Freedom is like a metro
You and I
Are standing
In different stations
Waiting for freedom to come
In full speed without sound.
We don’t even hear
The sounds of the displaced
And even the whispers
Of environment below.
We travel underground
And over ground
With full convictions
That freedom is speed.
And the moment we get down
Our freedom is gone.
Freedom is like a metro
You and I are standing
In different stations
Discussing with each other
And watching different boards
At every station
Of dalits, adivasis or women,
Or communalism, sexuality minorities,
Environment, displacement, development
Marginalisation of nationalities,
Human rights of our own choices
And even about globalisation or
The languages of the dead and living
And about our common future
With dreams of a rising sun
For public good and humanity
With a desire to live
For peace, justice and harmony.
The stations are different
And we know where we get in
Or get out without watching
The faces in other stations
The destiny is our station
To fulfil the desire for freedom.
And the moment we get out
Our freedom is gone.
Freedom is like a metro
Rushing through all stations
Leaving us all behind
In full speed
And our freedom is gone.
K.P. Sasi is a film maker, writer, cartoonist and an activist
I never considered myself free, actually, since I was five years old and saw Hiroshima Maidens in NYC, USA for reconstructive surgery. It was a “wake-up call” that I would never be free since I would have to work really hard my whole life to serve humanitarian and environmental concerns.
The same position holds true for my sister, my daughter and others known to us. Truly, we have no freedom of choice. We are not free.
Surely, I have some very wonderful times at picnics, playing with children and others, and doing other activities. Yet my sense of self and my whole being is still not free because I will jump up at any moment to go into my core intentions in life — the ones that define me and my underlying gist or motivations.
I don’t mind the position that I have and I am happy for people, who feel temporarily free. However, I am not one of them.
I accept my bondage in lieu of freedom. So have some friends of mine, including my sister and her husband, who have laid their lives on the line in service to others. Indeed it is joyful to be not free when we are enslaved by our ethics, values, principles, standards, values and morals. Being this way defines us as being the best that we can be in ourselves. We like these sorts of restrictions and lack of liberty that define us … so no freedom for us!
Also freedom is like metro
With bustling crowds
Meaningless cacophony
The moment we try to differentiate sounds and people
Freedom is gone
Your understanding of the issue, Sheshu, reminds me of any number of comments by Ranier Maria Rilke. Your remarks are very Rilke infused and I bet that you don’t even know about who Rilke is! … So the sounds guide you and teach you more than without them. Yet, then, you lose your freedom in the process. Then your focus on them destroys your being unfettered. So you are enslaved as much as am I. … To start learning about Rilke, I recommend the booklet “Letters to a Young Poet.”