Cants Of A Canting World (Recalled) Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

O to walk bent, nor repentant,
Head held high without righteous stakes,
Breaking bread with poor, with rich cakes—
Using bread as an insurance
Against the hound that with hares runs—
Pompous, paying tithes veiled as cant.

In an age all when seek due rent—
Where, no one's pure, none so perfect,
Callous to core, none so correct,
One that walks straight makes little dent.
Spirit of time's unrepentant,
What use flowing against the fact?

Take to sham philosophy, learn
Pious poetic lines nigh tame,
Use ad lib moral cants; to turn
Turtle on head is no more shame,
Nor shame be double-distilled lies
That devil's honed to no surprise.

Cants, sweet meaninglessness outgrown
And multiplied many a fold,
Base metals shining as if gold,
Zeros followed by one, renown;
Wonder, what'd world do without cants,
Like vowels without consonants!

God gave gospels of modesty
To man— to live a life of lent,
Man, bit apple once too many,
Now hides his shame hind fig-leaf's scant,
Takes twelve hours' fast, and twelve to feast,
A month's Lent and then wild like beast!
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Satire | 10.09.12 |
Topic: world, today, cants