Awards and rewards tend to corrupt and tempt <br />Ambitious mortals; they deserve contempt <br />For transgressing our scripture’s core precept <br />Of selfless concept of work, hard to accept <br /> <br />Honors and awards are now so commonplace <br />That every Tom, Dick and Harry is in the race <br />For fame and fortune; and every wag <br />Who wags his tongue before the donor gets a tag. <br /> <br />Every field of human endeavor touts a prize; <br />Its glamour and fame valued by its price; <br />Politics, cinema and cricket bag the fattest purse <br />Teachers, writers and artists, their choice do curse <br /> <br />Awards in our land now are a dime a dozen <br />But they do not drop free as rain from heaven <br />They are oft endowed with pleasure and grace <br />Of our political masters you serve and praise <br /> <br />Awards and rewards are reminiscent <br />Of our royal courts and sycophancy <br />Anachronistic of our democracy <br />A phantom of pride that is evanescent <br /> <br />Awards are conferred for fame by fakes <br /> “It blesseth him that gives and him that takes” <br />It is vanity, not sanity or humanity <br />That makes these petty awards an oddity <br /> <br />The money that comes with the package gift <br />Is readily spent like quicksand swift <br />The hunt then begins for bigger awards <br />Eluding peace for these diehards <br /> <br />Your bags are full at the journey’s end <br />But your mind is blank and you find no friend <br />Or kin at hand to share your fare <br />Tarry! Empty and enter! Cries a voice in the air<br /><br />Venkateswaran Krishnan Sreenivasan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/awards-and-rewards/
