The Modern Paradox: A Poem By Kawsar Ahamed Poem by Kawsar Ahamed

The Modern Paradox

- Kawsar Ahamed

In this modern society, what's going wrong?
What is missing? Is it religiousness or simply belonging?
Is it values we've lost or the love that's gone cold?
Is it wisdom, now traded for stories untold?

Has kindness been buried under layers of pride?
Or has truth been forgotten, now easily denied?
Are we chasing success, while integrity fades?
Building our futures on shallow charades?


Is it respect, lost to wealth's steady rise?
Or compassion, now hidden behind all the lies?
Are we too busy to care, too blind to see,
The consequences of a life that's led by greed?

In this world of excess, where do we stand?
Are we seeking answers or just a helping hand?
In the rush for progress, have we lost our way?
Forgetting the roots that made us who we are today.

Money is everything, respect is nothing,
Idols are idolized, parents are forgotten,
Knowledge is compromised, power is won,
Appearance is prized, character is gone.

Success is measured by wealth, not integrity,
Ambition is fueled by greed, not humility,
Love is conditional, trust is rare,
Honesty is lost, deceit fills the air.

Tradition is abandoned, convenience is king,
Freedom is fleeting, control is the thing,
Compassion is weak, competition is strong,
Truth is ignored, the lie lasts long.

Here is the modernization we have made:

Clothes became shorter, so where will shame come from?
Bread turned into loaves, so where will strength come from?
Flowers became plastic, so where will fragrance come from?
Faces became about makeup, so where will beauty come from?
Students became dependent on tuition, so where will knowledge come from?
Food came from hotels, so where will health come from?
And humans became all about money, so where will love come from?
Water turned into bottles, so where will rivers come from?
Farms turned into factories, so where will crops come from?
Homes became concrete, so where will warmth come from?
Festivals became formalities, so where will joy come from?
Books became digital, so where will wisdom come from?
Time became fleeting, so where will bonds come from?
Dreams became material, so where will peace come from?
And hearts became selfish, so where will kindness come from?

Jobs became positions, so where will passion come from?
Words became hashtags, so where will meaning come from?
Values became negotiable, so where will integrity come from?
Privacy became public, so where will trust come from?
Families became distant, so where will love come from?
Social media became reality, so where will authenticity come from?
People became consumers, so where will empathy come from?
And lives became schedules, so where will freedom come from?


Relationships became transactional, so where will true emotion come from?
Cheating became a choice, so where will true love come from?
Governments became corrupted, so where will democracy come from?
Judges became corrupt, so where will justice come from?
Leaders became self-serving, so where will leadership come from?
Law became flexible, so where will fairness come from?
The poor became voiceless, so where will equality come from?
The rich became untouchable, so where will compassion come from?

Then what's exactly missing in modern society? Where to find the solutions?
Why are we becoming so insane, running after materialistic things that won't work at the end of our lives?
Alas! The modern, oversmart, overrich, and aesthetic society doesn't even know where it is going, or where to stop.
But we all know we are heading to our end, the Earth is heading to its death,
Though we know, we pretend as if no god exists, or as if we won't die.