Needed - Proactive Intelligence

by Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

While helicopters hover
Providing security cover,
Police on heightened patrol
Are seemingly in total control.

A nondescript man
With no grace or élan,
Neither plucky nor proud
Just a face in the crowd,
Comes riding an old bicycle,
That seems wobbly and fickle.

Oh God! He is the same old wily fox,
Who had earlier detonated a Tiffin box!

And this time it’s the simple bicycle,
That’s going to be his terror vehicle
To cause widespread deaths and damage,
To send out a loud and clear message...!

Bomb blasts, deaths, mayhem,
Sanity alas, is held to ransom!

Terror trails gone cold
Make the terrorists doubly bold
To unleash further terror
Banking on intelligence error!

They are generally miles ahead
And leave behind hundreds dead -
Before the intelligence agencies catch up
And rarely to their ingenuity, match up!

Why do our systems ail?
Why does intelligence fail,
Unable to prevent strikes,
That come riding on bikes?

28-Feb-2013

More By : Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

Views: 1545 Comments: 4

Comments on this Poem

Thanks Kulbir. This one was written after the Dilsukhnagar bomb blast at Hyderabad.

Padmaja Iyengar
05-Dec-2013 12:06 PM

Padmaja,

You are asking good, thought-provoking questions! When will man awaken?

Kulbir
05-Dec-2013 08:53 AM

Hi Shiva. Thanks for your kind words. I'm a late starter and have miles to go...

Padmaja Iyengar
01-Mar-2013 08:08 AM

Dear Padmaja,

You are a great poet and you seem to be extempore too!!
I will say good poetry with a great message.

Shiva
01-Mar-2013 07:27 AM