History Repeats Itself

By Debi Prasad Chatterjee

Poem was his passion-

Childhood begins with 'lying is a sinful adage'

The child reads it by rote,

He really reads, strives to be a man

His father wants it very much.

Father earns in excess,

Cheat public-

Roads cave in premature,

Bridges collapse;

The child grows up,

Reads his father's secrets, His innocence shatters,

Reminisces the innocent days earlier

His friend — daring to say,

"Where is your robe? king, you're naked."

But father leaves a legacy at home

The child takes Rakhal chhele as his guide,

Poem haunts him not,

Anti-socials are partners,

Keeps the nexus is camera,

One day caught is an operation,

Father's dreams shattered.

The child in Ulango Raja trembles,

Not only this- his father-family-his fortune.

He's today's criminal in custody

Is it possible a child of a cheat turning an angel?

By Debi Prasad Chatterjee