"We're Kashmir's Missing Persons" Lost somewhere in a sordid dungeon,
I talk of my rights and bashed in a dudgeon
The rights of freedom and dignity
That too in my own vicinity
The right in my land to a peaceful life
Whose absence has been a scurrilous rife
I could see my teen shoulder in the prison
Dusted and tainted with charges of treason
Altar of my youth the confines might be, not of my dreams
The citadel of your tyranny will shred to my screams
These screams belong not to myself, but the oppressed
Whose voices you tendered, muted, thrashed and suppressed
This oppression is bound to end, late or soon
Nature shall step in to defend us, against the phantom goons
And you, the satisfied!
How could you feel our travails
With lenses prejudiced and the conscience that ails
Also,
With an inhumane bias you'll give us a gaze
And spew unto us a venomous phrase:
"The Muslims are traitors,
they are predators"
But believe us,
"We are Kashmir's missing persons,
not the enemy's insurgents.
Lies there a contention in our tale: Jammu and Kashmir is not for sale!" © Summiaya Nilofer Kichloo 10/2021 Summiaya Nilofer Kichloo is a student from Kishtwar district of Chenab Valley (Jammu and Kashmir). She is an avid writer and enthusiastic to writing poetry and fiction. Her poetry covers a brand range of ideas, thoughts and philosophies. Currently, she is working as a freelance writer and columnist.