When the choleric man was brought to hospital,
His haemoglobin was somewhat under five;
The doctor on attendance wrung his hands,
“the man,” he said, “should not be alive.
Nothing known to medical science explains
The sustaining thrust of this man’s veins.”
At which a bearded man in robes
Chuckled at the doctor’s puzzlement:
“It is clear your books taught you little
Of that which bears on human intent.”
“There is clearly something up your sleeve,”
Said the doc, “which I wish you would unlock
Before I treat this inexplicable brave.”
“Know then that this man’s constitution
Does not draw from anything he ate;
That which feeds his cussed will to live
Is not biology but the power of hate.
There are many still who are not like him —
All of whom he desires to eliminate.”
For the first time the doctor understood
Why his own ailments never seemed to heal:
Because for years he gave life to those
Whom purposeful vigilantes wished to kill.
For a bare moment the doc was filled with hate
At the sight of the sick man on the bed;
But his rage was not a natural thing,
So he gave the hate-filled man some blood instead.
Badri Raina is a well-known commentator on politics, culture and society. His columns on the Znet have a global following. Raina taught English literature at the University of Delhi for over four decades and is the author of the much acclaimed Dickens and the Dialectic of Growth. He has several collections of poems and translations. His writings have appeared in nearly all major English dailies and journals in India.
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