I remember the chill inside my tiny body
on 30th of January 1999
I remember the helplessness
when ‘you’ took me away from his lap crying and struggling

I remember the darkroom
His pale face and the big padlock
Slinging were the AK47s
On the Shoulders of the men
Known as ‘STF’

Sun doesn’t become the moon
Heavens do not descend
and Earth does not rise
My mind is an emporium of memories
I am the memory

I remember the anger
I remember you, Oh my mother
seeking help door to door
as the light of our home was being put off

I remember the falling leaves of Chinar on the snow
while I played with them
Fading were the dreams
I managed to get hold of them
Now; while I step on the fallen leaves of Chinar
I remember that evening
I write songs and make music
I sing to resist

I scream and lose myself to the Divine

Shall come there a day
when the justice will be served
Shall come there a day
when we break the cage
Fly high in the skies

I believe, all the bones will speak
Bones lying in the grounds and water
They will speak
of the horrors
Once the rain falls over them
Gives them a new life

No more will be my bed
filled with garbage and stones
Darkness, grief, and horror
As I will replace it with
soft Kashmiri (cashmere) sheep wool

You will see me rising again
from the peaks of the Himalayas
standing on my feet
I will see you departing, never to return
……………………………….