Now Lie On It

NOW LIE ON IT


Happily you trod on others' feet
Unmindful of their pain;
You looked here nor there
Just brushed them away like fleas.

No one liked your attitude,
Nor the insults you heaped -
Even so you behaved wrongly
And snatched their moments of fun.

Quickly passed your days of vainglory,
And the eve of middle-age set in,
You had already ruffled many feathers
But yet you kept your feet dug in.

Then, one day, the reprisals began:
First a burglary, then a robbery,
Then someone bumped you with his car
And sent you off to the hospital.

Night has set in now, as it must;
You are crippled, your leg chopped off;
Old, weak, unkempt and haggard too -
Sores and rashes mark you.

You lived a life of greed and sin -
Buried your conscience deep inside,
Hardened your heart till it dried up,
Your family has left you too.

Come now, undress silently,
Remove the trappings of your sinful life,
Remember your sins and pray for mercy -
For you made your bed - now lie on it.

© Taher Kagalwala 2003