The Disaster Poem by Ramesh Iyengar

The disaster

…….. and it finally came
no prior note given.

Unannounced came an earthquake,
just a jerk,
a sinister shake,
one ominous tilt,
nature had no guilt.

All tumbled down.
Man’s erections in debris lie.
The forbidden souls in gloom cry.

Orphaned, unfathered,
Unhomed, uncared…….

Rescue workers distribute grain and rice.
Politicians, big promises.

Roofless souls and squatters
stare at vacant sky in a woeful night.

The earthquake………
It is news for the rich.
It is catastrophe for the poor.


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