NELSON MANDELA
Now that you have flown far away
Oh, sweet bird of the age
I find the world like an emptied place
With only hollow men howling around
Stealing the stock of defenseless souls
Thundering without light
They go about their business deafly
Drowning out the still small voices
In the pomposity of state here and there
And noises of tribal clamors elsewhere
Untouched by the noble spirit you exuded
The power-blinded refuse to confront the truth
They corrode and erode the lofty values
Of peace and conciliation, and act
As if they are judge, jury and the executioner at once
Your free spirit could never be imprisoned!
For you settled on nothing but human liberty
Drawing inspiration from Imam Hussain
To live courageously for freedom
Of coming generations, and your suffering for the goal
Saved so many from so many sufferings
In the desolation of the island now
I pin my hopes on the multi-hued flowers blossoming
And basked in the afterglow of the lamp you ignited
With the light of courage and dignity
That defied three decades of the dark confinement
You may have flown out of our sight
But in the landscape of inspiration and thoughts
Oh, friend! You stand tall like a towering tree
That nourishes sinews of countless saplings
Growing under a new arc of the rainbow
