THOUGHTS TO MYSELF 

*International Pencil Day*

The pen may be mightier than the sword
But there's a certain finality to its behavior
An indubitable and irreversible climax of action
Like a nib that is broken after award of death sentence
Or a period that closes a sentence.

But a Pencil is never like that
A submissive, humble and soft servant
Ready to say sorry, ready for correction
A million words in layers of graphite
A zillion thoughts that can be replaced
The willingness for amelioration
And an attitude for improvement 

A Pencil may be just a piece of wood and lead
Or poor and necessitous, without make-up
Could easily get blunt and shabby
Yet, the beauty lies in its nature to get sharpened
In its ability to endure the pain of getting mended, every time it loses focus

The way it, the Pencil, asserts its point 
From light, medium to hard
Or grey, dark and black
You could derive different shades of truth
Each a shadow of its former self
And each mark, a tall figure of assimilation 
Of knowledge and maturity!!!

---Sri (30/03/2022)