Thoughts on Diwali, 2016

So many Diwalis

have come and gone,

same old wishes,

same old pledges

hoping for peace, 

and love, and light

(not noise, thank you so much)

for something to change,

for goodwill to appear,

pollution to vanish

life easier to bear

for the poor and the lonely

on the edges of our world...

(My inner cynic

has decided to relax today,

and let my upbeat self emerge.

Hoping doesn't hurt,

or does it, if it remains futile?)

At night the city glimmers and gleams

like a bride with glittering ornaments...

I overhear a young boy tell his friends,

a bunch of them bursting crackers

'My mom says she is anti-pataka,

but my Nanu let me buy crackers'

and hope dies down again.

But this Diwali morning,

despite the hazy sky,

the pigeons are still waiting

for me to fill up their water trough

and stubborn hope bestirs from its slumber.

I wish, and hope, and pray

that human beings learn to love

each other, all living beings, our Mother Earth

today and every day.

Happy Diwali.