Who is Wild

 

Man, and beast had shared the land,

In harmony they lived, with peace at hand.

But now the wild strays into human domain,

Branded as threats and reasons of pain.

 

Elephants, tigers, and boars untamed,

Roam through settlements, their hunger inflamed.

Not one, not two, but many lost lives,

Felled by beasts, nothing thrives nor revives.

 

And man, in anger, sought to avenge,

Traps were laid, to take their revenge.

Merciless hands struck the beasts down,

As if their deaths could appease the town.

 

Eyes wept for the human loss,

Mourning for lives whose fate were tossed.

But who would hear the silent cries,

Of beasts, with no one to lament if they die.

 

Why do they stray? The answer though known,

Yet man pretends, refusing to own.

Their selfish reasons cruel and senseless,

Blamed the wild as fearsome and ruthless.

 

Can the voiceless come forth and say—

It was our home you snatched away?

You cleared our forests, dried our streams,

Left us with no food, no shelter to dream.

 

But stones were hurled, guns took aim,

You saw only threat and not hunger’s claim.

We fought to live, we fought our ground,

Yet, you dismiss it as worthless beasts' demand.

 

Was it all a ruse, a cruel disguise,

To cloak the guilt behind your lies?

For if wildness is weighed in heartless deeds,

Then man, not beast, planted the wildest seeds.

© Anjana Premkumar 2025