Me - The Puzzled Person
Lines for Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, Dr. Shihab Ghanem, Dr. Qais Ghanem and all the Peace-Lovers of the World

Daily, newspapers and TV channels report:
Unrest is fuming unrest.
The excruciating agony of nations,
Riddled by the shambles of reality –
War, famines, tsunami, corruption,
Interrupt my life, hardly.
What view is to be taken,
To stop feeling bound with my
Own life, and is that feasible?
The intermittent lulls of being a soldier
From my desk is the easy habit
Of commitment for me!

I am aware:
Somewhere, a child is dying
By the experience of starvation.
I am aware:
Somewhere, mothers with kids
Are being raped.
I am aware:
Somewhere, streets are bloody
To show off the rule of life:
Might is Right.
I know:
It is all wrong.

Invariably, the capacity of sleep wavers.
In fiery madness,
Demonic sounds approach my ears.
I am alone and submissive
To the voices of tanks, bombs,
Anything that kills life.
There is blazing fire.
I am a cowering prisoner.
Then, with a startling suddenness,
I am awake.

What view is to be taken,
To stop feeling bound with my
Own life..?

Dubai
30th May 2011

Geeta Chhabra

From the book: An Indian Ode To The Emirates by Geeta Chhabra

This poem has been translated into the Arabic language by Dr. Shihab Ghanem and published in Dubai Al Thaqafiah on September 2011.