We should be resilient

By
Lekhni
Published: December 5, 2008Posted in: DesiPundit, India, Poetry

Too often, we have been apathetic.
Our apathy comes from fear
from hopelessness,
from cynicism,
from tiredness at battling barriers
for too long.
We should battle fear instead
We should be resilient.

Too often, we have been silent.
We have solved problems
through resourcefulness
and private enterprise.
But silence can sometimes mean
acceptance, acquiescence
or tacit assent.
In our silence, we assist
injustice, for who else
will speak up if we don’t?
We should be heard more often.

Too often we have raged
just as we do now.
We rage at the terrorists,
those inhuman villains,
We rage at the government,
at politicians and bureaucrats,
We rage at the media
at irresponsible reporting.
But too often, we have fallen silent
as if we were apologetic
for a momentary outburst.
We should be outraged.

Too often, we have forgetten.
Injustices, atrocities
bungling and incompetence
fill the pages of our history
but not our memory.
We focus on today
but our tomorrow
comes from yesterday.
We may not forgive, but
when we forget
what is left to forgive?
We should strive to remember.

Let us not confuse
resilience with apathy.
Resilience springs from courage
Apathy from cowardice
and laziness.
We should be resilient,
not cynical or fatalistic,
not silent or accepting,
not cowed down.
We should be resilient.

What do they mean when
they ask us not to be resilient?
Should we be fearful
of every person around us?
Should we fill our minds
with suspicion and mistrust
should we be paranoid
and profile others around us?
No, we should not forget
our essential humanity.
We should be resilient.

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