Thought of the Day

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

An Ode to Free Will

They sat around the logs and talked, they were friends for life
They had seen together thick and thin, joy as well as strife
The talk was gay and happy, it was 'bout a life well spent
So spoke the Lion, Monkey, Zebra, Wolf and the Elephant

They talked about life in the jungle, all that they had done
They still did whatever they pleased, O! What fun! What fun!
"Free will" became the topic, it was what they all claimed
The Zebra though was quiet, and without his wit inflamed

The Monkey spoke of the trees that he would wander on
The bananas, the ropes, the pranks he played, so-on so-on
The friends felt the cheerfulness, the freedom of it all
They bellowed, and did not see the Zebra's head fall

The Lion talked about the stalk, the pray that he would chase
The fear that he would create in folk, strolls at an easy pace
The group felt for the victims, but relished their King's choice
They cheered, and did not see the Zebra close his eyes

The Elephant was resplendant, talking about his girth
How no tree was a match for him, on the whole rotting earth
Hearing about his time in water, put them on a high
During all this, they did not hear, the Zebra's heavy sigh

The Wolf reminisced about hunting with his pack
The pack did what they wanted, there was no looking back
He lauded that the friends all did exactly what came to mind
This free will thing was good, and they could be bad or kind

The Zebra could not control himself, he burst out as a dam
This free will thing you talk about, is nothing but a sham
O! Look at the threads on your hands and feet, friends
You marionettes! The puppeteer holds the other ends

2 comments:

Siddhish said...

Love the simplicity. Curious why Zebra was chosen for the job though :). I am sure it was random but ineresting choice I would say.

On a different note, I recall Al Pacino's words from 'Devil's advocate'. Loosely related to your post but I love these lines so posting -

"You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies, until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God... and where can you go from there?"

Aviral said...

Thanks Siddhish. Somebody commented on Google+ saying that this essentially removes all accountability for actions. I agreed with that and the fact is the intention was not to be as extreme as the end product sounds. So simplicity, in this case, may depend on the beholder.

The Zebra was chosen as as the default. The neutral folk are frequently coloured black and white (referees, umpires) and, therefore, the burden on these roles is not uncommonly put on the Zebra.

Love the quote. The quote which inspired this thought on the topic begins with "Hum to sab rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain..."