The Dark Monster

There was once a wee little bunny

As happy and carefree as can be

His brown and white fur was velvety soft

And his long whiskers twitched like jelly

Wee little bunny lived his bunny life

Frolicking with his furry friends till sunset

He was a lively one, this bunny

A more lovable creature you wouldn’t have met

Leading his pack of bunny pals,

Wee little bunny raced up and down the burrows

His friends trusted the wee little bunny

As he bravely scurried about the green meadows

Nothing seemed to rattle wee little bunny

His quick wit and sharp ears kept him safe

His parents were mighty proud of their little one

Their son was the bravest of the braves

Then one evening as wee little bunny

Made his journey home from lively play

His tummy growling for hot supper

His thoughts on the fun he had that day

The sun was soon setting

As evening descended into dark

What creeped up behind wee little bunny

Gave him a mighty violent start!

Now wee little bunny was brave

Everyone had told him so

Having spotted the big dark monster

He wasn’t feeling so brave anymore

His heart beat wild against his tiny chest

Wee little bunny stifled his scream

He had never felt this scared and helpless

Surely this was just a horrible dream!

Wee little bunny scrunched his eyes

And ran as fast as his wee toes could take him

He powered uphill and rolled downhill

Leaving behind the monster, so scary and grim

When his home appeared in view

Wee little bunny breathed a sigh of relief

As he jumped onto the brightly lit porch

The monster decided to take leave

Huffing and puffing, he sat down for supper

Taking breaks to tell of his adventurous tale

His younger brothers were left agape

And his poor frightened sisters turned pale

When wee little bunny’s tale came to an end

His mum and dad looked at him and smiled

They had a secret to share with him

The pudding would just have to wait a while

His dad said ‘Wee little one, don’t you see?

The truth unknown to you but known to me

In the evening, we cast shadows of ourselves

So it was really YOU that you found scary’

And just like that wee little bunny

Wasn’t afraid anymore

The world had no dark monsters

There were only secrets that one learns as one grows

So this is the story of wee little bunny

Who learnt that only YOU can scare yourself

To free your mind of fears unknown

One needs to only have a little faith in oneself

 

Fickle Claims

We claim we are atheists

But turn god-fearing before an exam

We claim we are democratic

But clamp down an opposing voice

We claim we are honest

But sneak a bribe without blinking

We claim we aren’t prone to envy

But turn the same shade of green as the neighbor's new car

We claim to aspire for contentment

But burn ourselves out for another raise

We claim we’re just being funny

When our humor is aimed at another’s sorrow

We claim we are world travelers

But don’t know the name of the neighboring state  

We claim we are compassionate

But turn the other way when we hear a cry for help

We claim we believe in simplicity

But indulge in ostentatious one-upmanship

We claim we are humble

But we need the world to acknowledge our grandeur

We claim we treasure friendships

But how easily we let our egos break the ties of a lifetime

We claim that we’ll love the other in sadness and in health

But seem to fall unwell during times of sadness

We claim to be patriotic

But strangely only on days of national significance

We claim we live by noble ideals

But it’s always our words, not our actions, which does the talking

If only we were held accountable to all our claims

I wonder whether we’d be so quick to make claims in vain.