AS USUAL

The talk, as usual, is of money--
Ministers and their multi-millions,
Captains of commerce and their borrowed billions,
Spiralling prices and dwindling incomes.

"Ban money," the Sage counsels.
"Abolish currency, and peace
Will reign on earth."
Silence descends upon us
Like feathers from ruffled chickens.

All eyes are trained on the Sage
Imploring elaboration. "No money--
No desire for money, no pickpocketing,
No bribes, no violence;
No taka--no trickery,
No pounds--no pound of flesh,
No moolah--no murder,
No greenbacks--no Green Berets."

The Sage pauses,
Takes a long sip
And a sagacious conceptual leap:
"I am of course using the word money
In a broadly symbolic sense.
By money I mean everything
That arouses cupidity--
Gold, diamonds, cars...
I mean, in fact,
Private property."

"What about power?" I ask.
(You see, I've read my Michel Foucault.)
"I was coming to that,"
Says the wily Sage.
"Abolish power as well.
No more power play
Between friends, lovers, relatives,
Family members, colleagues, citizens.
No more money, and no more power--
Only peace, peace, peace,
Shantih, Shantih, Shantih!"

As dinner invitations pour
On the Sage
Like confetti
A brainwave hits me:
"What about sex?" I mutter in his ear.
"Don't add unnecessary complications,"
he mutters back.

Kaiser Haq is professor of English at Dhaka University.