A Promise to My Child

As they wanted me to be a man,
I entered wars that defined men for a while.
Suppressing my will to be a painter,
I promised this wouldn't happen to my child.

While I took a step in the world of wars,
I fell in love with bloodshed for a while.
Painting pictures on the battlefield with soldiers' blood,
I promised to share these works with my child.

Leaving the wars once and for all,
I continued to paint pictures for a while...
Turning my passion into a full time thing,
I promised to teach what's art to my child.

Though less paid I was quite happy,
I thought my decision to leave wars was right for a while.
As I commercialized art and entered the world of fame,
I promised to confess the sacrifice of sleep to my child.

Haunted by seeing the corpses of soldiers in my dreams,
I was shot down by their ghosts multiple times.
Standing tall on my feet before I fell down to death,
I promised some guns and not brushes to my child.

- Mohnish