The Paper Boats
For the Malayalam version, click here.                                      

The rain has stopped;
watching the paper boats
floating on the water, I sit.

Tilting to one side,
then tilting to the other
they finally sink;

sad and silent
my little son stands watching.

Do you know?
Life is also like this;
dark clouds on the horizon
and not a star to be seen.
You have to row, my son,
through the salty waters
of your sorrows,
all alone in your tiny,
leaking boat.
When the morning star shines
to show you the way
in this darkness
do not sleep my son,
though tired you are.

The rain has stopped;
still you stand
looking at the paper boats;
not a word said,
I wonder why.

Poems of the World (USA) 1998 Spring Issue - Pg20
 This poem was read at the 7th Annual International Society of Poets Convention and Symposium in Washington D C on 8 August 1997 .

This poem appears on page 3  in Theatre of the Mind, an anthology of poetry published by Noble House, London (2003)