Mumbai Wounded

As the unrelenting news

Showed the iconic Taj and Oberoi hotels

Battered with bullets and bombs

Black smoke shrouding their beautiful façade



My children drew the unfolding drama

Their innocent lines, wavering

As the gory dance of evil continued

Sucking away lives



Have you been to the Taj?

They asked me, eyes shining with curiosity, as I told them

Of the countless times I had relished

The warmth of the Taj and the Oberoi



Fighting back tears, for the countless lives lost

The insanity of the carnage,

In the name of religion or politics

Falsehoods all!



Brave men and women, average hotel staff

Struggled with fire and menacing death

While commandoes faced careless grenades and bullets

Shielding the innocent, with their lives



Days and nights passed

Till the impasse was broken

All of us saw the face of evil

Attacking freedom and harmony



The wound is deep

Each of us, lost someone at the carnage

My children lost some of their innocence

And all shivered at the cruelty man is capable of



Yet amidst death,

The goodness of humanity, triumphed

Unknown brave hearts

Shielded strangers, fellow beings



Some called it a botched up operation

Yes killing does botch up life

The wounds of Mumbai

Cut deep into India's heart



And just as the evil is deep

The response shall be mighty

And we know,

We shall overcome!