A Poet's Destiny Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon

There was a poet
Who was ordered
By the King to pen
A poem on his new palace.
'And you have time
Upto the next full moon day'
Roared the King.
The palace was a shame
To architecture,
Had nothing to boast of.
But, if he tells the truth
He'd lose his head, the poet knew.

So, a poem he composed
On its glory non-existent
And recited in the King's court
On the full moon day.
He had only time enough
To complete the recitation
When vanished the palace
With its King and courtiers all.

The poet stood alone
Stupefied
On the shifting sands
Where the palace once stood.

This is
The inevitable
Destiny
Of Every poet.