CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL
(A Prose Poem)
R. Suryanarayana Murthy
Oh! what bewildering discoveries, and what explosion of knowledge,
Like cloudbursts giving new vistas of light with each downpour;
The secrets of the Atom laid bare,
Travel into space bringing stellar regions nearer home
The Computer know-how helping to solve the most complex riddles
The power to recreate life no longer confined to the womb of secrecy:
Is man on the way to become a Super being?
Is earth getting turned into a paradise?
Alas! The brutal reality gives a picture of abysmal delusion
Man is still as far away from being human as he was before,
His bigotry and terrorism and the ethnic cleansing he practises
Are no whit less appalling than the medieval horrors of human delivery;
With Aids, Scud missiles, Nerve Gas and Acid Rain added to his grand armoury for
self-destruction
And ghettos continuing to be what they have been through centuries
Shelters of misery and Squalor for the millions
Is man anywhere near to his dreamland, the millennium?
Or is he getting tuned to sing the song of death with one big bang?
Alas civilization is on trial and the planet is in the red as never before
And no mantra can save man from the impending doom
Till he learns to subsist with Nature in harmony sublime
The sweep and majesty of its forms becoming a source of joy and strength
And allows true religious spirit engross his mind.
Ideals are like stars. You will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the sea-faring mariners on the desert of waters you choose them as your guides, and following them you reach your destination.
–CARL SCHURZ