Tariff Poem by Hans Raj Sharma

Nothing is free here
Not even-
The gifts of nature
Sun shine on the beech
Free water and air
Fragrance of flowers
Shadow of trees
And bonfire in winter
Selling like hot cakes
Delight and pleasure
Of all seasons-
Fake packed in packs
Bottles and packets
Cylinders of oxygen.

Nothing is free here
Not even-
The gifts of nature
‘Man is born free'
They say so-
But, everywhere
He is chained
With a chain of taxes-
Levy on life and living
A duty on death
Prepaid or post-paid
For pretty two yards
A bit of land to lie down
In the end, costing so dear
In the graveyard
Or the cremation ground
As for the last rites.

Nothing is free here
Not even-
The gifts of nature.

Thereafter, in the end
A toll for peace-prayer
For peaceful settlement
Of the departed soul
Therein, so called heaven.
-Copyright © hrsharma ®2017
Ludhiana, Punjab, India.