The London attack

The attack at the Westminster Bridge, London reminds us of one of the thought-provoking poems by the great romantic poet of his time, William Wordsworth, Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge in which the poet shares his beautiful observation of the city of London that he made – on September 3, 1802 – while standing on the bridge of London. Since it was early in the morning and by that time industrialisation had not yet sprawled in the city, the poet found the city and its atmosphere beautiful and calm; something he had never felt before.

The central idea of the poem is: God has created a beautiful and calm atmosphere for us but we spoil it constantly. However, when we find it in its natural form, it is the time we fall in love with it. May this abode of ours be free from all sorts of terrorism so that we can live in that beautiful and peaceful world that God created for us.

Pervez Ahmed

Hyderabad

 

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The nature of the recent terrorist attack at Westminster Bridge, London near the UK parliament was peculiar. Although the damage done was comparatively less severe, it was still an attack of terror as four people lost their lives. What was peculiar was the nature of it all; terrorists do not usually go on killing people on the street with vehicles, crushing them underneath, which is why this ‘terrorist attack’ raises a number of questions in one’s mind. Was it an insane person losing control of his senses while driving or was the massacre planned?

Moreover, the attacker was identified to be a Muslim; will this discovery bring about a hurricane in the West for the already-troubled Muslims? Will racial discriminators look at it as more evidence to their claim of Muslims being terrorists? Only God knows.

Arbia Javed

Karachi