You burned the buildings
and put me in prison
You threw their infants into fire
and called me inhuman
You murdered in open daylight
and blamed me for wanting blood
You turned my neighbour into a refugee
and said I am responsible
You looted his hard-earned property 
and called me a thief
You imprisoned him and killed him
and named me a brute
You befriended thugs and I the victims
but you made me the accused

I who was grieved
at my school mate
my neighbour, my friend,
my guru and fellow worker
when he died, when he went into hiding
when he fled to escape the mob
suddenly departed to other lands
empty-handed – I, who cried holding his hand
at the harbour bidding him farewell,
am now to bear this insult.

You say it’s peace
when you put the blame on the innocent
You say it’s stability
when you protect culprits
You say it’s honesty
when you hide the reports
and hush the inquiries,
spread falsehood among the nations
having a laugh at a restless nation,
divided and wounded.

You sleep well
but I cannot sleep
You eat well
I have lost all appetite
You have friends
I have lost mine.

You think you are successful
I know, wounds of defeat
will live with me long
and the memory
of this insult.