Two friends once met on the Ocean sand
Each well known across his own land.
Both kind of heart and pure of mind
Wiser than them no eye could find.
They could count stars in the blink of an eye
And measure miles from Earth to Sky

Three score* five less glowed one wise face.
And three score five more the wiser grace.
But so close in brotherhood did they walk Life's path
That though distanced in age knew the other's heart.
With hate free words they had learnt to love
And spread the Love of the One Above.

But here now encircled by the Ocean's blue,
And roofed by the Sky, the wise one knew -
The question that had troubled him for many a year
Had to be asked against all fear,
Had to be asked to quieten his heart,
Had to be asked lest it tore him apart.

"Brother, my friend, through our years of friendship,
Through all our years of toil and hardship,
I grew in knowledge with the wisdom of teachings,
The wisdom of the written word, of labour and preachings.
One thousand books I have read to date
One thousand more in my home await.
Books with words of beauty and light
Of purity, honesty, love and good sight.
I paved my life in the light of this learning.
This learning is what gave my life good meaning.

"But you, my friend, I've seen carelessly grow
Without the lifeline of words, still, make a better tomorrow.
Pray tell me what is it that has made you a saint?
Pray tell me what is it that has made you so great?"
The wiser grace smiled at the trembling question -
The curious thought that had been so many years in motion.
And so it came to pass upon that starry night
The secret story of the grace's might.
 
"Fifty years past," the wise saint spoke,
"When as a child I to green meadows woke,
And swam in the stream and ran down green hills,
When every bird chirp had its own sweet thrill,
At that sweet age of ten I was taken away
By men of low thought - by ten robbers that May.

"Outside the valley, into Earth's clammy dark caves,
Bound by the arms and tied like a slave,
Fifty years ago for a fortnight's length
Chilly nights of loneliness I with them spent.

"I saw their grey lives, I saw their grey ways.
And I saw their gloomy, lightless days.
I saw them loot in the name of fun.
I saw them plunder under the sun.
I saw them delight in their greed.
I saw them kill, I saw them bleed.

"But I saw them cower too in fear of death.
I saw their fear in every breath.
I saw them through the dark nights run.
It was horror what they called fun.
And in spite of all the gold they tamed,
I saw their terror, I saw their shame.

"And in my seeing I taught my mind
To do not in what they pleasures find.
Stealing and looting may great treasures bring
A black kind of joy in great measures bring.
But what use is life led in Misery's shadows?
What use is life led in greenless meadows?

"And so my friend when freedom came to me
I became what the robbers chose not to be.
I kept away from envy, malice and greed.
I gave instead to those in hunger and need.
And paved my life with lessons they forgot.
And so, my dear friend, mark me well.
The fame you see around me dwell
Is a fame that came from a fortnight's spell
That fifty years past ten robbers brought."

*score = 20. In this case three score five less means 55 years and three score five more 65.