A Cog In the Machine
A mere civil clerk, in his fifties; tall and bent,
Leading a calm life, with none any argument;
Albert Camus, in his well-known novel, the Plague,
Makes Joseph Grand, hero; though, visibly, seems vague...!
He could not succeed earning a decent income,
His conflicts with his wife, he could not overcome;
Thought of inconsequential nature filled his head,
Much were his complexes; he could not go-ahead...!
Strange plague breaks out in the tranquil town of Oran.
Brings great glories to degradation thereupon;
Not paying much thought to these, Joseph just exists,
Musing on his writing, un-begun, he turns; twists...!
When floods of plight start flowing above neck-level,
And smells of plague turn into scents of death-devil;
When kith of dead start rushing to register names,
Grand feels the zeitgeist as though moving toward flames...!
Foreseeing, with common sense, events that could dawn,
Joseph involves; and strategically moves on;
He maintains perfect records of the affected,
Service of doctors, hence, proceeds as they expected...!
He falls victim in this process of his service,
He recovers; though bodily weak, not nervous;
It does, no doubt, owe his stupendous faithfulness,
Oran, in its curing process, gains great progress...!
Though, till then, Joseph Grand thought his worth was nothing (?)
He understood, even a cog, means everything;
This thought, though did not create in him egotism,
No doubt, had sown in him, good seeds of altruism...!!!
26 April 2022
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