by B. R. GOWANI
“‘Angel of Death,’ ‘Devil of Death,’ ‘Grim Reaper,’ …
are the names humans gave me
‘Pitiless,’ ‘merciless,’ ‘cruel’ …
is how they describe me
‘dooms day,’ ‘day of judgement’ …
are the words they associate me with
“gentle words about me is a rarity
poet Emily Dickinson comes to mind
her immortal words:
‘Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me’
“6.9 million children died in 2011
all of them under the age of five
more than 50% deaths were preventable
but the children were let to die
“was that my fault?
no! not at all
I am nature-bound
it’s in my nature to kill
however, I don’t kill in untimely fashion
because it’s against the laws of Nature
“so who could have saved them?
members of their own specie
“but then, individuals can do only so much
total eradication only four entities can do:
giant corporations, super rich
governments, the United Nations
(the UN is not totally independent
it is controlled by the United States)
when they fail in their duty towards the sick
only then, Death, that’s me, enter the scene
to end the suffering of the victims
“there was a thought flow
before hitting a final blow
‘their present is very low
without any hope or glow
the victims have future no
so this is how mercy I show’
“mind you, not a good feeling
to extinguish their life-lamps
but when the light is not steady
and continuously keeps on flickering
only when those who can but don’t help
that I kindly stop for these tiny wretched”
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com