Even in a postcolonial world,
Where happiness is guaranteed,
Where democracy answers all questions,
Where the ego narrative reigns supreme,
Where rationalism has been discredited,
I still feel a nagging doubt about the world.

And why should I not.
I’ve been groomed on Father Rego’s
Aids to English Composition
Where, “procrastination is the thief of time”
Was explained in a nasal intonation
Forcing a most bloody denouement.
 
This has always been my predicament
Since I was born; and it vexes me:
What should I do?
Where should I go?
Where should I live?
What should I eat?

Should I become a
Professional, businessman or a politician?
Should I go to the mountains?
Or live in the metropolis?
Should I settle down in a third world country?
Or go to the United States of America?

The fourth question is perhaps
The toughest to decide.
Should I be a strict vegetarian
And support Al Gore and Pachauri,
Or eat American steak, Japanese sushi,
And Mughali sheikh kebabs?

Being a religious minority in India,
An ethnic write off in Britain,
An alien in Japan,
A non-tribal in other parts of the world,
I wonder what I must do
To resolve my Hamletesque impasse!

 © Mukesh Williams

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