I Will Not Be Able To Change Anything Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

I will not be able to change anything,
I will not be able to change anything that has pre-existed
as my forefathers have traveled this road with acceptance
and they knew what was yesterday will be here tomorrow
whether it was the phases of the moon
or whether it was the sun that emerged at dawn
without any reluctance or hesitation.
I will not be able to change anything,
I will not be able to change anything that will recur
as the waves have always adhered to the tide
that as they rose, they fell, as they receded they rolled back,
whether they rose to lash on the rocks
or whether they swayed the ships on the high seas,
the waves always kept whirling in the oceans so fervently.
I will not be able to change anything,
I will not be able to change anything that is routine
as the axis of the earth will have its own action
and the world will keep rotating and revolving
by its own reaction;
whether the birds forget to sing or the lions roar aloud
whether the trees have nests or the flowers forget to bloom,
the waxing moon, the little twinkling stars
will always be there in the skies to display their own enchantment.
I will not be able to change anything,
I will not be able to change anything that a child learns
as he will always want to know more and more
whether he goes to school or runs on the playground,
whether he studies as he grows or he behaves so careless,
finally he will move on to become a man of ambition
and he will walk ahead to conquer all his dreams and fantasies.
I will not be able to change anything,
I will not be able to change anything not even my own fate
and I am gratified that I enjoyed all the blessings
assigned to me in my lifetime;
whether it was the friend who loved me with sincerity
or whether it was the enemy who confronted
my grit and my insistence,
I have lived humbly and with contentment of my own kind
as all the grandeur and aristocracy of my ancestors
I have upheld
and as I depart I will hold no regrets or heartaches
as the other generations will take over their journeys of life
and walk more enthusiastically than me in their own lifetime.