Cultural Decadence Poem by Venkateswaran Krishnan Sreenivasan

Men in power are worshipped by men
To be bestowed with undue laurels and gain;
From office, they do a rich harvest, take
Their memory lives in the statues we make.

Marry for pleasure, marry for fun
That is the way man treats woman
Little does he count it a sin
To cast her away like a molted skin

Our souls are starved and ego fed
By the gospels our rulers spread
Our saint, philosopher and sage
Are the actors on the screen and stage

The idols most sacred to our heart,
The master sculptor’s works of art
Are lured away to distant land
For barren dollar, pound and rand

How is man from the beast distinct
When his love and compassion are extinct
When man kills man by instinct
The compare is apt and succinct.

In manner, attire, etiquette and speech
The West, we do strive to reach
Oft of our bygone worth we preach,
Our offspring, to ape the West, we teach.

Our children in the pavements lie,
Unclad, unsheltered and die.
Those that live yet, beg to live
Oh rulers! How long is your reprieve?

The brew has broken many a home
And driven its slaves to their tomb
They are mad, the nation’s Father knew
Who poison people for revenue

Do mothers now, their infants, feed?
Do the sons, their aged parents, heed?
Do the aged, our scripture holy read
Whither will this, our country, lead?
Scholars, scientists and statesmen who reign
Your attainments are in vain
If to stem this cultural decline,
You think not, the task is thine.