PROCLIVITIES REVERSED ON TENTERHOOKS

Huddled up impressions,when they actuate your appetite,
Only to discover diligence,short of being erudite,
Still kindred predilections strike a symphony and discord,
Albeit,to me obsequious, for I am their sovereign lord.
 
There might be some, teeming with appellations,
For others,value judgement,seems to settle the equations,
And though we merely have the opposite of what we sought,
Yet,I cannot forbear,to serve your food for thought.
 
Normative it is, with no rival thus far,
In earnest none,while in farce,a few, there are,
When Nikhil's squinting eyes rummaged through the myriad faces,
Immobilized at one,hallowed by the three Greek Graces.
 
Blessed beauty and charm,both in a face did converge,
Unmindful though he was of the distant dirge,
Minacious,mournful,mellifluous!the melody did escape his care,
As he boarded the barge of sentiment,oblivious of the fare.
 
When he met her at first,necessary civilities followed,
Still something there was,that needed to be swallowed,
Besides,a few more exchanges that formed contrived conversations,
The discharged pool of emotions,that stirred his innermost stations.
 
A welcome change it was,greeted with ecstasy,
Invading the territories,of dream,thought and fantasy,
Curiosity put to rest,that haunted him all the same,
When epiphany echoed,"Hark! for Diya is her name."
 
At New Delhi,did they meet,with everything at leisure,
The influx of dialogues that precipitated mutual pleasure,
Someone like Ram,is what Diya longed for,in life,
Who could privilege,principle over profit notwithstanding the strife.
 
Nikhil,however,would choose the irrevocable parental design,
A bucolic lass arranged,for whom he would never pine,
There emanated,all the same,a furtive propensity reciprocal,
Contesting to come to surface,striving to become vocal.
 
After,much discourse,they had to part at last,
The act unhurried,with rumination running fast,
But not before the confession that Diya had to make,
"You are today's Ram";for Nikhil,an icing on the cake!
 
Late that night,Diya,put her mental faculties in motion,
Drinking the draughts,of her experience's magical potion,
Realized,however,that Ram,not only favored principle over profit,
But,also,duty over desire,discarding expedience,altercation and wit.
 
Reckoning could conjure up,images of imminent future bleak,
The degree of affections strong,the prospects of reification weak,
What entailed,thus,was a wild chase of opportunity cost,
Optimizing what could be gained,rebuking what would be lost.
 
Fixed in intent and purpose,Diya,to Nikhil,did propose,
Not for the initial inclination,if that's what you suppose,
For unrequited it would be and hence the next alternative,
Would you be my brother Nikhil,for sisterly love I'll live?
 
Left at the crossroads,with a choice to exercise,
Could he make one,as can be deemed wise?
Unbridled desire leading to mayhem,anarchy and mess,
Duty,could however,indemnify for it,never the less.
 
Besides,Diya,unworthy of Nikhil,is still an understatement,
Nowhere near to Sita,unfit for his Easter and Lent,
For she ran with the hare,and hunted with the hounds,
Outshining in mere beauty,overshadowed on other grounds.
 
Little,then,did he care,to answer in the affirmative,
The seat of felicity regained,the volition becoming native,
Marginally short she fell,even in his scruples for a sibling,
But,humility,innocence and simplicity did,all vices and follies sting.
 
Correlative tendencies,thus transposed,designated an inverted itinerary,
Invariably incumbent was the cognitive choice,bereft of what you see,
Not considerate for comeuppance,then,he restrained rejection without worry,
And acquiesced albeit she wasn't,even half as good as he.