Banish the hubris;
Toss away the choice words
Spoken by rotten, broken tongues.
Silence the chorus of appalled shock.
Shred the sermons,
Burn down the gory edifices:
The churches, mosques, temples
And the muted Gods they mock.
Drain the sewage.
Flush away the insidious odour
Seeping up from malls, homes, carnivals.
Put it in a closet and weld the key in the lock.
Shut it all off.
Turn out the lights.
Pull the damned plug.
But hold on to that blue-chip stock.
–Afzal Moolla