Humanity

Dr. Sushma Acharya

Dr. Sushma Acharya

The aspiration and ambition of flowering

And vibrant youth

Keeping at bay

I am searching for humanity

In course of my sojourn in the Middle East

Amid the rising columns of smoke by bombs

and gun power

I see humanity crumbling.

Sometimes when I reach the frontiers of the North

I notice humanity being buffeted by the piercing arrows of the ego

Sometimes in the developed world concealed within the grab of humanity

I am compelled to traverse the void of antipathy

The mind cowering in despair

From the lip service ritual

I reach the world sacrificial fire of ten million

Offering for peace.

In the chaotic dance of dominionship

I notice the volleys of missiles unleashed

by some dictatorship upon the weak.

Here and there, for the sake of usurpation and selfishness

I notice the innocent aspiration of the child

Being smothered as the sacrificial lamb

Subject to murder, violence and kidnapping

Alas ! l deem my search as bereft of meaning and justification.

And then, in the faith dispensed with mere assurances

I reason about my life suspended in a twine

The answer ensues that it may snap any moment

And then, l ask the Buddha, Christ and Allah

They tell me - Humanity has already been dissolved with us

So, what remains is a mere facade, a phantom of humanity.

Translated from Nepali by: Damodar Bhattarai

(Courtesy: Himalayan Soul, 2013)