A powerful protest poem by Bushra. Here we see the poet as a Social Journalist, in Different Truths.

My poem, The Culprit, was written when I was in the US a few months ago after a certain communal incident took place in Delhi at the end of Ramadan 2017. The situation has not eased since then. I realised that instead of just sitting and blaming individuals or governments from the comfort of our drawing rooms or with the click of our laptop keys, we need to get up, get out there and speak out in protest if we want to bring about a change in society and contain the atrocities that are happening with alarming frequency. It is not only the one who commits a crime who is to blame; an equal accomplice is the one who witnesses yet refrain from voicing a protest.

Hit, kick, stamp, lynch
The new sport that has us in its grip
That’s brought us out into the arenas
Like gladiators of days of yore
Spurring on the players
As they unleash their expertise
On hapless lads, not yet out of their teens
Or on men, much beyond that
And as shouts of cheer get louder still
The bloodcurdling, spine-chilling scene
Unfolds slowly before my terrified eyes
And I crouch, petrified,
As I turn to stone
Unable to exert myself
Unable to even stretch out a helping hand
Quaking in my own insecurity…
Culprits – they, they the ones who lynched
And I – I the one who kept silent throughout
What should I call myself?

Picture design Anumita Roy

#Poem #Verse #culprit #bloodcurling #insecurity #differenttruths

Bushra Alvi Razzack

Bushra Alvi Razzack, Founder of Delhi by Verse, loves weaving words, emotions and opinions while creating rhythm and imagery to make sense. Apart from being therapeutic, writing poems is her way of storing memories and recording events. Her articles on culture and society have been widely published. She has also translated short stories from Urdu and Hindi into English. She is the Editor of multilingual anthology, Dilliwali: Celebrating the Woman of Delhi through Poetry.