Poems to inspire - the final part, my Movember swansong

As I bid farewell to my mo-carnation, I leave you in the dramatic company of the grand master of verse William Shakespeare. Among his various priceless works, he gave us the beautiful verse "All the World's a Stage" from his play As You Like It.

So, one last time, for your reading pleasure, a poem to (hopefully) inspire you. 

As always, do take a peek at my Movember page to post any of your own inspiring messages and make a donation for this worthy cause.
 

All the World is Stage
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

Poems to inspire - Part 2

This post comes later than it was intended. To compensate for my tardiness, I share not one but two poems from one of my favourite poets Robert Frost. Enjoy an inspiring read of The Road Not Taken, followed by an all-time classic - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. 

You could then also proceed to my Movember page to post any of your own inspiring messages and make a donation for this worthy cause.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening    

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Poems for men (and more enlightened creatures)... in support of MOVEMBER

In the series of poems in support of Movember, we start with this beautiful verse composed by one of the greatest of Indians - Rabindranath Tagore. This one is as relevant today as the day it was first penned. Enjoy!

  

Where the mind is without fear...

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action --

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

 

 

 

I am participating in “Movember” (http://sg.movember.com) along with some of my colleagues. We will “attempt” growing a moustache during the month of November to help raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues.

Besides growing a killer MO, here are just some of the things I'm planning for this MOvember -

• I’ll be uploading photos here http://mobro.co/hitendhruv throughout the month to show progress – both for me and my colleagues
• As a bonus, all through Movember, I’ll be posting a weekly selection of some of my favorite super manly inspirational verses and poems on this blog
• Follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/HitenDhruv where besides other things, I'll keep you posted about my attempts to discover the best barbershop in Singapore to give my Mo the perfect shape
• Most importantly – Guaranteed gratitude from me, my team and all of MANkind 

YOU can support our effort, by going here - http://mobro.co/hitendhruv and making a donation via the “Donate To Me” or “Donate To Team” links. Unlike many other things in life, the size (of your donation) isn't important, every little bit helps the cause. Additionally, you can also help us by spreading the word among your friends, family and acquaintances.

Thank-you very much - if for nothing else, then just for reading until here!

ps – Highlights of my previous attempt at fund raising in 2011 for an Indian NGO Tulir (www.tulir.org). Generous donations by colleagues across Barclays helped us raise over SGD10,000