In the face of life

In the face of life
I have not learnt a thing
from moments of victorious ends.
If I have learnt something, then almost always
it has been from failures
that I have tried to mend.
If I am a woman today
of strong will and steal valour,
it isn't the gift from a fortune dial
but of an unbending and calm manner,
adopted and internalised
from a parent, a friend, a stranger, a generation, or an animal;
everyone in a struggle for survival.
A parent who,
fierce, bold & blind in love,
is Unbound by reason or the rational.
A friend, who
is a rescuer unbending,
in a personal feud
against harm to her only friends.
A stranger, who,
Emotionless and untouched
yet by the weakening bouts of love,
is able for being so.
A generation,
with wisdom unique to a certain age,
refined & toughened,
with centuries-old tricks of trade.
And an animal, who
with natural instincts
has it all,
that it takes for one to live.
Ambika Singh is a postgraduate student at the University of Delhi. She can be found on https://mobile.twitter.com/ambikakundu.