Ganga's Plight

 

Ripples abound, O mother as you silently flow
Around you we build our homes and lives
Of your tumultuous journey, your children know not
In the rush of our lives, your troubles we forgot
Every obstacle we create, you bend and bend and sacrifice
In the Mystic Land of Shiva, could Ganga be slow

The wealth, you brought we never treated right
Amidst carcasses and dirt, as your tears dissolve
Yet at dusk, with beauty and calm, you soothe our pain
Alas, when dawn comes we used you to wash our stain
Amok ran the saints. Whose problems did they solve?
But she flows and flows, stop not to pity one's plight

In the months of monsoon, O mother you feel the surge
From the hills, what he brings, you had to bring to us
As clouds explode, you shiver to the thunder of rain
When we struck away at your soil, we only thought of gain
Not of your loss, or the trouble in your journey thus
And kept your sisters apart, your hands never could merge

You could not stop, as our homes break down and go
Under your turbulence, we drown and breathe our last away
In your anger and helplessness, you break his silent penance
As the rest of us move away, unsure of our lives; thence
You know that you must go on, never stop and stray
All the pain and tears, you must wash away to keep your flow.

Even as we offer prayers and condolences to those who lost their lives and homes, due to the Flash floods of Uttarakhand, we have to remind ourselves that we still have more to do for our great rivers and their preservation.