Worldly Wisdom…Narayana Swamy Venkatayogi, Telugu, Indian
Yes, you are right
I am not worldly-wise
Abetting my farmland
Water streams past…
Yet, it lies famine dry.
I surrender my priceless fields
At throw away price to you,
And work for wages in my own farm.
To the tall promises
Of buildings and skyscrapers
I give up my land in lots unwittingly to thugs
And grope in darkness.
When the wizened animals
Come under the knife at the abattoir
I hold my tears at the brink of sockets.
When the teeming youth
Sail to alien lands chasing green pastures
But return wrapped in palls and coffins
I swallow my agony in hapless silence;
Like a termite-eaten threshold, I stand
In a dusty, neglected courtyard.
Yes, you are never more right,
I am not as seasoned as you;
I fancy cementing
With a river-sandy heart; but
Return plodding my way back
With clouds smearing my eyes.
But when I understand your tactic
To drive people out of their homes
My heart boils like lava.
Yes you are right.
When I understand your evil design
How can I keep myself quiet?
.
Narayana Swamy Venkatayogi
Telugu
Indian
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