Deprived of cakes we eat bread
and the drain inspector looks askance.
They believe we grow up on milk powder
invented in the West.
He’d faint if he knew a few hard facts –
a ubiquitous tenth of humanity;
black or white or anything in between;
even before women learnt to grow crops;
nature’s whims spare no age or clime.
Even sub-human species.
Emperor penguins abominably
bend in snow white bliss.
As feet go up and down on the pedals
the sunlight breaks on them –
a thousand priceless pieces;
the rocky ripples that clothe the bones
fuel conflict with revealed books.
The few sacrificed
for the good of the many.
Great souls with a flair for hallucinations
straighten the immutable
curvature of the universe,
and prescribe a life term of torment
to be followed by another
for eternity.
Photo credit: Pawan Dhall
Thank you, Pawan, for the concise precision of the introductory sentence.
We, the forerunners of humankind may heavily smoke, drink and overly indulge materially, all with sheer selfish motive without a smidgeon of thought in favour of others. Let us honestly spare the holy words of love and compassion. The very creation of the religions, castes, creed and stuffs organised conveniently by the megalomaniac humans on the name of God had been the end result of human selfishness, passively wreaking greed and power. The ‘Might’ is right attitude suddenly takes a U-turn when the mighty physique becomes incapacitated. Thus the frantic chase for survival begins with the counting of beads and chanting of invocations.
Some people do derive peace of mind from religion. Without it many might lose their sanity. But the hatred and violence it inspires is becoming more and more visible.
Great piece, Rajib! 🙂
Thank you so much for your encouragement.