A.T.

By – Randhir Thiyam, Uripok 

We are not history’s fossils —
we are the heartbeat
refusing a museum glass.

We guard Kangleipak,
not as watchmen of ruins
but as fire that won’t be sold
in tourist shops.

We serve the poor —
not as charity givers
but as protectors against apathy.

We don’t plead for rights —
we forge them on the anvil of tomorrow.

We are seeds with teeth,
roots with rage,
watering the future
while today tries to burn us down.