Friday, February 04, 2011

WAGE YOUR FIST

by Vivek Sharma


Raise your fist, praise your fist,
reclaim your rights, wage your fist.

Families, fingers huddled together,
aching, raging for living better,
with fiery grit, for sweat and kiss,
for love of dreams, stage your fist.

Raise your fist, praise your fist,
for your beloveds, wage your fist.

From every window, in every street,
vow for a vigil till the corrupt perish.
Yes, you can! You must, you will
For a transformed life, stake your fist.

Raise your fist, praise your fist,
for your brothers, wage your fist.

When fear reigns, hope-flowers wither,
orphaned ideas die, love turns bitter,
to reclaim the joys your kids will inherit,
challenge the night, set ablaze your first.

Raise your fist, praise your fist,
for saving humanity, wage your fist.

Song-less we live, unsung we die,
in our spirit only remorse is high,
abandon the shores of what if, only if,
for anthems of hope, uncage your fist.

Raise your fist, praise your fist,
for the reign of benign, wage your fist.

Tyrants, down, down, out, out,
junta has woken, your time is out,

accept no excuses, lies or promise,
assert your liberty, salvage your fist.

Raise your fist, praise your fist,
Triumph over tyranny, wage your fist.

The way is within, all answers are within,
against your own failings rage your fist,
there is no reward, if there is no act,
for change & progress, engage your fist.

Raise your fist, uncage your fist,
For reform, rebirth, wage your fist!


Vivek Sharma writing in English is published or forthcoming in Atlanta Review, The Cortland Review, Mythium, Bateau, and in a book of poems The Saga of a Crumpled Piece of Paper (Writers Workshop, Calcutta, 2009). Vivek contributes articles and verses in Hindi to Divya Himachal and Himachal Mitra. He is a Pushcart nominated poet, is also published as a scientist and is currently a post-doctoral research associate in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. 
_____________________________________________________