Animosity, hostility seem twin moons of an alien planet,
For small-mindedness must be rather a strange notion,
To a species that has gone on to inherit the world.
As the hero-maker in our brains seeks to deify and vilify,
Always this dichotomy of an unchanging hate,
Only a deep canyon now where empathy once lay.
Imbuing more personality in monosyllabic labels,
Than the chaotic complex characterization of people,
Of the desires, dreams and stories more personable.
If, for a moment, we were not so single-minded,
In that brief interlude in the ceaseless white noise,
The colors of the dusk may finally begin to unfurl.
For every soul is but a reflection of our own,
In the infinite shards of a shattered mirror,
Catching different glimpses of the light and dark.
All of us rivers flowing through different terrains,
Our beds of diverse rock, our gushes of varied volumes,
Yet the drop of a stone causes the same ripples.
And though tolerance may be but a weary platitude,
With neither place nor purpose in a reality harsh,
It still seems just so irretrievably human.
For how heartless must we truly be,
That we recognize others in the headlights of cars,
Yet not in the myriad reflections of ourselves?
Abhroneel Ghosh, age 19, is currently a second-year undergraduate student at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. As somebody who enjoys listening to Mongolian metal as much as Rajasthani folk music, he enjoys exploring fascinating topics across domains, ranging from machine learning to juggling. While he enjoys stargazing, trekking, and playing the piano, his favorite activity would simply be curling up with an enthralling book. Recent reads include Interpreter of Maladies, The Outsider, and The Heretics.
"Night Time Travel" by liam_swinney is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
