New Birth Poem by Ajit Das

The bard of the east sketched a word-picture:
‘the world wild with delirium of hatred,
rocked by ceaseless cruel conflicts;
its paths crooked, its bonds of greed tangled,
all creatures crying for your new birth'.

And it has grown, larger and more telling,
overshadowing the face of the planet,
strings of ensemble, shrill, out of tune,
fountain of kindness, brotherhood drying up,
remorseless eyes glaring with lidless stare.

Human ingenuity, derailed from the path
of love, new creation, struts on the stage,
revelling in fresh techniques to snap out life.
Hapless mortals uprooted, displaced,
wail for your re-birth in a merciful earth.

*a poem on Buddha Purnima