Poem: I Can't Pretend

I can't pretend that
I did not see
Someone being murdered
With the ease of reaping paddy with sickles.

I can't pretend that
I did not hear
The blood being washed off,
Hands absolving themselves of blame.

I can't pretend that
I did not smell
The glee lurking in the air
As vote banks were looted.

I can't pretend that
I did not taste
The saltiness of beloved tears
That few saw in their race for power.

I can't pretend that
I did not feel
That my silence fuels
This politics of spilling blood.

---

My humble tribute to T.P Chandrasekharan, leader of RMP, who was hacked to death recently. I won't claim to understand political parties and their policies, but no one deserved a brutal end like that. This poem is also a promise to myself that I'll try to stop turning away the moment I hear 'politics' and make my voice heard against such atrocities.