Death that shook the world
Innocence got crucified
On the altar of unbridled lust,
The product of a society
That unleashes multiple desires that
Cannot be always fulfilled,
In a culture where body is
Commoditized and everybody is a
Hungry consumer,
Looking for instant gratification,
Greed is everywhere,
And, sadly,
Zero is human worth;
The female of the species is to be used,
Brutalized by the thugs, not afraid of the
Civil society, as they are a law unto themselves,
The death untimely of Damini,
The gang rape-victim,
A tender woman who bitterly fought to live
In a most callous system—power/money-driven,
An ordinary young with aspirations and dreams
To better her life and of others,
In her family in feudal village,
Denied her dreams and assaulted by drunk demons,
Resisted the hooded death, hovering in the grey
Borderland, and a nation was on tenterhooks,
The brilliant woman fought
But—
Finally gave up before the dark, grim Reaper,
Her tragic death,
Like the immolation of the Yemeni man
In 2010 December,
Has awakened a slumbering civilization,
And, like the Arab Revolution,
India, too, awaits its own revolution
And a fragrant Spring!
It is ever the calling of poets,of sufficient calibre for weighty themes cannot be lightly addressed,that an authentic and valid response be drafted and a moral counterpoint be articulated via the artistic medium of one’s creative vocation.This poem is such a response;reason in the face of insanity.
As usual, the response is more weighty and better than the post.
I learn a lot by reading your comments, Louis. Thanks for such encyclopedic observations that reveal your scholarship…a limitless sky for mortals like us.