Dilemma Poem by Pradip Chattopadhyay

Fed by a ceaseless downpour
The river was in eruptive spate
The dam they said can’t take anymore
It must be opened the lock gate.
Open the lock gate and save the dam
Before it crumbles by the mighty force
But what of them on the riverside goddamn
For them lies what recourse?
The dam can come down any moment
As the raging waters fast mount
What about the millions on it spent
The loss would be immense without count.
But then for saving it if the river is let free
The settlements on its sides would go
Unleashed waters would cause misery
Villages would be washed away with the flow.
What happens in the end you guessed it right
The lock gate was opened to save the dam
Surely more than the poor villagers’ plight
The dam had to be saved goddamn.