Service,
For the Greater Good
Kill, for your nation
Shed blood to be remembered
Only when you are in your eternal sleep
Fight, till you perish
Frosty cold or scorching sun
Sacrifice all your fun
Don’t recall you have a life to cherish
Pride of the nation
Those are one time praises
No news will report your bullet traces
Except your body alone.
They just want a win
You are a pawn.
You’ve deliberately signed a treaty, you’ve come undone
Arms in hand, guarding dusk to dawn
City sleeps, city rises
But, that is not for you
They’re selfish, you’re selfless
Don’t care to dodge a bullet or take refuge
What blood does those veins carry?
Royal than blue,
Lions at heart, you’re ready at command
I asked you once,
“Don’t you feel afraid? “
You said, “I’ve taken a pledge to remember
I have the country to keep
Before my family to feed
Here’s to the Greater Good. “
My hand automatically rises to a salute.
Shriparna Nandi
Shriparna is a university student from West Bengal. She is an avid bookworm. Her favourite pastimes include painting, jamming to music, dancing and writing. The COVID situation and the lockdown that followed prodded her to explore writing and immerse herself into it. Writing brings peace and relief to her. She finds joy in finishing a poetry or a story. None of her family members were into writing, and they still don’t know that she writes. It is her secret. She thinks her ability to express her feelings on paper and her love of the written word makes her a blahcksheep, that’s all.
