In hope of better karma
In the midst of the squalor
The stench, all human life
Teeming in millions, poverty
Beyond belief a mere existence eked
No hope, save, with luck, the next time round
Reincarnated more fortunately, an upgrade
Not bottom of the heap, dung heap
Flies, barrel scraped
A country which spreads no safety net
To catch its poor or sick, its elderly
Or sad or mad
See here a miracle has bloomed
Green landscaped lawns
Shaded walkways, quiet order
And central, rising, glinting in the glare
Merciless, a Golden Temple
Such wonder Bollywood or Disney might have dreamt
But this the vision of a local boy
So all the more miraculous
Astonishing
The masses come to pray
To walk in circles, chanting, and in hope
The gods will then be good
Will ease their pain
Or send the rains, a baby
Long-desired, or marriage partner
Kindness, some better karma
B Sc for student son
A doctorate for a daughter
A way to climb beyond the filth
The struggle and the gutter
Where politicians lie and cheat
Corruption fetid in the air
No wonder then the people come
To marvel at the yellow gold
Whilst calculating weight and price
To bow their heads before the god
And walk in circles, chanting
In hope of better karma
In the midst of the squalor
The stench, all human life
Teeming in millions, poverty
Beyond belief a mere existence eked
No hope, save, with luck, the next time round
Reincarnated more fortunately, an upgrade
Not bottom of the heap, dung heap
Flies, barrel scraped
A country which spreads no safety net
To catch its poor or sick, its elderly
Or sad or mad
See here a miracle has bloomed
Green landscaped lawns
Shaded walkways, quiet order
And central, rising, glinting in the glare
Merciless, a Golden Temple
Such wonder Bollywood or Disney might have dreamt
But this the vision of a local boy
So all the more miraculous
Astonishing
The masses come to pray
To walk in circles, chanting, and in hope
The gods will then be good
Will ease their pain
Or send the rains, a baby
Long-desired, or marriage partner
Kindness, some better karma
B Sc for student son
A doctorate for a daughter
A way to climb beyond the filth
The struggle and the gutter
Where politicians lie and cheat
Corruption fetid in the air
No wonder then the people come
To marvel at the yellow gold
Whilst calculating weight and price
To bow their heads before the god
And walk in circles, chanting
In hope of better karma
25th January 2010, Guest House Veppaneri, S India
Beautifully crafted, as always, Sally, and for that reason all the more chilling.
ReplyDeleteNow I understand why it is said that the pen is mightier than the sword - I think you could change a whole culture with poems such as this.
Keep going!
Thank you so much Jenny. You have been such an encourager this past year of my poetry writing and I cannot tell you how valuable that encouragement has been. I too understand the power of the pen, and when I write poems like this one, and several of the ones written in India, it helps me to come to terms with the seething emotions I am experiencing myself.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading through poems from our trip and they are helping me also to come to terms with the whole emotional whirlwind. I don't know how you do it Sally but love you for it.
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