The Burden of Freedom

I always wanted freedom
Wanted, but never defined it.
Then one fine day I broke my shackles;
At first I felt like being a bird
Swinging from tree to tree…. no less than a dart.

Then I heard the sound of the gong,
In no time I was a part of the race that had begun
I ran so hard; I ran to win.
Countless images scurried, of people, some cheering, some sitting grim;
But the finishing line never appeared

Relentless worries accumulated--
The roots of the tree grew deeper and deeper into the earth;
A mesh around me thickened …
Like a spider entangled in its own web --- I Cried.
Voices yelled, I mustn’t die.

I lived my life like I would never die,
Clinging on to things and people that would not be forever mine
I have tasted love, hatred and greed,
Yet the jigsaw remained unsolved,
Do we live to die or die to live?

I always wanted freedom,
Got it but never liked it.
Now it is hard to recede
It is something which I would live for
Something with which, I would live