This poem reflects our 13 year old daughter's views of the genocidal events that occurred in India in 1984. Please see our article, 'A day like today-October 31st, 1984' for more context.
I listen to the stories
I listen to the stories
I’ve heard them a million times
Yet.. it all blurs as tears emerge
With this aching urge...to scream
When you think ‘country’, you think ‘united’...right?...wrong.
Not this country. Not this year. 1984.
Politics. Power. Position.
This was the mission
Wanting the promotion so bad
Not caring about the commotion left behind
Not caring about being unkind
Not caring about their mankind
That's how it was
Young men picked up off the street
And then they were beat...beat...and beat
Until the police felt complete
Because their ego was even more damaged than the Golden Temple after it was attacked
Yeah. Attacked a sacred place of prayer
When the Sikhs were completely unaware
Women, men, children
Didn't matter back then
If you were a Sikh, that was enough
Because Indira Gandhi was just soo tough
Little did they know
This was just the beginning of an era of terror, torture & tumultuous times
Anti-Sikh riots caused havoc in India
Guns being fired, houses being lit, thousands of people ready to commit
Commit...genocide.
Over what? God. Religion. My god. Your god. What god??
People just so angry, so willing, so sure that they are right
It brought them so much delight to put up that fight
To this day this goes on
From dusk to dawn
People using Sikhs as their pawn
I wonder what we did wrong?
Shubh