Terror



(Delhi, 2008)

Smoke, sound, chaos;

Do you see the killer

Crouching in the crowd?

And the pain, horror, and death,

Flowing from the rivers of blood and gore?

Do you see the flames

Rising sky-high?

Barricades and sand bunkers on the streets;

I thought for a moment

We were at war!

The uniformed men

Marching with arms-

Fearing the enemy

Or the demon inside us all?

I am in a barber shop,

The regular friendly neighbourhood guy;

A picture of the Kaabaah on the wall.

A guy comes in;

“As salaam alekum”.

Why this sudden unease in me?

And this fear?

He looks the same as I do;

Then why this apprehension?

Minds are polarized;

Terror flows from the cranial vault

Before reaching the barrel of the gun.

(Written in the aftermath of the deadly Delhi bomb blasts and the Mumbai terror attack)

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