Let The Battle Begin

The flag of my kingdom was soaring so high

I could admire its proud emblem with my naked eye.

 I stood by the casement admiring the view

A view so ancient yet so exceedingly new.                                             

To the left of my window existed a land

 So far off it seemed like a speck of some sand,

Yet I had the audacity to dream that one day

My flag would be stationed where that speck of sand lay.

A land that was known to make many flags fall

A mighty empire, most powerful of all.

My advisors had spent an eternity of time,

Their pleadings as monotonous as a nursery rhyme.

They urged me to curtail the dream I had dreamed

Yet how could I curtail a passion that screamed!

When each one of them had tried and had failed

To ensure that my scandalous hopes were jailed,

The Wazir-e-Aala had been summoned to me

To gauge if I was in a state of to be or not to be.

“Huzoor”, he had said, “I respect your wants,

Yet I must warn of the immense danger that haunts.

A desire is something that all of us nurse

But an obsession is desire cased in a hearse.”

“The King of that land has an army so large

So strong and so ready it is waiting to charge!

 Ten thousands of cavalry with cohorts of men,

Such vigilant security only exists for a lion’s den.

A thousand elephants, ten thousand horses,

You’ve surely heard of the cannons it endorses! 

The steel of their swords have so much might,

The speed of their arrows as fast as light.”

 “May your hopes be fulfilled, may your dreams come true,

 But note it’s still waters that raging storms brew.

So curb your desire and shut all those doors

That lead you to a land that might never be yours.”

I looked at my Wazir, he looked at the floor

I thought he’d continue, but he said no more.

I walked to the window, I gazed at the view

A view so ancient yet so exceedingly new.

The flag of my kingdom was soaring so high                        

I could see its proud emblem with my naked eye.

                                                                                                     

A pause ensued, a silence was cast

The silence I broke, by speaking at last.

“The king of that land is powerful I know

My hopes are too high but my fears are too low.

My wish is so daring, many hearts are being wrenched,

But my wish is a thirst and a thirst must be quenched.”

“His army may boast of ten thousands of men

For each one of my soldiers he may furnish ten,                      

Yet he lacks a force that I amply possess

The force of conviction, the tact of finesse.

He fights every battle by the might of his sword,

A dark lurking fear makes people call him their lord.

I win every battle by the might of my mind,

Have you heard of a sharper sword of any kind!”

 “Wazir-e-Aala  raise your hopes anew,

Discern the sunrise within this sunset view,

You warn me of failure till your throat becomes dry,

Yet what is a greater failure than to not even try!”

“A man who lacks the faith in his stride

Is a man who is alive but has already died.

A man whose confidence is offendingly low,

Is a man whose armour is vulnerably hollow.”

 “I’m not that man and I never will be,

For my head is held high with hope and dignity.

If ever I will win the battle I fight,

It will indeed be an awesome sight.

And if I should lose on the battle field

My enemies will respect me for the valour I wield.”

“So Wazir-e –Aala, cast off your fears,

Call for the bugles and drums to deafen all ears

Let the announcement be made with all hue and cry,

That the flag of my kingdom that soars so high,

Will soon be flying in yet another land,

Might of a mind against the might of a hand.”

“The King will daringly extend his border,

His head will never be bowed by order.

Let my army prepare, may the best man win,

May God be with us, LET THE BATTLE BEGIN.”

The battle was fought like all battles are,

With valour and courage and scimitar.

Yet what followed is a fact that is very well known,

I now proudly sat on a grand new throne.

The battle was won, celebrations were due,

Through the same old casement I gazed at the view.

My flag was soaring on the far off beach,

A land out my grasp but within my reach.

The flag of my kingdom was soaring so high,

I could see its proud emblem with my naked eye.

When the mind is in conflict, when the heart houses fear,

When success seems so far when it might be so near.

Shed off your fears and walk with a stride,

Let a smouldering confidence serve as your guide.

It’s first in the mind that the war must be won

The rest is formality, a mere execution.

And the day you believe in your heart you will win,

Hold up your head and declare, “Let the battle begin.”