“For men may come, and men may go
But I go on forever..”
.
Will you??
Even as the men who come
Mock your chastity,
Assault your sheen,
Crush the pebbles you lovingly shaped
To dust and dig out
Your entrails
To feed their greed,
Even as you’re used
Abused
Left dry
And led to plead
For a drop of rain
Under the scorching sun
To heal your wounds,
Search in vain
For roots to weep on
After their plunder,
Or a branch to rest under,
As you bleed filth,
As your sweet fragrance
Turns to stench,
And your tears
To black bile.
Will you survive
As the men who go
Smother you with their corpses
Burn you with their hot ashes
Bury you in their darkness?
How longer, how much longer
Till the poisons
That course your veins
Gift you sweet death,
Release from the torment
Of being another whore
Tamed to submit
To mankind’s fancies;
Yes, men may come and men may go
But will you go on forever??
I dedicate this poem to Ganga, to Yamuna, to Citarum River, Yellow River, Doce, Marilao River, Cuyahoga, Mississippi River, Buriganga and all the other rivers and streams and brooks in the world – Mothers who nourished us, nurtured us, on whose laps all civilisations arose and who are now dying a slow death due to our apathy. Water is our elixir, rivers are our lifeline. Let’s save them before it’s too late.
