The President Of My Village Panchayat Poem by Rajendran Muthiah

“ They don’t allow me to speak the truth’,
the President of my village Panchayat said
and looked up at the strange guests.

“ You’ve killed some stray dogs
and flashed the news across the Media.
We are from the Blue Cross”,
the guests cried and sat.

“ Blue Cross, Red Cross, Holy Cross…
I don’t know read English dailies.
But the newspapers and T.V. channels in Tamil
have extolled me for spending from my pockets
to hire some dog catchers to catch
the canines with the noose after a chase
and club them to death with steel rods.
My innovative steps to kill these useless dogs
have panned out well. My minions
strangled some sick pubs last year
and gave a decent burial on that river’s bank
but the reporters failed to laud my service”,
Our President a rich but an innocent farmer,
studied fifth class spoke aloud and ended with:
“ They don’t allow me to speak the truth”.

“ Oh, you overstep the limits;
You ‘re cruel to animals.
We have to call the police to nab you”,
the Blue Cross officials said with an angry face.

Sensing some rebuke, the president
ordered for some snacks and cool drinks
and recanted what he said:
“Those things happened in a Panchayat nearby.
I rear cats and dogs at home.
One dog has bites incurable on its body”,
with a tinge of pity on his face.
“ Keeping a sick dog is punishable”,
the officers blared and thumped on the table.

“ I don’t eat the flesh of dogs
as people do in the city.
For family pets I have more pity.
But they don’t allow me to be gritty in speaking truth”,
he smiled and bundled them out.
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