( I )
He is better
known as Hitler than by his name
A rigid
strict taskmaster, he earned much fame;
He
maintained time as precise as a clock
He is too
bold and defiant as a solid rock
To keep his
dignity, he did not smile
Dressed in
brown coat with tie in style
Not a moment
of leisure did he permit
He did not tolerate
any humor or wit
He earned
name as a man of merit and grit
A terror and
terrific scourge he seemed to lazy staff;
He treated
them with scorn as worthless chaff;
No pitiful
excuses did he entertain
He spurned
them away with royal disdain;
No political
pressure made him yield
He ruled his
domain like Achilles in the field;
Though he
moved in career like a rolling stone
He never
lost his mettle or felt helpless lone;
Well-versed
in rules and procedures due
He bluntly
refused any deviations new;
Ever
dedicated to his office routine
He
maintained his office tidy and clean;
( I I )
In spite of
his firm stringent attitude
At heart he
is not so unkind and crude;
To save his
staff he strove as far as he could
To set right
their flaws by their side he stood
He never
acted foul or hit below their belt
In his bosom
a lot of concern for them he felt
He
reprimanded them with stinging style
He curbed
their greedy acts with suppressed smile
He estimated
his office prestige and name with care
Negligence
and laxity, he did not spare;
( I I I )
Yet power
like riches at one place will not stay
One has to vacate
one’s chair on one day;
Same thing
happened to our officer wise
He has to
retire from his seat—no surprise;
And once he
left his esteemed seat
None greeted
him; none came to meet;
Like a fish
out of water he felt alone
He felt
neglected like a wayside stone;
And yet to
get his post-service gains
The fruits
of his long career he had to strain
From pillar
to post he moved many a time
So many hurdles
without reason or rhyme
Came in his
way his patience to test;
No more is
he the lord, but a casual guest;
A wandering
ex-officer hanging around
No sympathy
or support he has found;
Like an old
king he felt his kingdom lost
A ranting
Lear caught in the stormy blast;
The place
where he did reign like a mighty king
Now he limps like a bird with broken wing;
No stringent
command could he roar
None bowed
before him and opened the door;
With a sense
of shame and gloom and sweating brow
He waited
long with dragging steps too slow;
No more his
powers can he exercise
His present
feeble state he did realize;
He can’t
impose his rigid rules and laws
He had to
bear with others’ whims and flaws;
He had to
satisfy their wishes and needs;
Who would
defend him and defy their lawless deeds?
He had to
move alone to get his pending dues
He had to
find a way through puzzling clues.
*********************
15th March, 2021 Somaseshu Gutala
Ref : Achilles in the field - A brave Greek warrior in Trojan war.
Ranting Lear --- A legendary British king who was cheated
by his flattering daughters and lost his kingdom.
