Of Gun & Stone - Afghanistan! Poem
By Naga Vamshidhar Ratakonda
A Central HighLand’s
South Westren Plateau &
A Location Out Of Reach
For Eagles, ‘Upari Syeni’;
A Region of Legendary,
Horse-Men Warriors Legion,
‘Ashwa Gana Sthana’;
The Glorious Kingdom,
Of ‘Gandhara’ from the,
Mahabharatha Days,
Mis-Spelt as Kandahar!
The Peace Preaching,
Bohemian Buddha’s,
Brought Down by,
Taliban Tribal Crooks!
‘Kubala’, The Ideal &
Precious Land then;
Now Kabul, the Fallen
Ransacked Capital!
Ruled in the Past By,
Hindu Kushana Dynasty;
Lucky Still ‘Hindu Kush’
Mountain Ranges!
Sanskrit Hindu Dharma to,
Islamic Terrorist Karma;
Conquests in the Middle by,
Greeks, Arabs, Turks,
Persians & Russians –
‘A Grave Yard of Empires’!
A Ghost Nation Now of the,
Hostile Militant Al Qaeda,
Islamic State & Taliban –
World’s Terrorism Capital!
Land Locked for Intruders,
With Mountains of Stones;
Scarcity of Water Bodies,
Abundant Mineral Wealth!
Horse & Camel Footstep
Sounds Less Heard & Felt,
In the Grand Silk Route;
Tankers & Gun Sounds,
More Profoundly Dealt,
In the Dusty Sand Land!
It’s History of Past,
Buried in Dust & Sand;
Bullets from Guns,
Pounding the Walls;
Tomb Stones Left for,
Religion & Deaths Sake!
A Diminishing Hope,
With Tribes of War Lords,
Bribing & Conspiring for,
Mines, Drugs & Arm Deals,
Controlling Desert Land!
A Sad Never Ending,
Afghanistan’s Saga,
‘Of Gun & Stone’ Story!
Hope History doesn’t,
Repeat itself Elsewhere,
In Times to Come By!
