But how can I forget...! : A poem on Gujarat genocide

But how can I forget

I should be ashamed
of raising issues that divide
-they say.

But how can I forget
those they killed
mutilated and those they left
still hiding their nakedness.

I will shout from the rooftops
make memorials of poems
I will draw from the eyes
of the killers
not blood, but tears.

Run Amina Run
The dead are never at rest, especially at night
Sometimes, I hear him moving upstairs
bolting doors, moving furniture
against the doors to make a barricade
I cannot sleep
Other days there is a heavy silence
Orange silence with only a crackling sound
and an acrid smell
Suddenly he cries out aloud

Run Amina Run!

I tell him that the crowds have gone
years ago
I no longer hurt
and he is dead
but he keeps screaming
They are coming !

Run Amina Run !

Written by Ashok Gupta in the memory of 2000 men women and children killed in the state led genocide of Gujarat in 2002 and 200,000 who lost their homes and dignity.
Ashok Gupta can be contacted at ashok1082@yahoo.co.uk.