Breathe - A Poem About Life in a Smog

Ring-a-ring o' roses, a pocket full of posies, a-tishu a-tishu, 

We all fall down! And all the King's men and all the king's

Horses couldn't put us together again. And as we breathe in

The toxic air, "beneficent beasts of prey and greedy-good 

Doers " turn their attention to petty things even as we choke

And gasp for a breath of fresh, clean air, one breath, just one!

And we are fed juicy titbits to keep us busy and not think

About the toxic air. We've stripped the Aravalli mountains

Of trees and plants, whittled down the oldest mountains,

Drained out wetlands, cut down forests, all in the name of 

Development. And all this while the 'King of Melon city'

Relaxes in his realm, 'placid' to all intents, just and wise!

All we want is fresh air and not purified air, greenery, and

Not concrete jungles, vibrant wetlands, and not sewage pits!

But all we get is stale, toxic, deadly air that damages our eyes,

Destroys our lungs, leaves us handicapped for life. People are

Affected, not by chemical warfare, but by the toxicity of apathy.

And all the 'king's men, nor his horses, seem to want to help us!

The eyes smart, tears flow as they try to wash out the pollution,

You sneeze, cough, and your breath rasps as your lungs fight to

Extract the much-needed Oxygen from a toxic soup of particulate

Matter, organic refuse, corrosive gases, and other harmful things.

Fresh air is a costly commodity, and you need to travel far and wide

To get a sniff of it. Some say, "Leave this place if you don't like the air!"

All those of us who are more 'liberated' and enlightened might

Claim to fight for our rights, the right to travel, the right to work,

But then, we forget that one of the basic rights is the right to 

Breathe fresh and clean air. We need to, not just start, 'Mending 

Walls', but build tall walls to stop the smog from pouring in!

That would be true technological advancement put into good use.

As you read these lines, you see the toxic haze roll in, ominous,

Malicious and predatory, with all intent to suffocate and choke

Everyone, children, adults, and the elderly! The smog advances

blanketing everything in its  wake, bringing in a 'Dusk' of unreal

Nature, wilting everything it touches, turning colours into deadly

Greys, a hint of things to come, even as we watch helplessly!

And as time passes, the breath of fresh air becomes a lost cause.

It is in the news that, soon, apart from gas masks, we will be sold

Bottled air of different flavours, even as we wear our branded

Gas masks! Natural fresh air will soon be a commodity of the past,

To read about and watch in films. As we emerge into the twilight

World, reality fades, and the dusk emerges with all its ghosts!

The eyes smart, tears flow as they try to wash out the pollution,

You sneeze, cough, and your breath rasps as your lungs fight to

Extract the much-needed Oxygen from a toxic soup of particulate

Matter, organic refuse, corrosive gases, and other harmful things.

Fresh air is a costly commodity, and you need to travel far and wide

To get a sniff of it. Some tell, leave this place if you don't like the air!