They were not me.

I heard them shout,
To kill the Muslims.
And I heard the cries for help.
As I was not a muslim,
I slipped into the comforts my home.

Again I heard them next street,
This time to kill the Hindus.
I was glad that I was not a Hindu,
And so I increased the volume,
Of Britney Spears songs.

I then heard them in my street,
With shouts to kill Jews.
I turned on my shower,
And the cries for help
Dissolved in the sound of water.

They now came to my neighbor,
Now asking to kill Christians.
I was not a Christian,
And so I sat in my deewan,
To complete my Mario Puzo novel.

I heard them on my door,
Shouting to kill me now.
I cried aloud for help,
But no one came, this time,
For they were not me,
And every had their own comforts.

How we lost our river

Yesterday,
I saw cranes in water,
I saw boys with fishing rods,
I saw little girls in petticoats
playing family on the bank,
And I saw our river flowing
Smoothly into the laps of the sea.

Today morning,
We heard lorries and people,
Digging up the pure sand.
We protested, for it was our river,
And we lived on its water.
But they asuured us,
They are only digging the sand,
And the water is there for us.
Lazziness to think made us return,
To the comforts our homes provided.

Whem evening came,
We saw fences at riverbanks,
It was by then "Private Property",
Sold to an MNC.
We were intruders there,
On our own river that gave us life!
And water was a private property!

We started our protests again,
But it didnot last long,
For our throats were dry,
And we had no water
To even wet our lips!

We then saw tomorrow,
As a dark shadow,
Darker than the moonless night.
And we saw our grandchildren,
And the ghosts of future,
Cursing us at our laziness.