The Religion Of Humanity Poem by Nikhil Parekh

There was a man named john who was born a Christian; went to the sacrosanct Church from the very first day of his life,
Scrupulously read through every page of the bible; even keeping the same beneath his pillow when he transited into a slumber,
Embellished his neck with a chrome tipped cross; the holy silhouette of Jesus embedded to perfection,
Although the blood that flowed through his veins was crimson red like his counterpart mates; and the tones of air that he expunged from his nose when he respired was no different than any human inhabiting the globe.

There was a man named Rahim who was born an Arab; diligently visited the shimmering Mosque every Friday,
Refrained to close his eyes at night without sedulously reciting his prayers; chanting the name of his god umpteenth times in a single day,
Browsed through intricate lines of the Quran-e-Sharif with nonchalant ease; keeping a photo of his god safely incarcerated in his wallet,
Although the color of his lips was same as that of his siblings in America; and the sweat that dribbled down his nape was no different than any human residing on this earth.

There was a man named Tai chi who was born a Chinese; spoke profoundly in a pure native dialect,
Fervently worshipped all the oriental Gods; a plethora of Sacerdotal symbols embossed on colossal and gray stone walls,
Was wholesomely oblivious to anything in the market except an ensemble of authentic sea food; incessantly danced to stridently rustic folk tunes,
Although the texture of his pudgy lips was as soft as his friends in the United Kingdom; and the whites of his eye was no different than any human transgressing through
the world.

There was a man named Ram who was born an Indian; commenced each of his morning clambering steps of the divine temple,
Could narrate marathon passages from the Bhagwad Gita like the back of his palm; keeping it perennially wound to his chest,
Conversed in eloquent Hindi; profusely remembering his god before undertaking any activity in his life,
Although there was an insatiable urge to expurgate his bowels like his fellow beings in the Antarctica; and the conglomerate of bones in his body was no different than any human traversing on the soil of this boundless land.

Why was it that these men had common characteristics; despite of them believing in different gods,
Despite of them residing in varied countries; unfathomable kilometers of distance separating them,
Barricades of language bifurcating them; colors of the skin indiscriminately discriminating them,
Well the answer to this is as simple as the wail of a newly born child; for all of them were perpetually bound by the religion of humanity.