The ship of 'Hope'

There is a tide in the affairs of men.

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.

Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224

Such was the tide, that led me here.

But no voyage can be started

Nor unknown waters be charted

Until you find a ship to trust                                                                                        

And a captain, brave and just                                                                                      

So my sights I set afar

Guided by a sky and its leading star.                                                                           

The wind in my sails ebbed and soared                                                                      

But my trusted compass kept me assured                                                                   

The rudder was still holding its line                                                                             

And the wheel kept me moving just fine.                                                                    

The beacon atop the lighthouse beckoned                                                                 

And its brightness lit the future I reckoned.

Has the journey come to an end?

Or is it just another bend?

When other tides and seas I seek

What I do and what I speak,

How I fight and how I cope

I learnt aboard my ship of ‘Hope’

The ship mentioned here represents Asha Hsopital, Hyderabad and the poem is dedicated to my teachers there on the occasion of teacher's day.