Pijush Kanti Deb

For a Change
           
The changing of playful swinging
from the botanical branches
to the electrical cables
changes the gainful equation-
brought about by many worlds together,
from simple to complex
where a singing stream
sinks into a roaring river voluntarily
compelling the pet-less cage
to be refilled with the wild predators
tempting the holy hymn,
"Live and let live"
to change into the devilish delirium,
"Hunt or be hunted"
intoxicating everything for a change,
below the running feet
the soft earthen track
wears a blanket of iron sheet
and above the raising heads
the oriental sky still makes the golden sun
but with the  declining carat of gold.

***

Still
               
Still enchanting
the fragrance of the naked rural soil--
playful in the rain
now captive in the odor
of burnt lime and rusted iron.
Still reverberating
the sweet tweeting of the feathered singers
in the poor ears--
over-polluted and ever disturbed
by the mechanical groaning.
Still floating
the images of the smiling faces
representing their blissful hearts
on the waves of the masked faces
hiding the history of their hearts.
Still projecting
the flashback of a changed life
from simple to complex
sunk into the depth of earthly compulsion
with the hope to float up again.

***
A Piece of Stone
                 
In the last chapter of his biography
a macro-conscious great man is ill-fated
to repent throughout his subconscious journey
on the way to his final destination,
to conclude his life-long sacrifices
as incomplete and ineffective
in putting two and two together
regarding his solicitation
to better sun-rise for the mankind.
Indeed, he regrets from his depth of heart
witnessing the presence of the dirty hearts--
full of garbage of selfishness and cruelty
still left untouched and unwashed,
a few glasses of hemlock in their hands
ever-skilled to pour into the nectar
prepared by him with great care.
A feeling of repentance
starts sucking his last drop of life
and as an atonement
he becomes a piece of stone
exhaling his last breathing
and the people leave him alone standing
in a public place of interest beneath the open sky.

***
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