Gain at Stake

Why an eternal seek of satisfaction

In every pair of eyes I meet, reveals.

Why they exude intense suppressed pain

Like whining of misfit gear wheels.

Where some shed their teeth in the course

While others continue to rotate on their heels.

Why a sense of loss in the owned identity

Churns a vacuum of primordial zeal.

Why teary and tired in their cubicles

Days are spent in handling deals.

Drip by drip, time's escaping but

The mindless plodder is afraid to squeal.

In the hands of fate or of plotters

Innocent youths seem busy stealing a meal.

— Poem by Dr. Jhumpa Sarkar