The Balance Of Life And Death Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Thunderbolt! Thunderbolt!
Of tons of T.N.T..
All his commandents heard,
As the Lord of Death roared.

Around the conference hall,
Assembled were they all,
With pin-dropp silence,
To review their performance.

This was an annual show,
For the Lord to know,
How His force fared,
In the work, they shared.

In the opening session,
The Lord held a discussion,
O’er their holy profession,
Well dedicated to devotion.

He felt quite upset,
O’er the shortfall in target,
That was year before set,
But wasn’t reached yet.

He threatened drastic action,
O’er their slow action,
And expressed his dissatisfaction,
In every direction.

Up stood the Eastern Command,
“Sorry, for your reprimand.
My Lord! ” he said,
“The best of all I did”.

“I took, God knows,
How many lives,
Countless in number,
I don’t now remember”.

“’Am helpless, of late,
Despite their fate,
Their will to live,
Keep many still alive”.

“Death and disease,
They conquer, with ease,
By new found drugs,
Made of poisons”.

“Satan came to my help,
To turn forests into pulp,
And all running rivers,
Into stinking gutters”.

“Mercenaries turned killers,
Disposed a few lives.
Also bombs from arsenal,
Played their death knell”.

The Lord wasn’t happy,
O’er E.C’s slipshod reply,
As he meant business,
And not stories, useless.

The Western Command stood up,
Hoping to cheer up,
The dispenser of justice,
Free from pride and prejudice.

“The men of wealth,
Endowed with fair health,
From their very birth,
Have no fear of death”.

“The die not of hunger,
But by hang over,
As they drink and drink,
And finally sink”.

“Their gun boat diplomacy,
Plays the role of supremacy,
From the western-wing,
To dominate every thing.

“Chemical war, Germ war,
Cold war, Star war,
War on land, sea or air,
Every thing looks so fair”.

“More and more plans,
To unleash odd weapons,
Are on the anvil,
For a massive kill”.

“My Lord! Wait and see,
None is born free,
From my clutch hold,
Young or old! ”

“Mr.W.C. I go by results,
And not by your methods,
Billions, I see, survive,
While millions only die”.

“Life outweighs
Death for years.
My balance stands tilted
More towards life side”.

The Northern Command spoke,
At one and only stroke,
Of the regimentation,
Beyond one’s imagination.

Death was a secret,
It wasn’t let,
Out of the curtain,
But it is certain”.

The N.C. was brushed aside,
There being no secret to hide,
Before the Lord of Death,
Who had no more birth.

The Southern Command rose,
And explained his role, verbose,
Placing his annual accounts,
O’er death, on different counts.

“Poverty and malnutrition,
Unrestricted food adulteration,
Caste, creed and colour,
Killed more and more”.

“Multi racial discrimination,
Multi religious faction,
Multi language friction,
Helped more life elimination”.

“Infantile mortality,
Abortion against fertility,
Trade on debauchery,
Terminated so many”.

“Tragic child labour,
Traditional bonded labour,
Age old order of slaves,
Took many to graves”.

The incarnation of Truth,
Justice and death,
Glorified not S.C.
But took it easy.

In the final session,
The Lord’s red eye vision,
Threw a fit of temper.
Chilling all commands shiver.

“Activate earthquake and valcanoes,
Send more floods and cyclones,
Engage more contract killers,
Encourage terrorists and hijackers”.

“The ends of justice,
Rests in my balance,
That should stand equal,
Otherwise, it shall be a hell”.

“The advance warning signals,
Oh! Our Lord, for natural calamities,
Kept death at a distance,
Giving life more a chance”.

“From U.N. to NAM,
Also far east Vietnam,
Peace was preached,
And also was practiced”.

“We will do our best,
From the year next,
Keeping your balance,
For our guidance”.

With a vote of thanks,
Satan wound up the sessions,
Assuring all his help,
For targets to be kept up.