Poetry Corner * Dr. Archan Mehta

 

Political Rhetoric?

When was the last time

An “official,” that is,

A politician or bureaucrat

Gazed deeply into the eyes

Of a starving child,

Living in a remote village,

Dotting the landscape

Of our benighted country?

When was the last time

The rich and powerful

Shared a meal

With troubled farmers

Who toil in our fields?

When was the last time

A celebrity traveled

By foot to provide shelter

To the homeless?

When was the last time

Our so-called democracy

Provided a voice to

The voiceless, oppressed and marginalized

By actually counting their votes?

When was the last time

The voter had a choice

Between black versus white?

Who will focus

On the grey areas?

Who will envision

A nation as a

Many splendored thing?

Pray, which leader will

Rise, phoenix-like,

From the ashes,

And live to

Fight another day?

How will we make

Up for lost time since 1947?

When will our millionaires

And billionaires start

Paying their dues?

When will our government

Stop lining the pockets

Of the selected and chosen few?

When will we find

A seat at the table

At global seminars, conferences,

Convocations and assemblies?

When will we create

A welfare-oriented State

Directed toward the common weal?

When will we join

The community of nations

To find solutions to

Common challenges on planet Earth?

When will we join hands

With people from all over the world

To create a better world

In which everybody wins?

When will we stop dividing

Our world based on

Winners versus losers?

When will our planet

Earth achieve unity consciousness?

When will we learn to transcend

I, Me and Mine

And what’s in it for me?

And instead, help 

And support each other?

Will we be able to

Avoid World War Three?

Will we ever achieve

Peace and harmony?

Will we be able to

Convert hell on earth

To a heaven on earth?

Do we have hope

And optimism for tomorrow

On a planetary scale?

Can we look beyond

Our banal and trivial

And petty concerns

And, instead, learn 

To focus on our common humanity?

BIO:

Dr. Archan Mehta has earned a PhD. in Management. Currently, he is a Consultant and Writer based in India. In his free time, Dr. Mehta likes to stroll in the outdoors and party with close friends. He is also fond of meditation. Please feel free to reach out to the poet at archanm@hotmail.com at your convenience.