Shell of Innocence

As a child
We are like
A human life
In an egg-shell
Made of innocence
And of selflessness.

We love, we feel
We react, we reveal
We cherish, we dream
We laugh, we scream.
We remain what we are
Both inside and to
The world outside
Just as a crack on a shell
Is fairly visible
To everyone alike.

Time goes on
Shell is given away
In the name
Of societal norms.
Shell of innocence
Is no longer nurtured
For the life in it
To grow as a being
With strong values
Of character, integrity
Of selfless mindset
And of humanity.

Misled shells
Then fall prey to the
Unfavorable situations in life
Sometimes by God and
At times by its creation
And then broken and beaten
As per the need of the one
In whose hand it falls.
At different times
In different ways
Losing every single part
Of the goodness it carried
Making the soul
Shell-less, value-less
And meaningless.
Only thing which remains
Is the materialistic view
Left by the
Mark of the broken shell.

And the trend continues
God blesses us to
Be born
With the shell
Parents nurture it
To strengthen
The shell and the
Life inside it
And then life
Snatches it away
Replacing it with the
Shrewdness and fragility.

But those who withstand
The test of time
And maintain the shell
Throughout their life
Are the ones who
Are required in
Today's world
For the world
To be happier,
Full of humanity
And peaceful place
To live in.