PrASANNA
KUMARI
WAR
The mother sitting on the rubble
haunts me to doom
A child in her lap sucking the
dried-up breast fills my eyes to gloom
With half-veiled face filled with
misery
She rummages for a piece of life in
the debris
And her eyes emptied of life look
to the distant horizon
Numb, dumb and grief-stricken
Crushed ,crumbled and totally
thrashed.....
She clings to life to wipe her
child’s tears
A soldier in arms- pathetic,
helpless
Made to fight for the maniac’s
fancies
Forlorn hopes, fallen martyrs
What do they fight for? Or for
whom?
Two little eyes searching for
father
Two little ears listening to
missiles
Two little legs running for life
What do they gain in victory or
defeat?
A widow on the blood-stained body
Wailing to bring him back to life
A mother with forlorn hopes
Weeping in vain for him
A father with unshed tears
Children with insecure future
Is it all we get from war?
Listen to the rumbling in the
distance.....
Painful sigh for a missing brother
Desperate search for a ruined sister
Loud groaning of a lonely child
Heaving sigh of a widowed heart
Call of hunger? Thirst? For
shelter?
The mysterious rustling of the
refugees
The moving legs walking to infinity
With dim, lighted lantern and tight
grip of little fingers.
Is it not war that destroyed them?
Is it not hatred that crumbled
their life?
Is it not bloodshed that crippled
them?
Is it not cruelty that numbed their
spirit?
Is it not pride that initiates war?
Is it not greed that ignites
enmity?
Is it not jealousy that destroys nations?
Where are the Gods? In Hell or in Heaven?
Prostrate at your feet, my tears
soak your feet
Allah! Jesus! Krishna!
Come out of the book or the altar of the church
Step out of the temple and the mosque
Walk among us in flesh and blood
Chanting words of love and kindness
Filling our hearts with affection
and sympathy
Teaching us the meaning of
sacrifice
To live together- a life of peace
and happiness.
Prasanna Kumari
INDIA
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