I thought I was in Heaven as I ambled past the chai café
And Mother India called “two rupees lady”
But the Ganga held my purpose
Sparkling blue, racing onwards to Benares
Where her cargoes of death
That once in human form breathed this perfect air
Turn the eddies to a shabby haze as whirlpools collect
New ash from shoreline pyres
And then I saw them
Sitting like silent sentinels upon the stony scree
All watching me
Their beady eyes glinting like half-lights in the summer sun
Vultures!
And in my fear I turned homewards
Longing to stay
But those terrifying birds had chased me away
Symbols of ugliness, cruelty, meanness, dominance, greed
All written in their crazed stares
And I thought on these dark vibrations
Aware that sometimes, just sometimes
The Vulture becomes the Human
Turn around
Remove your blinkered visions and your kaleidoscopic dreams
The predatory Vulture has little beauty
The Human in his selfishness
Well, you know how it is
Acid rain and ozone fissures
We dance with the Laws of Nature and turn the other cheek
I walked to the chai café and drank tea with Mother India
Penny Hemans
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-day-in-rishikesh/
