The Witness Who Should Vouch Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Every time you open your mouth
To voice words evil or uncouth,
O let them be screened by guards three,
A simple and straight mind nudged me.
Else, swallow them unuttered, raw—
An act that hath upset no maw!

When came the first guard me to ask,
Urgent and upfront with his task:
Are you so sure they are needed?
I turned upside and down my head,
Of course, do ye think I'm a fool?
I countered sounding rather cool.

Fine, are ye sure the words are true?
The next guard did his duty due.
Ensured one more with saintly charm:
Sure, they cause no one any harm?
And one can guess the response well:
So let me not bother to spell.

But ‘I' that said so was not him,
Impostor, rather filled to brim,
He was upstaged by an upstart,
Poor Him, confined to cave— of heart,
Oh suffering soul's subdued voice,
Long lost of poise and lack of choice!

He posed queries, he was the guard,
He was the warden, he the ward,
He gave the award, he the bard,
He won the trick but with whose card?
Witness on watch, him truth to vouch,
Ensconced still wordless in a pouch!
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Reflections | 08.03.15 |