God is our father, everyone would say,
Being Kind and merciful, protects us, when hope sinks away,
We call a priest, father,
Who preaches what to do and not either,
A teacher introduces us to the world of knowledge,
Father also teaches,
Skills and wisdom, not preaches,
Do we acknowledge ?
Holding his little finger, I have taken my first step,
Learnt nursery rhymes and the first alphabet,
Without delving deep into the metaphysics,
He often talked about moral and ethics.
In life, you may undergo many acid tests,
But remember my son, he said,
Truth and honesty are the best!
Having cared for me, played with me,
Through thick and thin, stayed with me,
As a teacher, preacher, protector,
Friend, philosopher and guide,
He was all in one to me.
-- Gopal Sinha,
India,
10-6-2024
(My father left for his heavenly abode, when I was hardly 10.)
BIO:
Gopal Sinha, B.Sc. (Engg.), Civil, retired as an Executive Engineer, Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, now devotes his time in writing regularly, both in Hindi and English, prose and poetry, much of them have found place in various journals, e-magazines and anthologies, also participates as an anchor and a poet in various such on-line programmes, conducted by different literary platforms, his other interests are drawing, photography and singing old Hindi film songs.
-- Gopal Sinha
Bengaluru, India,
17-6-2024