Harinder’s poem is about the ephemeral world and climate change – an exclusive for Different Truths.

Here today, gone tomorrow
This World is an illusion 
The Tethys became the Himalayas
Even the topography is confusion
Mountains have transformed into seas
Arid deserts have swallowed swamps of grasslands 
The face of the Universe is changing every moment
We feel stationary though everything is in rotation
The Sun, the Earth, and the Moon are in constant motion
The director sitting in heaven is playing a movie on the screen
And he has very cleverly put us in a "Time Machine"
We live in the Past, Present and Future
And then pass into oblivion 
This is a journey in a tunnel without any destination
There is light at the tunnel's end
A light that can only be seen but no one can comprehend
We are all knowledge seekers trying to reach the light
And to reach it first, there is a constant fight
Between the scientist, scholars, poets, and sages
All have been struggling for ages
To reach the light and find the ultimate truth
All have spent time, money, effort and their youth
Only enlightened souls have walked beyond
And the rest of us are confused in this commotion
It is because we look outside and avoid self-exploration
A search within can only bring around the realisation 
Those temporary surroundings cannot be "real",
And this World is an illusion
The day we realise the truth,
we will be free from all fears and frights
The dark tunnel will vanish
Leading us to the eternal light.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Harinder Cheema

Harinder Cheema is a renowned poetess and an internationally published author. Her novel, ‘The Temple Stop’ received ‘The Best Book of the Year Award 2020’ by Aghaaz, Author in You. She is the co-author of 17 poetry anthologies. Her short stories have been published in the coffee table books. Her articles have been published in various international magazines, and she has also received many prestigious honours and awards in the field of literature.