A tribute...A dream

#1
Muzaffarabad, Islamabad, Tangdhar, Uri,
They're just a few names of the many;
Cities, towns & hamlets they are,
All now in a desperate state of war.

Their war is of a very different kind,
Picking up the pieces of what's left behind;
It's not what shells or bullets did to them,
'twas just Nature's fury that no one could stem.

When the earth shook & ravaged them all,
Lives were lost aplenty & buildings did fall;
But when tragedy did strike it saw no divide,
What befell us here did so too on the other side.

The children it was that bore the brunt,
For the army this time it was'nt just the hunt
for survivors but they lost their own men too,
Buried in their bunkers without even getting their due.

Is there a lesson to be learnt from all of this?
Is there a point that we knowingly seem to miss?
Perhaps the answers elude the powers that be,
In Islamabad, Muzaffarabad & New Delhi.

No politics here but some very plain talking,
We're both doing a pantomime of peace-walking;
So God above decided to give us a nudge,
As if to tell us to get running, not trudge.

If rules they say are made only to be broken,
I dare say going by the very same token,
That lines are drawn only to be erased,
And either side become one with one flag raised.

Let's pause for a moment in tribute to those
that died alive with not a prayer, not a rose;
Blooming lives snuffed out, so cruelly taken,
That leaves all of us very sadly shaken. ....Amen!


Some thoughts may seem like wishful thinking on my part but there's no harm in dreaming, is there? Who knows...maybe my dream will become a reality someday. The clock is ticking away meanwhile.
 
#3
nkpanjiyar said:
Nice one Jaideep. You are a great poet friend.

Thanks
nkpanjiyar
My humble thanks to you NK. It was a spontaneous outflow of my emotions in verse soon after the tragedy struck. It is painful to me to say even today that the pain & suffering of the affected ones have still not been alleviated. Enormous task of relief & rescue is on everywhere & I am sure good souls in this august forum are part & parcel of the drive, at least in spirit if not materially. Everybody needs support from everybody right now. That's the magnitude of the suffering.

AND...lest we forget....please, a prayer for the unfortunate departed souls.....many, many children among them...budding lives snuffed out before their bloom.....they all deserved to die better (if that's the comparative to be used) than they did. R.I.P. AMEN!
 

sh50

Active Member
#4
Wonderful poem, Jaideep. I remember you had a great one for Psunami victims too. You should be an active blogger or display your poems at active poetry sites like www.authorsden.com so that other people can also benefit. You really have talent, man. You really seem to be a sensitive poet

The saddest part is so many children dying. Its really difficult to see the tiny tots suffer. Children are cute in general and Kashmiri cuter. The only silver linning in the dark cloud was that for once, India and Pakistan were united genuinely in trajedy. It is sad that it takes a disaster ot this magnitude to make it possible-in a way its an exchange of one problem for another.
 
#5
jaideep said:
Muzaffarabad, Islamabad, Tangdhar, Uri,
They're just a few names of the many;
Cities, towns & hamlets they are,
All now in a desperate state of war.

Their war is of a very different kind,
Picking up the pieces of what's left behind;
It's not what shells or bullets did to them,
'twas just Nature's fury that no one could stem.

When the earth shook & ravaged them all,
Lives were lost aplenty & buildings did fall;
But when tragedy did strike it saw no divide,
What befell us here did so too on the other side.

The children it was that bore the brunt,
For the army this time it was'nt just the hunt
for survivors but they lost their own men too,
Buried in their bunkers without even getting their due.

Is there a lesson to be learnt from all of this?
Is there a point that we knowingly seem to miss?
Perhaps the answers elude the powers that be,
In Islamabad, Muzaffarabad & New Delhi.

No politics here but some very plain talking,
We're both doing a pantomime of peace-walking;
So God above decided to give us a nudge,
As if to tell us to get running, not trudge.

If rules they say are made only to be broken,
I dare say going by the very same token,
That lines are drawn only to be erased,
And either side become one with one flag raised.

Let's pause for a moment in tribute to those
that died alive with not a prayer, not a rose;
Blooming lives snuffed out, so cruelly taken,
That leaves all of us very sadly shaken. ....Amen!


Some thoughts may seem like wishful thinking on my part but there's no harm in dreaming, is there? Who knows...maybe my dream will become a reality someday. The clock is ticking away meanwhile.
Dear Jaideep,
Excellent poetry...and the lesson to be learnt has been very well put. You know, along the LOC, at many places, villages are divided - half with India and half under Pak control. I have done two tenures in that area, and know that the poor locals in the area think and feel exactly what you've expressed. Unfortunately, their fate is not decided by them but by the powers that be in New Delhi and in Islamabad. And there are very big national egos involved. Maybe the recent disaster will teach a lesson to the earthly powers that ultimately it is Nature and God above that really have all power and what we mortals should be doing is to bring people together and try to keep each other happy rather than getting embroiled in petty 'ownership' issues which have resulted in so much of misery and bloodshed.
Once again, nice poetry - so very expressive.
Jaspal
 
#6
coljaspal said:
Dear Jaideep,
Excellent poetry...and the lesson to be learnt has been very well put. You know, along the LOC, at many places, villages are divided - half with India and half under Pak control. I have done two tenures in that area, and know that the poor locals in the area think and feel exactly what you've expressed. Unfortunately, their fate is not decided by them but by the powers that be in New Delhi and in Islamabad. And there are very big national egos involved. Maybe the recent disaster will teach a lesson to the earthly powers that ultimately it is Nature and God above that really have all power and what we mortals should be doing is to bring people together and try to keep each other happy rather than getting embroiled in petty 'ownership' issues which have resulted in so much of misery and bloodshed.
Once again, nice poetry - so very expressive.
Jaspal
Very belated response by me Colonel. Thanks for your positive appraisal of my poem. Just happened to be browsing through some old posts & came across your post again today. I for one am happy & proud to have you on the same forum as I am. You don't need to tell me about your tenures on the front as I am aware of all that you guys in uniform do. I have so many of my course mates in the Army & I know what I think, write & say about the Armed Forces. Just for your info... am ex-NDA 33rd course ( equivalent to 43rd IMA), Indian Navy (Marine Engineer)......left early in 1975 on compassionate grounds. Maybe you will know some of my course mates. Good to see that you too have decided to foray into the stock market like me. Let's hope we all have happy times trading together.
 
#7
sh50 said:
Wonderful poem, Jaideep. I remember you had a great one for Psunami victims too. You should be an active blogger or display your poems at active poetry sites like www.authorsden.com so that other people can also benefit. You really have talent, man. You really seem to be a sensitive poet..................in a way its an exchange of one problem for another.
Firstly, one problem for another is a real-time description of the disaster sh50.

Secondly, thanks for the adulations.

Thirdly & very amusedly, PSunami victims did you say? Why not? If psychology starts with PS, psalm starts with PS & psoriasis starts with PS..... why not TSunami with a PS?;)

Being what you are my friend, I know well that you won't take things amiss. Just a friendly pull of the legs.:)
 

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