Fear Poem by Ratnakar Rout

What do we call a person?
Who has no residence?
A man is found sleeping unperturbed
On the pavement of the main road
Leading to all-important
Institutional establishments of the town
How long has he been sleeping there
Is beyond my assessment?
But I used to see him daily sleeping there comfortably
I have not seen him getting up from the sleep even for once.
But I know this much that the place is not safe.
Once during assembly session
A Poisonous cobra appeared in the temporarily raised tent
Meant for the police on duty during midday
When several police personnels were present in the tent.
As hundreds of hectares of barren land
Lying unused having wild bushes here and there
Has become one of the major hideouts and hubs
For the dangerous insects and various serpents.
Commuters very often encounter them
After sunset when darkness embraces the earth
The animals pay unhindered visits
And are seen roaming around freely
In spite of all this the man sleeps carefree.
It appears as if he has overcome all fears.
Nothing disturbs and dissuades him
Resting on the pavement unsafe.
As it seems, he does not care or bother
For any apprehension. A destitute he,
Does not feel threatened by any situation.
A homeless who has no permanent home
What else does he think about life?
Except resting in an apparently lonely place
When all busy birds go back
To their nests after the days’ toil
They are afraid of many things.
They feel unsecured and bothered
Though live in the secured apartments
Where there is a place to settle down
There is sense of belongingness
And fear of losing something
Who has no home, has no fear
Fear moves hand in hand
With the persons who are fully settled
He, who has home, is more deplorable fear
Which hunts him bitterly now and then.
Where there is affluence
There is fear of ruin, damage and destruction.
When some one wanders like a nomad
He does not bear a sense of fear
As fear goes away with the detachment.
Attachment creates bondage
Bondage creates delusion
Delusion leads to fear
And fear generates irritation
Irritation develops in to anger
And anger breeds to cruelty
Cruelty endangers the life and destroys the happiness
As a result, many unwanted things happen
In the life of a human being and in fact
In the long run makes the person its toll
Thus, the sorrows, unhappiness and the cause of death
May not be always attributed to any extraneous thing
But may be attributed to one’s own fear
Which dwells within the person
And misguides towards the fatal end
Unwanted fear mars many possibilities of life
As to how one can overcome fear
It is time to learn from the life of the destitute
And enjoy the go of the life contented
Nevertheless, it is a learning experience for every one
To remain satisfied in life with what one has.