that this invisible organism has bound us to one place, I hope we all stop running for a moment and understand that joy, happiness, success or whatever we are running after, on comprehension we will find that ‘peace of mind’ is the only thing we are truly after. So, my dear reader’s, why run when we can get it where we are?

Do you feel differently about this subject? Or have you surmised some other meaning of this poem and/or any particular line/stanza? Do let me know in the comments below or on any of our social media handles and we can discuss!