POEM_: One of THEM!



They asked me
whether I was a Christian
a Buddhist, a Hindu
or a Mussalman?
They asked me if I was an
Australian, an American
a Japanese or an Indian?
They asked me
what language I spoke:
Chinese, Spanish
Hindi, English or Russian?
They asked me if I was
a woman, a man or something in-between?
They asked my caste, my race
my colour, my sexual inclination.

To them all,
I just said-- A human.
A being.

They asked me what I desired
I said-- Love.
They asked me what I worshipped
I said-- Life.
They asked me what I wished to be
I said-- a pillar in the house of Liberty.


And then, they said,
You are one of THEM!

They stoned me, they burnt me,
They raped me, they hanged me till death.

- Owais

--

This is first being published on this page.

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