A year that demanded!

Those memories are inscribed deep in my mind,

Written with pain and sorrow,

For knowing what we're leaving behind,

While moving towards tomorrow!

Mankind was shadowed into his most gloomy days,

In physical, mental, and all possible ways.

The scar that last year has left for us,

Has created a seemingly neverending fuss!

That TV screen was no more green,

It was filled with news of blood.

Of decaying lives striving against the virus,

And skins turning to mud.

Sitting on the fence I had to decide,

It was not the time to falter,

To choose my destiny I could have given a second thought,

For I was to enter the journey of a budding doctor!

My golden dream that I cherished for years,

Of wearing that stethoscope as my pride,

Was now covered with doubts and fears,

Am I potent enough to join this ride?

Am a brave enough to live like a warrior?

What will be my future with such a sacrifice!

Will I be able to give justice to this career?

Or should I rather improvise?

Demotivating voices spilled into my ears,

From some coward minds around,

From some so-called "well-wishers" and also from my peers.

But when I closed my eyes and everything around was quiet,

Amidst the darkness, I saw the light,

And I knew what was right!

I felt the warrior in me, I saw its potential height!

For service can never be perilous,

The fear makes us run from it will be,

If I give up today, I'll never be able to look upright 

In the eyes of that little strong 7-year-old warrior who had dared to dream and dared to see!

Yes, that little girl was me.

I kindled the lamp of hope and begun my journey ahead,

And one thing for sure I have learned,

Even though 2020 was the worst place where we landed,

But it was just a year that demanded.

A year that demanded courage,

A year that demanded hope,

A year that demanded service,

Yes, it was A YEAR THAT DEMANDED from you and from me,

A YEAR THAT DEMANDED.