The Day of Mother Earth

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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3 Comments

  1. Gary Corseri says:

    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!

  2. Gary Corseri says:

    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.

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