The Army is the breath, the very essence of our serenity

The moment it stops functioning—

 In a very chaotic perilous life we shall land!

These brave Martyrs sacrifice all theirs for us-

And-

What do we give them in return?

Hardly any support, trust or appreciation

Are we not responsible for lowering their morale?

To serve their motherland the youth join the Army

But unfortunately, the reward at times meted out to them-

Might soon drive many away from it

Earnestly till their last breath they fight–

For a peaceful comfy life for us

But, for some inexplicable motive

For their action, at times they are taken to task-

       Why? What for?

Their greatest fault being-

Fighting against the rebellions, the stone pelters to-

Protect the innocent

Is it a crime they are committing?

Are they not supposed to do so?

Or rather, pray-

Let us know who the real culprits are!

Great lectures are heard on-

How inhumanly the soldiers behaved!

Did they really do so?

Were they not fighting for the right cause?

But it seems some of the vociferous lot

Have more faith in-

The selfish, rowdy, ruthless beings

For some mystifying reason!

It’s absolutely all right –

To pelt the innocent citizens and soldiers to death

But to give these unruly stone pelters-

A taste of their own behavior is a crime!

What sort of justice is this?

The pelters are said to be innocent youth gone astray

But does that give them the right to-

Viciously pelt our Saviors, our brethrens?

        Shouldn’t they too be taught to be humane?

Is it innocence or something more than that?

        No where else in the whole wide world-

        I hope and pray-

Such injustice is awarded to an Army Man for-

His good work as here, regrettably in our country

It’s something to be greatly ashamed of, that-

The honourable saviors of us and the Motherland are-

Left unprotected as preys for the vultures-

That’s the gratitude and the medal they get for their –

Selfless, infallible sincere work and sacrifice-

Nothing can be more dismal than this for a country!

                                                                                                ~Anuradha .S. Bannore

                                                                                              Vadodara, India