A Nation of Tribes

A Nation of Tribes

 

 Beautiful tapestry we were

now, tatters, tangled threads

religion, caste, creed, communities

we try to separate the river, from the riverbed

why these divisions,

why beg for privilege

did our forefathers, fought for bickering

these rifts and sacrilege

if men are equal by birth

not by the virtue of our name

Then why we want the preference

by these categories so lame

everyone wants his share

the share for his need

but no piece is too big

for ones unquenching greed

it’s the irony of my land

the politics of my age

instead of reaching sky

they are content in a cage

has anyone flown in clouds

form wings of borrowed hope

a nation becomes stronger

by daring that treacherous slope

we could’ve taken the world

as one, side by side

but that land of one, of everyone

has become a nation of tribes.

 

 Siddharth Sehgal


Siddharth Sehgal is a poet, writer and editor of Indian Periodical.