Prayer Poem by Ananya Guha

They are killing people who are eating beef Lord
or supposedly
are they killing the animal or the man?
They are killing, not raping
which is worse?
In this countdown?
History must be sheepish, that its shores are tarnished
they are killing people Lord, who don't look like them
eat like them
don't wear the same clothes
they are killing people Lord
in this absolutism there is no crime
because they eat beef Lord
not vegetables or insects, in this killing
the butcher is cunning, the people are not weeping
simply protesting, killing people is not mayhem.
Everyday happening.
They are killing people.

So, they say ban this meat eating, worm eating, earth eating.
Ban it, damn it.
They are killing people Lord.
My miniscule word, letter or poem
will not matter, what matters is slaughter.

They are killing people Lord in this territory
known for a long long past its history.
They are killing the past,
they are killing the present
they are killing the future
Dreams.


They are killing people.
Listen to this prayer
so that it bites you in your dreams.
Listen to this prayer so that kills you
in your sleep.
Listen to this prayer so that it may burn like cataclysm
and stormy ghosts enter night dreams.

For, they are killing dreams O Lord.