Boat-men come, boat-men go, rootless tombs, on roving rivers
A million longings, summed-up wails, no belongings, but a belief
Landless souls, nailed to boats, with bleeding ethos, that shivers
Is Islam there felony, in Burmese Junta’s fief!

“Where’s our share of land, don’t our sagas scream out!”
Who purged from chronicles, Rohingyas’ existence
Why hostage to lost history, today’s enigma, tomorrow’s doubt
Couldn’t life, more than be, Allah’s pittance!

Refused by every nation, slurred “Bengalis”, then raped and killed
Stateless, faceless Rohingyas, lost out, on every stake
‘Unwanted souls of world’ still clasp, a million dreams, unfulfilled
Why compassion ravaged so lavishly, for a xenophobia’s sake!

Do origins, annals, faiths, races, faces…et al. matter so much
To be spared or run over, by the fancies of militaries
Why bullets, run worldly affairs, why’s extinct, that human touch
Some people’s, travesty’s such, Their Exiles, Outlast Their Histories!

© 2016 Vikas Chandra