Between virtue and vice

an assiduous combat ensues,

The human and the demon

Are in a constant battle within,

Between justice and iniquity,

Truth and lie, a constant wrangle

Time and again ’tis trapped.

Anger and arrogance, illusion and greed –

a chaos forges way to battle

when the human and the demon

head for an encounter.

Yes, the thirst to win it all

will never quench!

‘What now?’ ‘What now?’,

Thoughts lodge within

only to grapple head-on.

He has shut the doors now

to the scruples within.

In the sea of oblivion,

the bitter truth of life lies forgotten —

that the ultimate gateway is the destination

of the one who hears the whispers of the conscience.

~Poem by Shalini Dwivedi & translated by Jigyasa Goodwin

India