Separation of Church and State

In my neighbour’s garden,

I notice, there’s much to celebrate!

The cacti, rarely demanding,

Has so many thorns!

The creepers, they are fast growing,

But wild and spare no wall.

The aster grows round the year,

And always seeks the limelight.

The Vinca is easy to maintain,

But forget to water once,

And she’d put up a fight.

While the amaranthus is edible,

Too much of oxalic acid can be a threat!

The Chrysanthemum is attractive as hell,

But viruses aplenty he attracts.

The Celosia is tall and bright,

Only unaware of the many mites he carries;

The “ever young”, mostly strong Ageratum

Would guilt you, wilting, once infected by diseases.

All these have their own clubs of fans,

Fans that are people, fans that are insects;

While all these are loved by my neighbour,

I only smile at them because they look good,

But the responsibility of being a gardener?

No, thanks, I’d rather watch TV and eat food.

Colours there are many,

Problems there are many,

Loved by many,

Also rejected by many.

The freedom to grow and water,

And the integrity to keep those within limits,

The freedom to leave,

Without this, they wouldn’t be flowers but pests?

Everyone is happy, nobody is hurt,

Your choices don’t help you win points;

Your choices don’t get you killed,

And that is why we all want

Separation of church and state.

• Lakshmi Prakash, 19-Aug-2022