O for Gandhi (Gandhian Philosophy)

Seema Jain

In the midst of swishing missiles, hooting sirens, dropping of bombs, 

In the midst of screaming humans and bleeding humanity

In the war-ravaged, corpses-strewn sites of Ukraine, Gaza, Israel

The very streets once abuzz with giggles, music and cheer

Now reduced to rubble, mutilated legs peeking here, half-buried torsos there

The hospitals overflowing with dead bodies, unable to cope

Buildings razed to the ground, with heaps of ruin everywhere. 

O Gandhi! How desperately the world needs many more like you 

Your creed of non-violence surely the way to lead humankind  

Out of a quagmire of hate and venom, bullets and bombs

Echoes from the past and present unleash gory tales of violence 

Of fierce battles and acquisitive greed, of bloodshed, massacres and deaths

Where ‘an eye for an eye’ threatens to make the whole world blind

In thousands of years, humans have learnt no lessons

From their past follies and wanton acts of mass destruction

History sings paeans to the so-called "brave" warriors and fighters

Who killed and conquered, or were killed and ‘martyred.’

Why don't we celebrate our icons of peace and love?

Men like Gandhi can surely make the world a better place. 

Bio: Seema Jain is a bilingual poet, translator and editor. Ex-HoD English at KMV Jalandhar, she has authored, edited and translated fourteen books, contributed to about 100 anthologies, as also to the Stanford University Archives on Life in Quarantine, besides working on some projects and having published two books with the Sahitya Akademi. Her poems are widely published, translated, anthologized and recited. She is the recipient of many awards.

---

Setu, October 2023 :: Gandhian Philosophy