A Frog in the well – I

a poem by Ramesh T A

Once in the middle of a moonless night, I remember
Suddenly the Power supply went off in the town
Plunging the whole town in darkness complete!

Like a frog in the well we all lay in the darkness;
Only the lighthouse light circled from the South end;
To see such a sight it was a wonder from the window!
But we knew not why the power had failed at that hour
And knew not what was happening around the place.

Man’s life is also like the life of a frog in the well;
Like the frog in the well all live in the world
Not knowing why we are born and how long we live
Following conveniently a tradition blind sans sense;
Likewise our elders have lived and we also live so.

For the ship crew stranded in the night-sea,
Light house is the only hope to the shore;
But for the well frog what light is there
To see anything of the world outside?
The world life is the life of prisoners of war
In an alien nation unknown before hand.
However comfortable are the arrangements
In the prison camp of the aliens there,
The escape should be the aim of the prisoner
But not the comfort of the prison he is in.
Wisdom lies in the escape rather than
The enjoyments in the enemy camp of fun!

Comfort is illusion and unreliable
To be a permanent one anywhere;
What is permanent and ever reliable
Is the truth of anything we see.
The search for the truth would help
Gain knowledge of the permanent world;
And the miracle to overcome the mirage
Is the escape to the perfect world.

But the modern man is sure of Science
Superseding Nature in all respects;
His advancement in knowledge has
Miserably failed him in wisdom;
Meddling with Nature he has driven
The world to danger and destruction.

Too much materialistic pursuit has
Converted man into a callous creature;
He works indifferently, enjoys as an animal
And lives isolated nowadays in the world
As the material world today is the be all
And the end all for this mad man here.