Poetry

The Plight of a Mother

~ by BABY KATTACKAL

Kerala, India

SOCIETY?

AN OFT- HEARD NAME, A GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS,

DISCIPLINED, COMPASSIONATE, VIRTUOUS, SELFLESS,

SACRIFICIAL, WITH  PURPOSES THAT SERVE  MANKIND.

 

WHERE RULE OF LAW PREVAILS,

WHERE RULE OF LAW ENJOYS

GENERAL ACCEPTABILITY

AND COMMANDS RESPECT AND OBEDIENCE

 

AN INFIGHTING GROUPS  OF PEOPLE

CANNOT BE CALLED A SOCIETY,

THEY ARE NOT WITH HOMOGENEOUS GOALS

FOR THE COMMON GOOD, COMMON WELFARE.

 

WHERE RULE OF LAW IS THREAD-BORN

TITULAR, ANY TIME TO SNAP OFF

FOR THE PEOPLE TO TAKE THE LAW

UNTO THEIR HANDS.

 

GROUP INTERESTS CANNOT ALWAYS

BE CALLED SOCIETAL INTERESTS,

THEY ARE INTERESTS OF A GROUP ONLY,

AND SO SELFISH ONES.

 

IF THE INTEREST OF A MINORITY  OR A GROUP,

WITHIN THE SOCIETY, HAPPENS TO BE ONE THAT PROMOTES,

OR CATERS TO THE INTERESTS OF THE  ENTIRE SOCIETY,

THEN  IT’S  IN THE INTEREST OF THE SOCIETY.

 

DIFFERENCES OF OPINION IN A SOCIETY,

DO NOT MAR IT’S  SOCIETAL STATUS.

BUT  INFIGHTING GROUPS SCRAMBLING

CUTS INTO PIECES, THE SOCIETAL STATUS.

 

CROWD? EASILY  EXCITABLE,

A MOTELY ASSEMBLAGE OF UNWIELDY  MULTITUDE,

INDISCIPLINED, SELF- SERVING INTERESTS, VIRTUELESS,

WHERE THE PRESENT GENERATION  IS CONTEMNED TO LIVE IN.

 

 NOMADS WERE THE HUMAN BEINGS, ONCE,

WITH SIMPLE, LIMITED PURPOSES OF LIFE,

GROUPS MOVING,

FROM PLACE TO PLACE.

 

SIMPLE CONVENTIONS GOVERNED

THEIR INTERACTIONS, SMOOTHLY,

SOULFULLY,

WITH  UTMOST  HUMANENESS.

 

TIME NEVER WAITS…………….CHANGES CAME TO PASS…..

 

MAN STARTED TO SETTLE DOWN,

A CHANGE FROM HIS NOMADIC  LIFE,

THE NAME OF THE GROUP CHANGED INTO A SOCIETAL ONE

THE SOCIETY OF SETTLERS.

 

NOTHING WRONG IN CALLING THE SOCIETY OF SETTLERS,

THE MOTHER OF ALL HUMAN SOCIETIES,

FOR THE SOCIETY OF SETTLERS MARKED,

THE BIRTH OF THE CONCEPT  OF SOCIETAL LIFE.

 

TIME PASSED………MODERNITY DAWNED…..

 

FROM ITS LIMITED WANTS, THE SOCIETY  GREW, SLOWLY,

THEIR NEEDS AND GOALS,LIMITLESS,COMPLEX, DIMENTIONAL,ASSORTED.

ASSUMING A NEW MODERN NAME,

A  SOCIETY  OF HOMOSAPIENS.

 

THE TRANSITION FROM THE MOTHER SOCIETY

OF SETTLERS INTO THAT OF HOMOSAPIENS,

WAS SMOOTH AND  SIMPLE, BELIEVED

A FACELIFT  FOR THE EARLY SOCIETY.

 

THE HANDI WORK OF THE FLUX OF TIME,

HAD MORE TO IT THAN MEETS THE EYE

BUT MUCH MORE THAN THAT, PERHAPS,

 FOR THE WORSE.

 

IT’S NEEDS, MULTIDIMENSIONAL, NOW,

 SACRIFICIAL NO MORE,

HUMANE, NO MORE,

SELF-CENTRIC, SELFISH, ALL THE MORE.

 

CONCEPTUAL CHANGES, SO MANY,

CAME TO PASS, UPON THE ORIGINAL MOTHER  SOCIETY,

IN THE PROCESS OF ASSIMILATING

MODERNITY, DETESTABLE ONES.

 

THE MOTHER SOCIETY OF VIRTUES

BASED ON SOLEMN PRINCIPLES.

WAS RENDERED, A NAME’S SAKE ONE, NOW

OF TITULAR EXISTENCE, THE PRESSURE OF MODERNITY.

 

FROM THE UNITY OF MAN,

THE MOTHER SOCIETY TOOK BIRTH, IN THE PAST,

FOR THE SECURITY IN  HIS LIFE,

THROUGH MUTUAL HELP, CARE, AND CONCERN.

 

MODEL TO ALL, IN UNITY,

TEACHING A LESSON,

THAT UNITY IS STRENGTH,

AS AGAINST DISUNITY.

 

TIME PASSED ON…..

 

A SPURT IN THE GROWTH OF POPULATION

IN GEOMETRICAL PROGRESSION,

THAT CAUSED THINGS TO GO AWRY

TOPSY-TURVY.

 

THE GLORIFIED VIRTUOUS,

 GIVE AND TAKE CONCEPTS OF THE PAST,

FAILED TO FIND A FOOT-HOLD,

IN THE BUILDING UP OF THE MODERN SOCIETY.

 

THE NEEDS AND GOALS

OF THE  MODERN SOCIETY,

TURNED ASSORTED,

 A DEVELOPMENT FROM WITHIN,

 

ITS  PRESSURE,  FROM WITHIN,

ITS FORCE,

CARRIED THE MODERN SOCIETY,

TO THE POINT  OF AN IMPLOSION.

 

 SELF- INTERESTS, ITS FORCE,

CAUSED DISUNITY  WITHIN THE SOCIETY,

 BOILING WITH OVERWHELMING HEAT,

 TO THE POINT OF  BOILING OVER.

 

THE  MODERN SOCIETY

NO LONGER    A ROLE MODEL,

 SANS ANY VIRTUES OF  ITS OWN,

FOR OTHERS TO EMULATE.

 

IRIDESCENT GROUPS IN THE PLACE,

 OF  SOLID HUMAN COLOUR, STARTED  PLAYING,

THEIR  STRATEGIC  TRUMP CARDS,

SO MANY  MINISCULE   GROUPS, HUMAN COLOUR, LOST,

 

 BUT  RICH IN COLOURS, STILL

THE  COLOUR OF CASTES AND CREEDS

WITH COLOUR OF FLAGS

VALIENTLY  VYING FOR PRE-EMINENCE, THEIR VANITY,

 

ENDORSING, ENFORCING   THEIR SELFISH GOALS,

STAKING CLAIMS  UNREASONABLE,

TO THE PREJUDICE OF THE REAL HUMAN

WITH HUMAN COLOUR,

 

WHEN GROUP INTERESTS TURN SIGNIFICANT,

THE HUMANE INTERESTS ARE IGNORED

FORCING THE HUMAN TO SACRIFICE

HIS  HUMANE INTERESTS, FOR THE GROUP INTERESTS.

 

 

 

MANY  GROUPS ANTAGONISTIC,

OF  CASTES AND  CREEDS

BRIMMING  WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK,

OF THE MOTHER SOCIETY.

 

 

AWAITING AN OPPORTUNE TIME,

THE RIGHT TIME,

THE APPROPRIATE TIME,

FOR A BREAK-OFF.

 

 

THE MOTHER SOCIETY GREW  SIDE BY SIDE,

WITH THE GROWTH IN POPULATION,

A STEALTHY GROWTH, ONLY IN  ITS BULK,

ITS   HUMANE PRINCIPLES  STUNTED, IGNORED.

 

 

.

LOOKING BACK NOSTALGICALLY……..

 

DURING THE  PERIOD OF MAN’S NOMADIC LIFE,

WHEN THE CONCEPT OF A  SOCIETY WAS UNKNOWN,

SMALL GROUPS  WERE MOVING THEN,

HAVING ONLY LIMITED AIMS TO ACHIEVE.

 

THE AIM OF  GATHERING FOOD FOR THE DAY,

AND FINDING SOMEWHERE TO SLEEP,

CONFINED TO  EACH GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS,

THE SMALL  SIMPLE AIMS OF GROUPS OF NOMADS.

 

 

THEN  THE EARLY SOCIETY  HAD NO BROAD VISIONS OF LIFE

WHEN  IT WAS A NUCLEAR  SOCIETY INITIALLY

WITH  SIMPLE, SELFLESS, NOBLE GOALS  TO ACHIEVE,

WITH  NO ASSORTED GOALS FOR A CONFLICT.

 

 

THEY WERE SACRIFICIAL FOR THE HOMOGENIETY

OF THEIR SOCIETY, FOR  ITS VIRTUES

FOR A VIRTUOUS SOCIETAL LIFE,

THEIR SOLE MOTTO, THE WORLD OVER.

 

 

COMING TO THE PRESENT………

 

THE GROWTH OF POPULATION, ITS IMPACT,

HAS A DIRECT BEARING UPON THE INTERNAL IMBROGLIO

SIMMERING  WITHIN THE  MODERN SOCIETY OF GROUPS

LIKE A TIME BOMB SET TO DETONATE IN CONGENIEL AMBIENCE.

 

 

THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETY THEN SIGNIFIED

THE GROWTH IN POPULATION,

NOT IN PRINCIPLES,

NOT IN VIRTUES, A PROGRESS  DOWNWARDS.

 

ITS HOMOGENIETY DOWN THE DRAIN,

WITH CONFLICTS  INSIDE, TO EXPLODE

AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION

LIKE  A VOLCANO, FRETTING, AND  FUMING.

 

.

THE  POPULATION GREW, FURTHER,

UNWIEDY PROPORTIONS,

CAUSING  AN EXPLOSION,

THE POPULATION, EXPLOSION.

 

  THE EXPLOSION CAUSED AN IMPLOSION

WITHIN THE MOTHER SOCIETY  TOO,

 FOR SO MANY MINI SOCIETIES  CAME INTO BEING,

RENDERING  THE MOTHER SOCIETY, ALL THE MORE INSIGNIFICANT.

 

THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SOCIETIES,

THEIR  INTERACTIONS AND NEEDS, COMPLEX, AND ASSORTED,

THE SOCIETY  THEN SPLIT AND GREW IN NUMBER

ON ITS OWN, SANS ANY  POPULATION  EXPLOSION, FURTHER.

 

LIFE WENT ON…..AND ON…….,

THE POPULATION GROWING, IN GEOMETRICAL PROGRESSION,

AS IF THE ONLY RECREATION OF MAN,

IS PROCREATION.

 

NOW THE WORLD IS SURFIETED,

WITH  UNWEILDY NUMBER OF  MINI SOCIETIES,

THE SOCIETY’S GROWTH,

‘DOUBLY RE -DOUBLED’.

 

AND THE CONCEPT OF ‘GROW AS THEY SPLIT,

AND SPLIT AS THEY GROW’,

RULES THE ROOST, NOW,

IN THE PLACE OF SOCIETAL HOMOGENEITY.

 

IN THE PLACE OF THE HUMAN COLOUR,

THE BASIS OF A SOCIETY,

A  TOTALLY DIFFERENT CONCEPT

CAME INTO BEING, FOR THE WORSE.

 

COMMUNAL, POLITICAL, COLOURS, BROADLY,

FORGETTING THE HUMAN WITH HIS HUMAN COLOUR

ONCE THE BASIC UNIT OF A SOCIETY,

THE BASIC COLOUR OF THE HUMAN SOCIETY.

 

NOW THE SOCIETY NEEDS

CLASS AND GROUP ALONE

  A CLASS  OF CASTE  WITH  COLOUR TO PAMPER

OR CREED WITH  ITS FLAG’S COLOUR TO FOSTER.

 

THE PRESENT MINISCULE SOCIETIES

  SURFIETED WITH  A CONGLOMERATION

OF  GROUP  OR CREED COLOURS,

OUSTED THE HUMAN WITH  ORIGINAL HUMAN COLOUR,

 

FORCING HIM TO  MERGE

WITH THE COLOUR OF CASTES AND CREED

IN HIS  EFFORT, IN HIS STRUGGLE,

TO HAVE A FOOT-HOLD IN THE MODERN SOCIETY.

 

AND WORSE…..

THE EXISTENCE OF  MINISCULE SOCIETIES,

ENGULFED THE MOTHER HUMAN SOCIETY,

GROSSLY  INTO INSIGNIFICANCE,

AND ITS PLIGHT  ALL THE MOR DEPLORABLE.

 

NOW THE MOTHER SOCIETY IS LIKE A SPIDER,

CARRYING, LOVINGLY ITS YOUNG ONES IN AN EGG, BENEATH,

AND WHEN THE EGG HATCHES,

THE YOUNG ONES TURN BACK UPON THEIR MOTHER

 

AVIDLY GORGING UPON HER BODY

LEAVING BEHIND, FINALLY,

SOME DEAD  SHREDS OF HER,

SOME DEAD  LEFT-OVERS OF HER.

 

NOW ISN’T THE PLIGHT OF THE MOTHER SOCIETY

 AT PRESENT, SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE SPIDER?

HAVING BEEN REDUCED TO SOME DEAD LEFTOVERS

BY THE  MODERN MINISCULE SOCIETIES?

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