Necessity For a Renaissance of Mind

The legendary heroes which we celebrate each fleeting year;

Those men that renounced their lives to ensure this celebration

Must now gaze with grave illustrations upon the remains of their legacy

The legacy that now rests as the garbage underneath our feet

and as the helpless cries of the impoverished that haunt our streets

They must notice now the state which we have accepted as ours

So that despite that we stand free from the manacles of Britain

We have laid waste our powers, shackled now in traps forged from our own inabilities

Few remember the days that led up to this yearly rejoicing

When people of all walks of life, whether it be religion or wealth, proclaimed

as one voice that this nation deserves a chance, a chance at renewal

We fought, we sacrificed, and we wept but never waved the white flag

And instead struggled for the day the tricolor would wave free instead

That same ambition seems as faint as mist now that we have since strayed

And have accepted the lifestyles our oppressors expected us to lead

Ones teeming with disregard, apathy, poverty, and people to live in it

So I implore you all to satisfy me this: What are we free from?

Are we free from the insensitivity that thrives within our helplessness

to do anything about the homeless children that sleep on infested grounds

whose ancestors had done so much in hope of better futures for their kids

Are we free from the noise-filled roads that disclose our impatience to the world

Are we free from social hatred that blinds us from reason and progression? *sigh*

We are more than this, all of this. We have unearthed business empires that

have conquered the world, we have established the world’s biggest democracy,

we have established our intelligence to the world, and with it our ability to aspire

So why can we not rid ourselves of these parasites that keep us one step behind

from becoming the nation we so fervently dream of and can be irrevocably ours?

Despite our differences, we are all one thing- Indian. And we wear it proud. Therefore it is the duty of each and every one of us to expend ourselves for all we are worth in creation of a better life for us. We are all locked in an enormous cage, the key to which hangs dizzyingly high on its ceiling, so that the only way of obtaining it, is if everyone gets on top of everyone else and reaches out with all their might, and releases us to the freedom we were promised on August 15, 1947.