(Poem composed in response to Kipling’s poem ‘White Man’s Burden’)
‘Black Man’s Burden’
Listen O Listen, you pompous White Man,
The masters & the men of Kipling clan,
You oppressed us in the name of God
Uncivilized enough and unbearably hard
Pray, do not define in the name of Divine &
Do not serve us food in famine
We prefer to be the children of darkness
& please do not listen to the call of harness.
If it is the color of our skin,
Savage & barbarous though we are;
By any name, we may be known
But let us start somewhere & embark!
Though we are Black & White you are
And holding license at par,
To make us fine & refine, please remember,
You also have your share in the Sin.
Friends, do this on any Holy Day
Or do it in any Holy way,
Ask yourself a sincere question
Are not you shouldering the ‘Black Man’s Burden’?
Are you there only to serve as slaves?
or are you there just to go to your graves?
Just to serve the ‘so called holy hearts,
or are you born, just to die & depart?
Are you the children of the Devil God?
Just to get mature & not to think aloud.
Are not you free to throw the chains?
And to throw the rules of Kipling’s men?
No empire, nor an era, no school neither a city,
No road, no tomb, will ever be named after me, a pity!
Only the dust, beneath your feet in essence,
Will remind you of me and my dusky presence!
Miles away from my Master’s plan,
My life…….has become
But a miserable mockery,
Of what I was intended to be!
Please take heed,
The uncivilized are also Divine,
Close to the Nature & with a pious heart,
Innocently pure though divinely dark
Much more close to His bleeding heart.
…………………………………………………….. Date: 19-12-2020
Professor (Dr) Vivek Rankhambe
Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Yashwantrao Mohite College, Pune
Maharashtra (India) Contact: +91 9850558404 vivekrankhambe@gmail.com
That’s excellent, kudos to you!