Dharmpal Mahendra Jain (Western Voices 2022)

Bio: Born (1952) and raised in tribal reserve of Jhabua, India, Dharmpal Mahendra Jain is a Toronto based Author. He writes mostly in Hindi and has seven published books- five collections of satirical essays and two collections of Poetry. He is a columnist for three prestigious journals: Chankya Varta, Setu and Vishwagatha. His works have also appeared in prestigious Hindi journals across the world. He is currently working on a full-length collection in English. For more of his work please visit: https://www.facebook.com/dharmpalmahendra/ 

POSTPONE THE NEW DAY

 

The seven horses are tired.

They have never been so desperate

in this eternity

that they wanted to stop on the go,

sit down and cry,

and share the sorrow of the sun.

 

The sun doesn't even want to walk

                   for another morning,

the groan of the blood-soaked earth

penetrates deep into its fiery pores.

Alas! if it could control the clock,

it would postpone the new day.

***

STORM

 

Whenever the cannons fire,

the song of life

shatters to smithereens.

Cracked, crushed, groaning voices

can't even sing properly

the black husky music of death.

People listening to screams

         in open pits

         have fallen asleep forever.

Dark black smoke has

swallowed the sky

to cover the quiet eyes

glowing in the dark.

The storm has risen again.

***

FOUNDATION

The mountain was large and tall here

though flat at the height

as if Buddha was sleeping atop, 

calm and unblemished.

Tree-lined foothills

looked like a forest

with plentiful ripened mangoes

smelling sweet 

               in the sporty wind

and the long trails running.

Now there are unpaved roads 

covered with dust 

and on their chest operating

are bulldozers, trucks, and machines.

Stone mafia covered the land.

The mountain breaks slowly,

inch by inch, into boulders. 

The plinth of power gets stronger.

***

---

Setu, April 2022