A HOUSE DIVIDED!

Once upon a time, this grandiose house was full of life-
Deserted premises, today, tell the story of a family strife;
A small but unusal issue had become a bone of contention-
Amongst brothers and sisters with ill-conceived intentions.

No doubts,it was a close knit family, full of mutual adulation,
They were close and proud of each other without hesitation;
Slowly and slowly, the clock hands had begun to tick away-
And loving children of "yesterday", became greedy adult of "today".

They had grown up in liberal environments with open minds,
They were given the freedom to marry anyone they could find;
It had thus become a cosmopolitan family in due course of time-
But individualistic and self-driven children could hardly rhyme.

Educated and informed, they had known their legal rights-
And lo! On what flimsy grounds had begun their family fight?;
The spark was provided by a desired site to pray to one's God!
Claiming supremacy of own god, each one sought a prime spot.

One son, who married a Christian, said, " We'll have a church",
The other one, a Hindu said, " Let a statue of "Rama" be perched;
The daughter, married to a Muslim, was also, not to be left behind---
She made her case for the images of her 'Prophet' to be enshrined.

The 'convertees' behaved dangerously than the true disciples of faith,
The parents cursed themselves for the 'unwanted freedom' they gave;
Mother soon became sick and uncared she left for her heavenly abode,
Father, aged and infirm, dubbed as moron, was thrown on the road.

One day came a cunning and scheming man from the far away land-
He observed the family members fighting over an issue so bland;
He suggested to divide the house equally amongst all the members-
And asked them to vacate their portions until a solution is rendered.

As soon as the house was vacated, the scheming man occupied it,
And the family members with their holy 'Gods', outside the house sit;
The days and months come and go, the scheming man does not go-
The family members cry aloud but no one listens to their tale of woe.

Thus, the family members and their 'Gods', weather the storm and rain-
While an outsider enjoys the house and its articles, so beautifully lain;
In a bid to divide the house for their 'Gods', family fell to a stranger's bait-
If one trusts an outsider to resolve its family disputes, this will be the fate.