by M. Mohankumar
It’s not enough to have shaken off the yoke,
to have emerged from midnight darkness
to a morning full of promises.
Poverty is bondage. You cannot simply
draw a line and declare all above that line
free from want. Certain things
have to be assured: a square meal a day,
clothes to cover nakedness and a roof
over the head . But these are not enough.
Prisoners have them; and they are not free.
To be free is to move without let or hindrance –
without being stalked or snooped.
When shades of the prison-house fall
across the land, and dark forces are at large,
dancing their macabre dance, the mind will be
full of fear, and freedom a lost paradise.
To be free is to be rid of the insolence of office,
the red tape, the iron heel.
Freedom is a clear blue sky with its endless
pathways, that you may soar as high as you can.
It is the overarching rainbow, radiant
but fragile nevertheless.
Mohankumar has published seven volumes of poetry in English. His poems have appeared in almost all reputed literary magazines in print in India. His first collection of short stories in English, ‘The Turning Point and Other Stories’ has been published by Authorspress, Delhi . Mohankumar retired as Chief secretary to Government of Kerala.
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