[A poem by Mr. Bh. V. Nageswar Rao titled ‘The Earthquake’.]
What makes thee
furious, O Mother!
On whom does thy
take vengeance?
Have thy waged a war
on erring mankind?
Thy children shiver
when their houses
built so secure
with concrete and
foundations strong
collapse
as though made of
cards
Forgive us
for treating thee
as a perennial source
of exploitation
Forgive us
for thinking thy
would tolerate ill-
treatment for ever
Forgive us
for years of
misuse and wastage
of thy resources so
precious
In our pride
we thought we
conquered thee
while all sciences we
learnt
unravelled not a
millionth of
secrets thine
