He, himself

A hopeless student
In a hapless age,
Anything but prudent,
Trying to guage
The rigours of life
In the times ahead,
As he prepares himself
To earn his bread.

He screws his papers,
He flunks his tests,
He mugs, he crams,
Scrapes through the rest.
Cusses the system
In which he's drowned;
Tries to unwind listenin' to,
Asian underground.

He's seen the ups,
He's seen the downs,
Taking all the shit
That's been doin' the rounds.
But he knows
He'll shoot & hit the next time.
Won't be content waiting in the line.

He checks the pros,
Looks into the cons
Of the ideas
That he stumbles upon,
To redeem
All the things that he's missed.
Willing to sacrifice,
Prepared to risk.

But the tides are high,
The times are rough.
Trying to act normal
While he's engulfed
By the flames of thought,
The drive to succeed
In his constant endeavour
To make both ends meet.

He doesn't give in,
He doesn't bow out.
He don't care a damn
About the thunder and the clouds
Of darkness,
That he fights and endures
To turn the table
And yell out "UP YOURS!!"

© Tridib Chowdhury 2005