Classic Poem

I meditate- If ever there's a third world war
What'll happen to new morn's offspring ?
I meditate- If Earth sprouts out blood
What'll happen of the mirth of innocent ploughs ?
Happy-boughs, fragrant gardens
Nonchalant running of rivers and
Bubbling of brooks,
Cheerful children,fearless youth
Bashful moon faced maids !
Will stillness spread its shroud ?
Will this world end in smoke ?
Will no nightingale sing ?
Will no cuckoo cry ?
I meditate-
Will future historians use blood-mixed ink ?
Will sun-rays shine a mound of corpses ?
Will moon-beams glimmer this massacre ?
Will autumn blight the bloom of flowers ?
Will light become a slave of flowers ?
Will revolution bedeck itself with golden-chains ?
Will peace recede to grave-yards ?
I meditate-
Will spring get a sprinkling of bullets ?
Will cinders bloom on tree-branches ?
Will annihilation swing to heavens ?
Will the victory over humanity, be charity ?
What'll be the epilogue of this old-new tale ?
Centuries re-chant the teachings of
Chanakya, Marx, Lenin, Gandhi,
Tulsidas, Virgil, Shaw, Gorki,
I meditate-
Will their pens not wake-up ?
Will their corpses not toss in coffins ?
When dead-loveliness will rot on the road
Will not History feel restive in palaces ?
When broad will be lock-ed up
Will not sweat sow the seed of revolution ?
The Tiller is engaged in scythe-revolution and
The worker is whetting his sickle,
Orb is establishing a city with new-stars,
Earth is rearing a new sanguine-blood,
Wheel of construction is out of your reach
Powerful Bombs :
Destination of every martyr is PEACE
No war now,
No war now………


(Translated by R.P.Chaddah)