When questioning becomes a crime

Prema Devaraj puts her thoughts in prose.

When questioning becomes a crime
What will our future be?
Will we be truly conscious?
What will we really see?

When questioning becomes a crime
Oppression is legitimised
The corrupt and overly righteous rejoice
Reason and morality skewed

When questioning becomes a crime
Compliance is demanded
Different opinions turned into insults
All discussions become one-sided

When questioning becomes a crime
Women’s bodies are primary targets
Tightly controlled by regulations
Moving like puppets in confined spaces

When questioning becomes a crime
We suffocate slowly but surely
Creativity smothered by a forced silence
Thoughts ushered into cold storage

When questioning becomes a crime
The ground beneath us sinks
Our thoughts no longer ours to form
Our lives no longer ours to live

I will struggle against this captivity
The shutting down of the mind
The railroading of obedience and conformity
The narrowing of our spaces

I will struggle and resist as others do
For if we are to truly live,
Breathe, feel and believe
Learn, stumble and rise up again
Then question we must
And think, think, THINK!

Prema Devaraj
5 August 2013

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