𝐀 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠

---By Badri Raina

These days I close my eyes a lot

And see beloved places;

Walkers down the river bank

Show home in open faces.

Light that fades over the lake,

Like a soft, woollen receding,

Recalls the warp of innocence,

That weaves a cloth of healing.

I see cities turn to dust,

And the oceans rise to sink

Great monuments of cleverness

As offal offering.

Elders long since dead and gone

Beckon from a glen in the heart;

I think they will be there in love

As my hour comes to depart.

I did not wish away the world

While I lived among its shards

I did what I could for love,

In broken and bleeding yards.

But now, as millions carry on

The fight against the dragon,

My eyes shut all on their own,

Sighting a far-away wagon.

 

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Dr Badri Raina, 80, is an eminent  Indian poet and political writer who has stood for secularism, democracy and the rule of law in his country. As a political writer, he has frequently written articles, defending the rights of religious minorities, which have increasing been under attack at the hands of Hindutva parties and their militias.