By Parimal Singh
Humanity is the mother of all religions. It is the horizon where love, equality and peace culminate into a union. In this poem the central character has expressed his utmost disconsolation as he sees around him how love, equality and peace are being destroyed around him in acts of religious fanaticism, caste discrimination, in the deprivation of the peasants by moneylenders and terrorism.
Oh child of humanity - love, where art thou?
They annihilated my temples, they desecrated my mosques,
They plundered my home, and left nothing but rocks.
They stripped the sanctity of my women, they coloured my rivers red with abomination,
They instilled fear in the children, our innocence, our beliefs charred in hatred’s conflagration.
Where are you when, they segregate us by the walls of religion?
When His very sons divide their Father (God) and feel no contrition!
Oh mother of love - humanity, where art thou?
Oh child of humanity - equality where art thou?
They say I don’t belong to them; they sequestered me from my dreams,
They deprived me their education and love saying we are from different social realms.
These puissant suzerains rule our fate, they take our grains and we are their slaves!
Those benefactors exploit us to death; they get no comeuppance and go happy to their graves.
Where are you, when prejudice abuses equality such?
When the monarchs of apartheid discriminate, and you can’t do much!
Oh mother of equality - humanity, where art thou?
Oh child of humanity - peace, where art thou?
They came, those interlopers, they fought and conquered my land still,
I stand tethered as they march impetuously over my countrymen they kill.
Their detonations reverberate paramount, and our ululations are drowned in their din,
The land whimpers with tremors, yet no chastisement for their sin!
Where are you when, these mortal spirits embolden themselves as Gods of war?
When, they call it righteous, while humanity is sacrificed upon its altar.
Oh mother of peace - humanity where art thou?
Art thou dead!
By Parimal Singh
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