Anika Choudhary

The Ball Poem is a extraordinary poem written by John Berryman. The poem gracefully explains the five lessons of the epistemology of loss through a small boy who has lost his toy ball. Feeling inspired by the poem of this amazing poet, I also tried to composed a poem on the five lessons of the knowledge of loss. To those who have experienced loss Are labelled as a lost cause Those who try to lend a hand Are stopped due to society's demands If you do try to help Then there's no use of the advice you're about to tell For they'll push you away Without listening to the words of support you wanted to say Then, they realise about responsibility The first lesson in loss's epistemology Soon, they learn that things come and go For that is how our world stays afloat On knowing that this world is full of materials They realise that money is just external It can buy the same new and shiny things But it can't buy the same feelings Then, their time of learning is interrupted

Now, for a moment, I would like you to look at this picture and think about the thoughts that come into your mind on seeing it.  Well, did you think about it? On seeing this picture, you may think about things like loneliness, nostalgia and many other thoughts. Compare these thoughts with someone else's.  Maybe, your thoughts were different than that other person's. If your thoughts were different, then how did you feel about that? Did you tell the other person about it, or did you just keep it to yourself? Some may have kept their thoughts to themselves, uncomfortable with saying anything. If you have different thoughts than someone else's, then that is okay. Everyone is different. Everyone has different thoughts. Learn to express those thoughts kindly without any doubt. If you keep all of your opinions to yourself and keep being dependent on other people's thoughts, just remember that you're not saving anyone. In fact, you are just harming yourself. In