What did he say?
When you mocked him.
What did he do?
When you hustled him.
He fell flat on the earth,
Knowing fully well –
Staying down is sinful,
Getting up is dutiful.
You joined the mob,
Din’t you? You hurled stones,
with them, at him.
Tell me not?
His eyes, ever distant.
His face, ever smothered.
His body, ever dreary. But,
His heart never weary.
Mindlessly, you barked
with the rest of them,
The protestors. Kill Him!
Kill Him! You said.
Your own morality,
never been under
Such scrutiny. How then,
Are you protesting against his?
Did you not, so many,
Years ago, as a virginal
Kid, wish that you grew up
to be him? Wolflike.
I too joined the mob. Only
Five minutes ago. And I am
shouting along with you.
Kill him! I say. But why?
Nobody told me why.
I joined out of boredom.
I had nothing better
To do.
I tried to be like him.
But I failed. And now,
I have joined the rest.
Kill him! I say!
I feel relieved,
I feel, as a failure,
It is my duty – to hate.
Hate the doers.
Now I understand, why you
Joined the mob. You are,
A fellow failure. A colleague.
A factory-reject. Cheers!
So, come my friend, let us
Cheer him by hurling stones
Of despise. Let us watch our
Lifelong dreams come true by him.
We know, don’t we? Our excuses,
Only drive him further away.
So let us give him what he wants.
Let us do what we do best – hate.
But, for a second, stop the chaos
and look at him go – The silent man.
Trudging slowly up the hill.
Isn’t he a work of art – just like the rest of us?
