Insiduous Evil

Woe betide humankind as it marches on technology. We had the evil machinations of war, Of death unleashed from mouths of guns, And man-made thunder from above, Laying waste to home and life and limb. I've heard of evil spawned From unreined despotic rule, Of genocide and how it was designed To wipe out David's Star. How gas and gun were by decree Used to grind a people to the dust. I see evil in the machinations of men Conniving to cheat and steal. But it was not Zyklon of the Holocaust, Or Sarin and Phosgene That caused a tragedy Of scale that was unforeseen. As men stirred from a restful sleep, As men went about their work, As children prepared for school, As wives stirred their morning pots, A vaporous miasma was spewed from vents An insidious evil that soon spread With sinister intent. No warning or time was given As laboring lungs gasped out Their last precious breath To be overwhelmed by noxious gas. They fell like flies upon the streets, In bed, at work, At crossings of the rail, At termini of bus and train, Their destinations changed With pitstops of Hell Before Mercy conveyed them To their individual definitions of Afterlife. The Passover in ancient times Had intent and divine decree And spared the chosen. But this? They said it was an accident Of neglect, Corporate cost cutting, Greed for more and more. Third December Eighty Four Was when evil came knocking- Methyl Iso Cyanate or MIC was its name, And left its mark forever. Bhopal, I had cried for thee! ~ 27 Jun 2016~ Based on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy