For My Baloch Sisters and Brothers

don't sell your self 
for anything

all the riches of the world
cannot pay the price
of your noble soul

i know
above all else
you crave freedom
and sovereignty

but these bargains
with the merchants of war
who claim your leadership
or love for your cause

are hollow promises
and sure enslavement

the freedom you crave
singing in your blood
and etched in your bones

has been ours
because we owned little
and thrived 
in harsh geographies

remember how 
our fathers lived
lives of bare simplicity
but rich with courage
and generosity ?

what did we gain 
from claims and possessions
but carnage, chains
and burdens?

and what treasures 
and riches
of the spirit
have we lost?

stay true 
to the honourable ones
who came before you

struggle with your own darkness first

fight only the good fight
and only the just war

don't sell for all the riches
of the world
my sisters and brothers
your beautiful, precious
noble soul

dedicated to the baloch people


4th april 2016

image: from the internet (website inaccessible)

for a copy of "Set My Heart On Fire" in pakistan nalayn publications

in South Africa intent publishing

and internationally via amazon