I cannot bring a child in this world

I cannot bring a child in this world.

I dare not wish for a girl;
I dread fair skin
an invitation to dark vultures
and dark skin
not treated with fair mind.
That I may teach her
to be strong for herself
yet bow to weak
to protect her.
That I'll tell her
to be a feminist for herself
and feminine for others.

I mustn't wish for a boy;
for then I'm a label
"still wants a boy over a girl"
That I may teach him
to protect his sisters
yet pull him back
from the slug-fest of justice.
That I may instill
the values of gender equality
yet ask him to forget
if he falls in love with him.

I cannot bring a child in this world

Where moral stance
makes for a better status update
and 140 letters
sums up the character set.
Where environment
is a topic to converse
not preserve.
Where home is for work
and work for politics
and politics for corrupt and national TV debates.
Where kindness is a weakness
and ignorance an attitude;
Where living in less is a failure
and aspiring for more a greed.

I cannot bring a child in this world.

When terrorism
is no longer the problem
but a solution.
Evil is the one
that drops bomb
and the good must answer
with two in return;
where Ravana is declared
better than Ram.
Where love is
lost in literature
and war reminds
us of our history.

I cannot bring you, my child, in this world.

I cannot anchor you
on the two parallel pillars
of aesthetics and the ethics;
my love isn't enough
a moral compass.
My sin of inaction today
is far greater than
my moral teachings
to build you
a better tomorrow.