By a German Poet
The other
day,
I went to
the sea
And asked
the fish,
"Do you know who made the ocean and you
in it, and for what?"
The fish
gave me a puzzled look and said,
“I don’t
know and I don’t care as to who made the ocean
And put me
in it and for what.
Ho ha! I
don't like such questions.
I have no
time. Can’t you see how busy I am?
I have to
run for food continuously
And watch
myself day and night
That no one
catch me or eat me alive.
Man! You
can’t imagine how hard is life.
No, no. I
have no time for such questions.
Why don’t
you go and ask some man?
Over there, you
see that man?
He does
nothing but catch fish all day.
I bet he has time.
And by the
way, I have heard it said,
Man has a
mind with which to think.
You see, I
am just a fish,
A poor
animal.
I have no mind.
So use your
brain.
Go ask the
man and leave me alone.”
I went to
the man and asked him,
“Sir, do you
know who made this world,
The earth,
the moon, the star, the sky above,
And the universe beyond
Floating in
time and space.
Who began it
all?
And put man
in it?
There must
be some purpose
And man must
see His Maker?”
The man got up from his slumber
And shouted
at me angrily,
“Get away
from here.
Go get lost
somewhere.
With all
your questions,
You frightened my fish away!
What do I
care?
What good is there in such useless questions?
What difference does it make
As to who
made it all
And put man
here?
And as regards the purpose,
Ho ha!
What a silly question between you and me!
What’s there in it for me?
Can’t you see how busy I am?
I have no time.
You know how
hard is life?
Or no one ever told you
About the
rising prices,
The
corruption,
The scandals of heron and aids,
The rising
flood of pollution and crimes?
The hell they cry about in churches
May be far
out there
But the one
we have ourselves made
Is right
down here!
With a
thousand things to worry about,
I can hardly sleep
And on top
of all this
Here come
you with your foolish questions!
Go! Get lost!
And think
yourself all such thoughts
But leave me
alone.
I have no
time.”
The man went back to sleep.
The fish
went away.
The ocean kept on rolling.
It was getting dark on the deep.
I came back home.
What could I do?
But somehow or the other
The thought keeps on coming back
Again and
again
That man has
fallen to the level of a fish!
Or even lower!
What a fall it
is, my countrymen!
How sad it is that a few are left
Who have the
time and can still think
About such
questions.
Let’s make a
pause and think like men
While we are
here.
For no one
knows when the call may come
To depart
from here.
Forever and
ever.
Let’s find some time to think of the One
Who made it
all and put us here.
His door is open and He is very near
For everyone who seeks Him.
