The Deity Poem by Siddique Mahmudur Rahman

The other day I saw a snake.
It was cloudy day, full of dejection
I was counting minutes with
distress and agitation
I was longing for a bright sunny sky.

And then the snake with its bifurcated tongue
Flickering like lightning
Came out of a crevice of the earth.
It was a tiny crack, as thin as a hair,
But the snake easily started to come out of it from it.

Then
As it came out of that fissure it gradually turned bigger and fatter.
Progressively it changed its appearance.
Sometimes it was a tiger, its fierce nails are all protruding,
Menacing froths are coming out of its mouth
Sometimes it is a wee little fawn, fervent and animated
At times it looked like human beings, of different form, color,
posture and character of North, East, West and South.
Silvery bearded, respectable, like a religious preacher,
Like a attractive, glamorous actress,
Like a scholarly, stooping professor,
Agriculturist, engineer, laborer, peasant, sparkling youth,
Or a lively pubescent.
Sometimes it is like a beautiful bird as a little magpie
Enchanting the environment with beautiful whistling song.
At these spectacular changes some people around me
were enthralled and were mesmerized
They went on commenting about those changes
So much beautiful, so very powerful, so gigantic, so pure and pious.
Some people rushed in carryinggarlands, milk, honey,
Rats and nice, cats and dogs with them and
Offering the snake as its food
They went of saying, 'Be our leader, O snake! '
I saw with great awe that the snake accepted the offerings
And said with a crude smile, I'm your commander,
Address me as your Deity.'
At the poisonous breath these men went on becoming lean and thin.
But they can not feel their evil condition and morbidity
But they went on worshiping the snake with all their might
And went on chanting like priests,
You're grand, you're life, you're our emancipator of thousand years
Some people crushed to death under the huge body of the snake
Still reciting, our death due to you, is great sacrifice and gratification.

The snake went on becoming larger, encircling the locality,
The village, the towns and cities, the country, even the continent.
I understood there's no salvation from the clutches of this snake.
I thought this is inevitable. There's no salvation of the civilization.

Suddenly aslender boy, starving
Walked in with trembling steps
He has a small knife in his hand and a piece of burning charcoal
He looked at me with scorn while crossing, and said courageously,
Nothing is ultimate, except truth
Nothing is permanent, except truth
And there is another end after an end.
These two feeble hands are sufficient to annihilate the snake.

I felt great shame on my hesitation
In supporting and giving hand to that feeble boy.

Original in Bangla by Siddique MahmudurRahman