Tuesday, November 13, 2007

For a Better Tomorrow - Lalrinmawii Khiangte


We are besieged..... internally..... we don’t resist.....a society fragmented..... torn at the seams.... hungry.... disability.... instability.... inability.... invisible chains.... we need a captain, an able captain.... a Moses.... a Gandhi.... a Phizo.... a Nelson.... a Lincoln.... a somebody.


Courage.... moral courage.... physical courage.... spiritual courage...... discernment for withstanding.... the complacent.... nonchalant.... conforming.... yet censoring glare.... of the association.... community.... church.... government.... double standards rampant everywhere.
Morals and ethics.... codes of conduct.... all flown away.... or are they still there.... we spout out a lot.... sermonize a lot.... values.... principles.... honour.... we all mean well.... but we’re divided.... where is unity?

Globalisation.... the world’s a small village.... commercialization and collaborations.... i-tech.... hi-tech.... the latest science engineered gadgets.... genetic mutation.... many streaks of fashion.... many kinds of music.... hip hop.... rap rock.... east west fusion.... lots of competition.... a mad mad race.... to reach the stars.

Many religions.... physics and formulae.... new philosophy and modern theology.... anthropology.... history.... psychosociology.... political science….... 'education for all’ in SSA mantras.... reforms in economy.... many more reforms.... dispersion of knowledge.... but stability.... where is it hiding?
Unprecedented growth.... Mizo community.... a search for identity.... a quest for roots.... Chhinlung.... Ephraim.... Manase.....we don’t have to be.... victims of the media.... a painful forced accelerated growth.... like expecting a child.... to run.... before it even learns to walk.

Beautiful buildings.... adorned with rich furnishings.... yet.... rot and decay.... indiscernible.... abound in plenty.... in self destruction.... and.... others’ destruction

Side by side in co-existence.... ill ventilated.... ill-lit drudgery.... deprived of the basics.... can the voice of poverty.... not be heard?

It’s not a shame to be poor in honesty.... or be rich by hard work.... let’s not be poor.... because of laziness.... or.... be rich by corruption... remember though.... it’s not a sin to be rich.... just let not the means be questionable.... surely there is a balance somewhere.

There’s got to be... a morning... after... the night... for a better tomorrow.
~~~

Lalrinmawii Khiangte is a university graduate in English literature from NEHU, presently teaching at Govt. Aizawl College. She enjoys writing poetry in English although usually of a purely personal nature. This poem, partially structured after Nikki Giovanni's Charting the Night Winds, encapsulates Ms Khiangte's thoughts on contemporary Mizo society.


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