These days I tremble!
I tremble because I have become conscious.
I am scared!
I am scared, as I feel no less than a murderer,
For I am consuming mindlessly,
For I am acquiring more than I need.
That I am an invisible killer,
I am not held responsible and barred, hence.
I roam freely and gaily, for I am proud of creating demands.
Oh yes, demands!
I create them.
But who fulfils my demands?
Is a question I have begun to ask.
My elected representatives who form the government.
I am the citizen, who is righteous in getting all my demands fulfilled.
And am entitled to consuming more and more.
And demanding more and more.
And more and more!
And more and more!
But who fulfils my demands?
Is a question that itches me day and night.
The big corporations also give me discounts.
They have made my life easier.
I wish they prevail, as they encourage my likes and me, and bring in the trends.
They make me feel advanced and modernize my being.
They give me a purpose to consume more and more.
And demand more and more.
And more and more!
And more and more!
But who fulfils my demands?
Is a question that leaves me restless.
Oh! I am sleepless, when I realize
It is the fellow human beings' sweat and blood,
That makes hassle free my food and blood.
The steel plate that I eat in, has the fragrance of their blood.
The fabric of the dress I wear has the fragrance of their sweat.
The car, the refrigerator, the bus, the shoes, the plane,
The jewels, the grains, the milk, the mobile, the train,
The electricity, the furniture, the soft cushion and the clean drain.
All this and a lot more.
They are good humans you see, they keep giving,
So I take more and more and more and more.
And I am a good consumer who pays for the services she takes.
I pay for their loss of blood,
I pay for their shedding sweat,
I pay for their uneducated children
I pay for their scattered lives
I pay for their forced displacements
I pay for their rotten luck
I pay for their compelled savery
I pay for their lost dignity
I pay for their seized rights
I pay for their miseries and sorrows.
Oh! I pay so much more and more and more,
So, I demand a lot more.
But I wonder why it happens only to them?
Well I know the answer deep within!
For we all know they have broken tomorrows.
For they are the chosen ones, to fulfil my demands.
For they are the chosen ones, to be harassed and scapegoated.
For they don’t yell, shout or cry, infact they don’t even try.
All of this needs a belly full, hence we keep them hungry and dry.
We let them be uneducated yet modernize their poverty.
By talking about it in our air-conditioned conference rooms.
Now I feel bad, for I am a contributor to their oppression.
I too have my hands stained with their blood.
So I think of the ways that I can reduce my contribution.
For starters I choose,
To become a mindful consumer.