is a reality
some people are rowdies
you need to stand up to
and tell off
cheating is very common
and those you trust
might stab you in the back
hatred heats everything up
religion caste class and so on and on
and pettiness sits on your head
and pulls out your hair
till you scream in agony
and this world churns your insides
and burns your mind
and still you are nowhere.
and the children
have been chastised
by the adults
and the rowdies
have threatened
people again
they will beat us
they said
they will cut off
our tongues
if we speak
but I will speak
because there is
no other way to live
and I have no fear
they will hit me
with iron rods
they will stab me
with knives
and swords
and burn me
with kerosene
and kill me
but I will speak
against all the evil
they do
all the cheating
all the bullying
all the harrassment
against all
the wickedness
they perpetrate
I will speak.
stab me
in the head
and pierce
my brain
and I am
so badly
wounded
I fall down
on the ground
and thrash about
like a fish
out of water
till I am dead.
cutting me up
and there is
blood blood
blood everywhere
and pain searing
like fire till it touches
my bones
and they crack now
after stab after stab
and my mind
is only blackness
as I fall
out of this life
and die.
it comes from the cave
we hit each other’s heads
with stones
we stab each other
we hate
we are murderous
we kill
we fire guns
we drop bombs
we squeeze
each other’s throats
when there’s nothing
at hand
we will not stop
we are never satisfied
our thirst for blood
is never quenched
we want more
and though we know
we are drowning in it
our faces and bodies red
we fight and fight
till all of us are dead.
Dominic Alapat 