An evocative, protest poem condemning violence, by Aarti, exclusively for Different Truths.

Your pain
Your anguish
Your rage
Your helplessness can be felt
My words said to the eyes
The cries of the innocents
Can be seen in your eyes
Which are stoned
By the tears
That crave to roll,
But are
Dead alive
The screams with drumming bullets
Echo in my ears
My heart pounds
My heartbeat yells
Wishing to be dumb or silent
Lay numb

But dares
To turn to Ashes
And mingle in the air
The devils breathe

I pray thee
Almighty
Bless me with courage and strength enough
That I walk into the devil’s heart
If he has
To yell on top of my voice
That he is shaken
“Weren’t you a child born innocent!
Or were you born dead
Or born savage and hostile
That you have killed the humanity in you
The love and compassion in you
Weren’t you born that innocent asking for a warm hug
Weren’t you the same young kid
Craving for lullaby
Expecting love and delicacies
Weren’t you

Then why
Why do you shatter the environment,
Why do storm the bullets
In the tempest of your rage
And greed for your identity
To be identified as
The unwanted wanted
The identified to be unidentified
Why!
Why you wish to rule the world
That you insanely empty
To rule or
To be ruled by devils

Just once
Just once
Step into my world of
Love, humanity and compassion
You’ll find a heaven of your own…

©Aarti Mittal

Photo from the Internet