Here it is!!!!

My God is right, the only One.

Why is it then I am not "better" than the sinner is?

Maybe God is testing me…

to see if I do my best,

my best to kill the sinner.

My government is right.

Bordering country is unbelievable.

I am patriotic and willing to give,

give my life and take that of many others,

in order to make my flag fly higher.

I do not believe in my self-will.

To make sure I am not confused,

I have to be the only existent.

I am wrong.

I am wrong.

All I want to do is love.

Love is God,

Love is right,

Love is being respectful, unconditionally.

I  may win,

I may lose,

But life is definitely a game.

A game where ends and means are not always related.

A game where outcome is unimportant.

Integrity of the players makes life valuable.

Whether I like it or not, I am in the field.

I will not devalue life, the opportunity that cannot be taken for granted..but nurtured.

My God is right, and the only One.

Why is it then I am not Better,

but the sinner is?

Maybe God is testing me…

to see if I do my best,

best to love and forgive.

Better yet, not to judge.

My government is right.

Bordering country is unbelievable.

I am patriotic and willing to give,

give  all to meet midway.

Better yet, find a way to peace and joy.

I do not believe in my self-will.

To make sure I am not confused,

Let me be humble,

Better yet, see the OTHER SIDE!!!

My Entry to this week’s  

Russian literature awes me in its description and the way words fall in a line, mostly like how I think in Tamil and not how I am taught to write in English. Ever since I read Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake, I’ve thought of reading Gogol. The final push was when I requested Tolstoy’s Kingdom of God is Within You (The book  that gave Mahatma thoughts on realizing non-violence in addition to Bhagavad Gita) and PPLS has ordered it just for me:) AND I am 154th in line for The Last Lecture, REALLY!!!!

The story is about a government document copier, Akaky Akakievich. All that he ever cared about was his job, not what his co-workers thought of him, social life, or family. Then one day, he is in need of an overcoat. After months of planning and budgeting, he gets a new one and the whole world notices him. As he begins to enjoy the coat, he encounters thieves who take it away. His attempts to find it are a waste in his corrupted country. One official yells at him cruel enough to make Akaky sick and die.

But, he comes as a ghost and teaches a lesson to the citizens of St. Petersburg.

Gogol’s words are ordered very logically in place, if you can understand what I mean. The words are just how a non-native English speaker thinks. I enjoyed the wordiness, description of places, people, emotions brought out in this short story. I lived in various characters myslf. St.Petersburg, now Leningrad, was brought alive in Gogol’s creation and reminded of many cities I have been in. Government’s inefficiency and corruption portrayed in 1842 is still true in most places of the world, discouraging as it is.

Somehow, we all can see ourselves in tiny bits in the various characters in this shortstory.

Somehow, every city is partially described in this too, and so are all emotions.

Dostoyevsky was right in saying We have all come from under THE OVERCOAT.