Relinquish

Background

I first wanted to name this poem (if i can call it a poem), 'surrender'...but the word seemed to have a negative ring to it. Though it has shades of the spirit of relinquishing, it also connotes an acceptance of despair, an admittance of defeat.

'Relinquish' on the other hand...sounds relatively more straight-forward and matter-of-fact to be the title of a poem. It is in fact very 'prosaic' but, I found some very powerful visual cues when looking up this word

Relinquish is to...

To part with a possession or a right
Cease to hold or adhere to
Relinquish to the power of another; yield to the control of another (and the last one is my favorite)
To release, as from one's grip

I have always grappled with the question...do I own my life? Am I the master of my own destiny? And each time i have asked myself this question, i have a subtle reminder that there is something beyond me that is steering the course of my life...call it a force, destiny, fate or God....and whenever I step back a bit from myself and my life and watch what is happening and let it happen...I find myself happier, instead of forcibly trying to steer it to another path. That does not mean I surrender my life and stop dreaming and living and experiencing what it offers. I merely open my fist...and release my grip and then sit back and enjoy the auto pilot mode....And I have written this poem...so that every time i forget this truth or doubt it, it serves me as a reminder

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I give back to you what is yours
What was never mine…I can never own
I can never control

I am just here to experience what you have set out for me
I do not choose these experiences
I neither despair…nor hope…nor desire
I accept what you have given me
And thank you for it

I have nothing of mine in me.
Whatever is there….is yours!

Categories: Reflections_ , Poems_