Crime And Punishment Poem by AKELLA S. RATNAM

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Who says modern man turns his face
From thoughts about life and eternal things?
A time was when people believed
Our sins in the past birth revisit us in the present.
The modern man with no time to lose,
Impatient to act expects punishment meted out
Here and now for what is done in past or present.
Modern man devoid of human emotions,
Programmed to be efficient in actions
Is a fully charged robot in human shape,
Makes mental balance sheet of his parents’
Deeds of omission and commission.
Old age is the Day of Judgement.
The young sit on judgement over the acts
Of their elders; react by inflicting pain
And offering sustenance grudgingly,
Like the employees who pay income-tax.

A S RATNAM