FEARLESS VOICE

 

FEARLESS VOICE

 

Conscience goads, please speak,

Please speak fearless woes, agony,

Life gets tortured, not always deserved,

Silence invites exploitation rudely,

Accommodation quality of humans,

Tolerance, cooperation, true nature,

Misinterpreted often by con, wicked,

Takes advantage, a spirit in dark laughs,

Self-committed crimes, mistakes, sins,

Imposes innocent to admit crimes,

Simplicity believing soul get entrapped,

Exposed, causing mischief falsely,

Protesting heart witnessed confess,

Human life faces complexity suddenly,

Unexpected moments happen,

Pasting a crime, sinful, on the forehead,

Unaware of misdeed tagged culprit,

Escape silently, the criminal plays innocent,

The drama of life, society witness daily,

Life shattered, family ruined sadly,

Untrue, a person ever involved in crime,

Law pending over decades, slow,

Life imprisoned without crime lingers,

I knew many cases burning example,

Educated, poor,  a person fails to defend,

Believes community dissociates suspicious,

None listen to cries of innocent, keep aloof,

Uncertain future for a family, outcast,

Humiliated children in school,

Taunted as a thief, murderer’s child,

Rented house, the owner throws out,

Only earning member in jail, life begs,

Do not be sad several, not one or two,

Criminals get powerful, commit easily,

Supports society, police, law delays,

Justice delayed, justice fails, a paradox,

Deny investigation, accused cries,

Civilized society knows incidents, sleep,

Witness to incidence, telling police,

Start getting threats, life insecure,

Underworld exists, parallel rule,

Truth is buried, crime exists openly,

Silently fear, gentle civilian watch,

Never discuss the topic, says ignorant,

A cowered heart never could dare,

But heartening to know that brave exists,

Investigative media person searches,

Years peruse documents, paper collects,

Criminal fears media, escalate, reveals,

Media faceless, dimension different,

Expedite legal procedure, thwart delay,

Records genuine voices from dark,

Unscrupulous people narrate an incident,

Name culprit, explain offense detail,

Anonymously tells in fearless voice facts,

Saves life in prison, innocent sees freedom,

United with devastated family,

Questions, society civilized, conscience,

Brazen-faced leader hides the face,

Never admit knowledge of a crime,

Powerful commit blunders,

Never let fearless voice openly,

Conscience alarmingly failed. 

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra

 

 

PLEASE SPEAK

 PLEASE SPEAK

 

The first cry to this world lighted,

Read speak human child practices,

Mother tongue illiterate can speak,

Never attends class cannot read books,

Cannot write but observe in detail,

Can express speaking observations,

Can discuss with people all wants,

Can narrate events people gossip about,

Can sing prayers Bhajans create,

Education wisdom enable human,

Speaking gift of creator outlet for the soul,

Speak heart feeling, the mind tells desire,

Analyzing intelligent life speaks wise,

Speech, education, politics, social or religious,

Enormous impact, speech simply acquires,

Moves hugely a people can motivate,

 A talk travels throughout the world,

Enjoys watching loneliness silence,

Different times, discussing with people,

Discussing with family children,

Amusing heart prays, sings a hymn,

Now think immensity of noisy life,

Interacts so vehemently to achieve,

Remember childhood, visit the temple,

Speaking women to a stone idol in the dark,

Oil lamp lit, incense stick burning,

Asking Lord, myriad of requests,

Let my daughter grown-up get married,

Give her a good family best husband,

Let my son get a job now unemployed,

Let daughter-in-law get a son childless,

Praying with tears for her sick husband,

Never heard mother ask for herself,

Speaks innocent, cruel, killer, sinner alike,

I felt emotions overwhelm my heart,

Tries to bottom-up pain, humiliation,

Try to hide, insult, scorn, hatred,

Less feel comfortable speaking love,

Caring, serving, healing touch, help,

Prefer expressing love to speaking,

The worries, fear, tension, pain,

At times explodes inflames the heart,

Experienced crying condemn loudly,

Scold within four walls openly speak,

Curse someone who hurt my modesty,

Curse the person behind me betrayed,

Don’t laugh; I never scolded people,

Never curse before them, insult any,

Learned through life effort spoke softly,

Sympathetic, friendly, I speak selectively,

Listen attentively for a long, prefer silently,

Replies to questions only required,

Gossip, rumors, poison for me to avoid,

Speak openly, praise honestly, truth,

In silence maintained for hours,

These days feel like speaking I lived,

Talk to Wooden Lord like my mother,

Only gate to let out my emotions,

Treat as my friend lifelong,

Tell Him alone with oil lamp lit,

My sorrows, dreams, crimes committed,

My lies, willfully I blundered,

My prayer for the sick, dying, poor, destitute,

Prayer for a homeless orphan, His help,

My heart knows how to speak,

The heart gets lighter, all confidential.

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra

  

 

 

 

 

BARRICADE

 

BARRICADE

 

Unruly child disobeys orders,

Prejudice, I treated all along,

Injustice for controlling children,

Allowed me to discover, I felt curious,

Picturesque world attracting,

Enough to trap mind things allure,

Enough to capture heart beautiful,

Revolted disciplines, barricades,

No to see, refuse to hear, speak,

Refuse food outside, taste,

Ignore words touching, caring,

Elders taught me, warned, cautioned,

Discrimination is essential for life,

Barricade external wind, destroy,

Pollute your heart, poison your mind,

What it says is the truth; utter lies,

Fabricated for believing by innocent,

Unscrupulous, ignorant, soul fertile,

Planting seeds of poison fruit easier,

Watch, read, think and consult everything,

Dear child, rely on elders parents,

Teachers, best educators focus right path,

Unknown people, their advice placate,

Best ignore, least react, a little infuriate,

Cyberspace massive universe message,

Crisscross the globe instantly,

Try to establish a community group,

Sympathetic, believing, brainwashed,

Train through Internet violence sabotage,

Establish an imaginary kingdom by force,

Gun speaks, knife blade,

Gunpowder explodes, killing the opposition,

Expand circulate myth sacred,

Spare your life for the cause, salvage,

Golden paradise waits, fairy welcomes,

Sacred interprets the cause, war brutal,

Myth only a faith, political system,

Myth is an evil practice, immortality,

Myth is race, pure, supreme blood,

Rest people are destined to be subjects,

Resisted to be conquered, mass killing,

Myth is the dominance of one people,

Myth is color, caste, language, region,

Segregate people under the barricade,

Unequal, illegal, discriminate,

Barricade people from the right people,

Myth is supreme, the truth, rest false,

Arrest defying spirits suppress,

Laugh today, no more a child,

Learned civilized society and fallacy,

True, education can light upon evil,

Can distinguish huge crowd barricaded,

Close group, believing calling rest impure,

Fit for massacre conversion subjugate,

They exist for decades, centuries, old,

Education can not cure cancerous growth,

Laugh today, my parent alarmed,

By my questions, get silent,

Lo… never ask these questions, wrong,

Keep aloof from such people, never listen,

Barricade yourself, dear child,

Humanity is different than segregation,

Division inherent, evil and noble,

Interpretation depends upon people,

They practice, keep live culture,

Barricade heart before being captured,

Barricade your mind, thought to entrap,

Your soul within the barricade is self-built,

Fear contamination if you cross,

It was my mother’s voice, once warning.

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra

 

FELL DOWN

 

FELL DOWN

 

Early morning still dark outside,

Awaken by now, surprised a bit,

So early sleep goddess left me,

Humming Sanskrit hymn softly,

Reclined on a chair in the drawing room,

Opened the television, viewed the news,

The state is flooded, people marooned,

Overflowing dam flood gates open,

Thunderous water crashed out of a dam,

Angry is a river, in spate swirling,

Engulfing village city flows fast,

Paddy fields under water, mini sea,

Disturbed quite a lot, watched sadly,

Human miseries unlimited perennial,

Devastate grain output, confine folks,

Diseases spread waterborne horror,

Spring nearer, the festival in preparation,

Rustic life intoxicating in celebration,

People will return home from cities,

Switched off the television, closed my eyes,

Once life was busy, pleasant, thrilling,

Curious for tomorrow, wait impatiently,

Moved over to my country heart touching,

A people plural society-wide custom culture,

Lifestyle vastly different so is geography,

Desert, ice-clad mountains, dense forest,

Bustling megapolis, worth visits,

Ah… twilight years faded energy,

Fading strength, diminished urge,

Alone confined to home post-Corona,

Years passed, hooked to television news,

Occasionally feel nostalgic consoles,

Life intrigues enough even today,

Dreams endless soul flies far, searching,

Paradise with peace n solitude, silence,

Lap of nature dream on chair smile,

Convinces myself dream only dream,

For seven decades, earth circled the sun,

Seasons weathered life thrill pulsation,

Experienced fever, weakness,

Effluent joy getting cured, feeling recovery,

Impatient to run wild, get busy,

Life is insatiable, ever demanding naughty,

Quiet today morning thoughts passed,

Wanted today to walk in the morning,

Happy, fresh up n walk up briskly,

A lonely road cows only visible,

Beautiful houses, both sides, design,

Front garden, flowers, creepers, alluring,

After a year, the first time having a morning walk,

Suddenly stumbled upon a hump,

Fell, crashed with hands supporting,

Wrists twisted, right face bruised,

Chest got jerked on the hard metal road,

Fallen, it was severe, return home,

Took a bath n writing this poem,

Lifted me moved to an inclined chair,

Resting saw darkness sparks of blue light,

Scarcely visible, wife, son, daughter-in-law,

Watching closely, asking questions,

Intense pain, head reeling, the sock,

Age was telling weakness had to lunch,

Slept till evening, took medicine,

Will visit hospital to check internal injury,

Otherwise normal, body aching pain mildly,

Now reclined in a chair, thinking of the dawn,

Never could guess, the accident, I fell,

It is the birthday of Krishna Auspicious,

Watch my day at twilight time, scary.

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMELIORATED

 

AMELIORATED

 

Driving a car in the city exhaustive,

Traffic congested life suffocating,

Amid dust, noise inching forward,

Negotiating narrow streets, bending,

Surprising bullock, dog, pedestrians,

Hawkers marketing goods knock window,

Shopping center crowded, life at test,

Parked my car resting wait children,

Purchasing items needed at a shop,

Closing eyes, reclined in the seat,

Thinking, children growing, time fast,

Taking responsibility for the home, work,

All they want is my comfort, pleasure,

Alone going for a picnic, visiting a park,

Maintaining house clean, polished,

Looked after my dress was ironed, cleaned,

Polish shoes, preparing breakfast tea,

Happy children studying best,

Sweet home, peaceful erases tension,

Fewer worries for the future, children strive,

Caring for parents, responsible, hardworking,

Felt drowsy at the wheel of my car,

Interrupted me someone was calling,

Saheb, please, Saheb, please help,

A young woman with a baby in her bosom,

Dark sunken eyes, thin, naked,

I looked at the baby, touched my heart,

Churning somewhere, a pain,

Inexpressible, I looked at the woman,

A palm cupped empty she protruded,

Saheb, please give me, without food,

For two days without food, hungry,

I gave her a hundred rupees, and she vanished,

That evening I was feeling restless,

After the office, back home sat alone,

My daughter was standing anxious,

Why Dad, you are looking sad; what happened?

I was hesitant to tell her pricking thought,

Reluctantly narrated the event to her,

She was listening silently emotion less,

Her quietness is abnormal, unsettled,

Dad, the woman you saw in the market,

I know her; she was pregnant, unmarried,

Her family threw her out, society boycotted her,

Now she is begging with a baby,

The incident circulated in our city,

I, the next day on leave, searched for her,

Found at last, after a whole day of effort,

Talked to her, took her to a shelter home,

Paid contribution needed,

She was accommodated I offered her cloth,

For her, her baby, little money,

I left at midnight and left her in her room,

Her ameliorated life saved from pavements,

I could not forget her grateful eyes, silent,

Never spoken a word to me, I knew all,

Ameliorated my tortured soul, slept,

Long hours at night, I was thinking,

God permits, mysterious life is so complex,

Mute, deaf, blind for human deeds,

Exhibits love and compassion.

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra