Once Upon a Time..

You see,

the emerald green fields,

and the trees—

edible and inedible.

Guava, jackfruit,

papaya, coconut,

mango, pomegranate

moringa, lemon,

teak, and many more.

That was my mother's

maternal home and

the vast backyard.

The family may not have

lived in cities,

but they had that

bountiful space,

with laterite-lined well,

in the middle.

Water and food

came from own land!

No urgent grocery trips,

no water jars, no bills.

Certainly no preservatives.

Ability to share surplus,

to build community.

My friends,

that’s how sustainability,

looks like!

Imagine how detached,

and deprived,

we are now,

far from ancestral land,

relying on meager salaries,

in unhealthy works,

living in fear of losing,

even that slavery hell.

Why not our,

bodies and minds

will suffer?

When I was a kid,

and visited that place,

I never understood,

its value.

Now I do,

as we are paying,

a ridiculously large,

endless mortgage,

for a rather small house,

where we have to buy,

cilantro to tamarind,

not only costly,

but packaged and preserved.

I sigh!