If Man's Body was a Parliament

Poem by Shamik Banerjee

Imagine mankind's body as a parliament,
Wherein the ruling party is the heart, the brain's
The opposition, and the soul's the speaker. Then
We can rescind those laws that keep us under strain.

Once and for all, a royal session will be held.
Its subject: The Annulment of Pernicious Feelings.
Both groups will put their points forward. Chits will be passed,
Contentions made, rebuttals thrown, and strident squealings

Of strong, laconic slogans will shake up the hall.
"Hostile emotions—gone, a person—strong", heart tissues
Will holler while the neurons will respond with this:
Just goodness makes you lose against life's foulest issues.

After the wrangle ends, the speaker will announce,
"Those who are favouring the motion scream out 'aye'!
And those who're not in favour scream out 'nay'!" Each ar-
tery will hope to hear "The parliament, hereby,

Declares discontent, bad blood, pride, concupiscence,
Qualm, heartbreak, and the rest of their gang as invalid."
If this is said, the new-formed man will walk on air,
For then, his inside and outside will not be squalid.

Shamik Banerjee is a poet from India. He resides in Assam with his parents. His poems have appeared in Fevers of the Mind, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, and Westward Quarterly, Dreich, The Hypertexts, among others, and some of his poems are forthcoming in Willow Review and Ekstasis, to name a few.