Cruelty
By Kumar Ambuj
Forgiveness would go away gradually
a desire for love would still be there but it would cease to be a necessity
restlessness of achieving would wither and so would the suffering of loss
not lonely any more, anger would get itself organized
an endless contest would be on where
people would be fighting to assert their supremacy
and not for staying undefeated
then cruelty would appear
first in the heart and not visible on the face
it then would occur in the interpretations of scriptures
it would occur in the history then, and in the prophesies later on
it would become an ideal for the people thereafter
wailing would turn futile
another death would hold tears borne out of the first one
the neighbor would not offer solace but a weapon
then cruelty would appear and it would not mutilate our souls
it would also be visible on the face thereupon
not discernible on its own though
similar faces would be there everywhere
and each one committing cruelty of its own kind
and a glare of glory all would have
it would come as a culture
with no one to resist it
the only effort would be- to make it more civilized
and more historical
it would arrive as a disgrace to forthcoming history
and would suck up all our compassion
all our adornments
it is so very likely that it comes
and we do not realize its coming for a great while.
(Translated from Hindi by Bharatbhooshan Tiwari)
Kumar Ambuj‘s is a well-known name in contemporary Hindi Poetry. He has published 4 collections of poetry – Kivaad (1992), Kroorta (1996), Anantim (1998), Atikraman (2002) – and a collection of stories, Ichchayein (2008).
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