Light And Darkness

I wonder if we are the
third or fourth largest economy;
as they say,
then why do children
in the furious heat
or the cold, barter economy
to sell glossy magazines ?
which no one will buy
at least, not from them
or when the begging bowl
clatters with noise of a few coins
whose economy is this?
or when the filth and stench
of the railway station is overwhelming
whose economy are we buying or selling?
the larger the population, the larger
the economy
now, I tell you politician, leader,
why, if the economy is so large
there is barely any food for multitudes
why o why?

I will wake up to this
question, which eludes an answer
but I will ask why if we are among
the larger economies, then why
is food not distributed equally?
and why does a child have to grind
in the sweltering heat, when plush cars
pass by as a beacon of delight (to many)?
India is self reliant hardly any imports needed
some say,

what is needed is importation of light
in this ubiquitous darkness

Ananya S Guha lives in Shillong in North East India, where he was born and brought up. He has been writing and publishing his poetry for the last forty years. His poetry has been published in both electronic and print formats such as: Indian Literature, Other Voices, Osprey Journal, Glasgow Review, The Literary Nest, Up The Staircase, Asia Writes, Art Arena, Praxis Online, Muse India, Your One Phone Call, In Between Hangovers, The Peeking Cat Magazine, Post Colonial Text among others. He has also written widely on educational and social matters. He has ten collections of poetry and his poetry has been anthologized in various collections of Indian poetry in English. He holds a doctoral on the novels of William Golding. Read other articles by Ananya S..