I do get the feeling that one day

We are going to fall in a black hole

And emerge in another universe.

 

Who is not sick of this planet?

Is there a flicker of hope

In a world where nuclear weapons

May burst anytime,

Where genetically engineered viruses

May devour us anytime

Making of our meek bodies

A feast for the vultures or worms

Or the prey of scorching flames

Reducing us to ashes cold and grey.

 

Why can’t our search for alien life

Beyond our solar system be intensified?

It could serve as a guiding beacon

To bring epiphanic revelations

Of how  to find solutions to our problems

That are keeping us on our toes.

 

If only we stopped thinking in narrow spaces……..

If only we learned to laugh at ourselves…….

Our imperfections, our narrow-mindedness………

If only we were not conspiracy-minded………….

If only we were not jealous, envious, supersticious,

Speaking in frenetic bursts,

Doing harm to others all the time

And in a trepidation of anxiety

Killing our inner selves slowly but surely.

 

I travel back in time and meet

Galileo Galilei, the sixteenth century astronomer.

I tell him about our problems.

He listens to me attentively and finally

When I expect an answer from him,

He puts his forefinger on his lips

And looks at me in serenity sublime.

His eyes glow steadily like lilac flame

And he says with his looks……

‘Be patient, there is hope for the world.’

 

pramila khadun