By Prem Gongaju
Father preferred the burnt offering,
Not the farmboy’s bloodless veggie stuff.
And the hunter became the hunted.
Stamped with the mark of mercy,
The fratricidal felon roams among the Jews
And the gentiles, among the Sunnis and the Shiites,
And also among the Hindus and the Muslims,
Disabling the able folks everywhere.
*
Om unfolded the petals of the Brahma lotus
Rising from the navel of Narayana, bearing
The lessons of Dama, Daya and Dana*
For the mind-born issues of Brahma –
Deva, demons and humans respectively.
Alas, no brotherhood and sisterhood
Among deva, demons and humans endure
Under the parenthood of Divinity.
Except the illustrious ones preserved
In the epic saga of the Ramayana,
In the epic saga of the Mahabharata.
Among brothers—
Metal trumps the petals
Of humanity.
__________________________
* Restrain, Kindness and Charity
