I do not have the imaginative empathy With my subject – The harsh countenance of the age, The predicament of the hard times We live in. It is not that I picture the scene in my mind’s eye; It is a harsh reality of daily life. I live with the consequences of my decision: Part of me feels sorry for it.
Friends exchange hellos And the surrounding concrete walls Send back echoes of forced smiles. In the year 44BC Caesar could, and would, say ‘et tu, Brute’; They lived and died For what they believed And when they said ‘Thy need is greater than mine’, They were not putting on an act.
Fathers receive cards and gifts from their children On Father’s Day; So do mothers On Mother’s Day. A matter of routine! One becomes a mother As a matter of routine. Loveless marriage! People get married Just for the sake of it. Life needs a break from routine.
Political parties campaign vigorously To win the national election – The whole country is in the grip of election fever. There is an elector Who does not believe a word of the campaign. Cheap one-upmanship. Character assassination. Politicians! Do not wash your dirty linen in public. The terrorists plant bombs at crowded places; Some of these explode Before these could be defused by the establishment. In the exchange of fire Between the terrorist and the establishment A common man Who does not believe the cause advocated by the terrorist And also the means adopted by the establishment Well, he is killed in the crossfire. So what if he was killed. Who cares? A good performance That lacks soul.