once i used to be complete
one whole
there were no parts
of me
but now
i am mincemeat
you have
done this to me
since millennia
you are
ripping me apart
pulling me to shreds
scratching my body with lines
and cutting me into bits
bits you proudly call
your own
but, strangely
each time after
you cut out a portion
and gave me
a new name
somebody else
wanted a bit of his own
now i am all bloodied
and butchered
by you my children
piece by piece
you have dismembered me
but after all this
you still kill each other
firing across
fences and borders
you call your portions
sovereign states
but in this whole business
of property and possession
there are no tears
for your mother
you are still at it
perhaps one day
it will all stop
but will there be left
anything of me
Preeti Tej Singh has written two books of poetry. The first was called ‘I’ . The second book is called Simantini (Boundless). She blogs at www.samvednasabkeliye.blogspot.com
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Splendid poem. Usually, I might question the lack of punctuation; but, in this case, I think it serves Preeti Tej Singh’s purpose: to show the severing of the children of earth from our Mother Earth (and from each other and from ourselves). The language is simple, the message is profound. I’ll share the poem on my FB page. Thanks for posting, Binu Mathew!
Here’s a splendid poem by my Indian friend, Preeti Tej Singh. The language is simple, but the message is profound.
Usually, I might question the lack of punctuation, but that, and the truncated sentences, is also part of Preeti’s clarion call–to show how we have severed ourselves from our Mother Earth, and from each other and ourselves.
“When will they ever learn?” Pete Seeger sang…. And Preeti wonders here.
Thank you so much Gary.