Kalyug: A Reflection
In the era of Kalyug, values are steadily declining,
Ethics and virtues, past their prime, now rust.
Every bond made holy now sits in strife,
Wars and tensions render the fabric of life.
Jealousy bitter, a snake-like root,
Where love should grow, it curls and coils.
Material things, the shining snare,
Scream out what was occasionally rare.
Family values, like the autumn leaves,
They are scattered and lost, brought to their knees.
We pursue wealth, the glittering will-o’-the-wisp,
Our connections are lost in the race for more.
Deforestation, a thief in the night,
As we erect our empires, we eclipse nature’s light.
Once homes of creatures, now broken and shredded,
Pollution and waste: a world forlorn.
The skies that once were clear now bear a gray shroud,
Are we even proud as we poison the air?
The loss of faith, in God and in family,
Keeps us rudderless, no inner compass.
Truth wears a mask; it is a world of lies,
Where innocence fails and honesty dies.
We're happy on the other side of screens that separate,
Where connection is turned outward and warmth is cast aside.
Roll over time, that is how it goes,
Kalyug, a chapter in renowned tales.
But amid the pandemonium, there is a glimmer,
An encouragement to persevere, the love yet feeds.
I’ve felt the piercing pain of envy’s vicious snap,
As kinfolk disperse, heading to dark.
No time for feasting, no boughs to trim,
Only echoes of memories and memories that fade by the year.
Everybody is disconnected, I think, and sigh,
As I reach for the hands I cannot tie.
Where are the moments, the hugs, and the grace?
Have we in the hurry of our lives lost abridge?
So I put this question to you, would-be a tourist of this maze,
Are there better days in Kalyug?
Are we going to rise from our ashes, reclaim what we’ve lost,
Or stay in the shadows, forever embossed?
Sunitha Viswanaathan
