Dr Molly’s poem describes fallen humanity crying out “Bargained Peace”, a painful illusion built on vested interests, fuelling endless cycles of war, greed, and destruction, for Different Truths.

Bargained Peace,
        You have fallen!
Is it Peace
           Piecemeal!

How can I
              trust you
'bargained peace '
           chiselled on 
vested interests
                veiled,
though collective
            efforts of 
human goodwill
            tries hard 
to iron it out
          on one end...
 
 well,
      wars, domination
was ingrained 
            in mankind 
ever since 
            his days of 
survival...
            history saw
gory pictures
            of invasion
demolition, killing...
 
pity it persists
      uglier than ever
now 
     with man
               claiming
progress, as the
          mastermind 
of the universe 
            he builds...
 
fight, dominance 
once 
     predicated upon
survival, now 
            turning a 
venue for greed
              arrogance 
ruthless looting 
divested off
     values, humane...

how the evil
                 in man 
revels erasing 
          the innate good,
the humane.
 
how innocents 
         turn a prey,
how many 
       mutilated, killed
villages ravaged
        homes, hospitals
schools, centres of
            worship
demolished...
locals cast away 
       treated as aliens 
in their native land, 
          how weeping mothers flee 
                   for life
dragging little ones
           who cry for 
their little toys 
         left in the fray.
Hah!
now peace comes 
          piece meal.
the dispossessed
         return to the rubble where
         their homes 
once stood...
        Empty.
the little one
        drops down 
from mother's
 shoulder,
             searches
for his toy
              scrambling,
the ground       
           scratching...
Vain.
 
    Where have 
the men gone?
        the long wait 
outside the tent
           to recognise 
bodies brutally 
              wounded
dead, covered in 
           bundles...       
 
Hmm...
      peace, piecemeal
flows...
So kind 
    to hand over
         the decayed bodies...
 
War! Warring minds!
           what else 
you extract
  save,
            suffering
of fellow men, 
       poor mothers, elders, kids...
  save,
       destruction, demolition 
        unleashed! 
 
killing all
        the human, the Bird, the animal
          devastating Nature! 
Cry! Cry! 
Fallen Humanity!

Picture Design by Anumita Roy

Dr. Molly Joseph

Dr Molly Joseph, a bilingual professor and poet from Kerala, has published 26 books, including 18 poems, two novels, and two storybooks for children. She has edited "A Handbook of Contemporary Ethics" and works for values, global peace, and togetherness. Dr Joseph has won national and international accolades and represents India at SAARC and FOSWAL literature meets. She believes in the power of the word and writes boldly on contemporary matters.

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