Allen Ginsberg's letter to Kangleipak
Ronid Chingangbam *
I know you are not deaf
you are not blind
you do not shine
or cry any more
You are silent,
so much of violence
even after you have tolerated.
Why did you burn your library
are you that sick of your own past stories?
why did you let Chitaranjan burn himself to death?
Yes, i have seen and heard of such thing
only in a movie called "Nostalgia"
Made by Tarkovsky..
But real things happen upon your lap.
Why do you let Sharmila fasts?
Are you hoping something on New Delhi?
No! you are wrong if you do so
Delhi has been blasted
Can't you hear
The encounters
and the fake encounters?
When Delhi itself is burning
and cops busy framing young Muslims
Again the Bajrang Dal has started something in Orissa
Please look at last week's Tehelka Magazine
Jesus was chopped down
Yes, may be for all those perfumes he wears
inside the church..
They have forced the Christian out of their homes
killing people
even raped a nun, you know?
So dont expect anything from New Delhi
It is burning with Red flames..
So you better look at yourself
or cry or laugh for everything
that happens
Why don't you let your stoned Sons
see the Marijuana growing wild and out of control
on the banks of Kongba River?
Why do they still take the pills and Heroine?
Why don't you let the lovers have sex on parks
in Restaurants or river banks?
Why don't you want them making love?
and why do you want them making wars?
why do you want them so high?
do you want to impose your impotency
to the Children of Kangleipak?
Are you jealous of young tits and dicks?
Why did you burn the Assembly Hall
if you are still allowing the politicians
to corrupt?
Every second man in your lap
wants tax for every second man's breathe.
Why do you seem to hate the immigrants?
they are doing good for your lazy sons around
nothing lesser than bastards
do you like the bombs that kills you
do you find them as surprise gifts?
I know you are not receiving anything
from anywhere...
But don't you think there is a better way
to be silent?
Look at your Great Hills
the children are burning books
they believe the history went all wrong
they want to look towards Kohima
Not to the valley
where People sing carol in Christmas
where the folks go to Govindajee Temple
thinking the best race is hidden in their blood
Yes your Great hills are burning
But no one knows how to cease the fire
except how it all started...
And thousands of stories for the Highway #53
hundreds of rape incidents,
one millions of curse for the Highway land slide.
Oh Kangleipak
you have everything parked
the history, the poetry
the good, the bad, the dirty
* Poem written by Ronid Chingangbam (Akhu) . He is from Dept. of Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi . You can contact the poet at ronidchi(at)gmail(dot)com . This poem was webcasted on December 03, 2008.
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