Cry Of A Dying River...80
Rajendra Kshetri *
I am no longer the river I was once
The river that dreams a dream in a dream
A dream in which a plague breaks out
A deadly plague that kills hundreds of thousands of people
A plague that originates from the river
The river that is rendered helpless and languishing
In the coerced company of plastic pollutants
And filthiest of the human filth and excreta
What with the untreated garbage and sewage
A plague a Frankenstein that kills the very humans who caused it.
I am no longer the river I was once
The river that wakes up one fine morning
And finds change happening
The crematoria on the banks dismantled
The land encroachers cleared
The illegal constructions removed
The century old basins dredged (a Himalayan blunder)
The playfields on the banks scooped (a criminal offence)
And wonder of the wonders! the river-bed undredged (unpardonable)
Everything has changed and yet nothing has changed.
* Poem written by Rajendra Kshetri for The Sangai Express
This poem was webcasted on June 16 2019.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.