Ganga And Me
(Dedicated to the Rivers of the World)
By Rupa Anand

you are me and i am you
as Life, in this universe,
through and through

we both arise from the same source
to live and chart our journey’s course

we are travellers, destinies entwined
via the portals of history and time

you flow to nourish and sustain
i am eager to en-cash and gain

harbinger of fertility, you inundate
i direct, stop, irrigate, and regulate

you gurgle, surge, gush, and cascade
i continue to pollute, dam, and trade

unimaginable is existence
without your giving
unimaginable are my atrocities
upon your living

still you chuckle, swell, and spurt
still i dump, destroy, ravage, and hurt

where do we go from here
mother and friend?
for in your destruction
lies my end

our cataclysmic extinction
may good sense avert
with love, intelligence,
and compassion let’s be alert