moha

our ancestors did not get pillaged, raped, and mutilated

so you could suck on the teat of the oppressor.

from the ink you call uncivilised,

that our ancestral bhikkus claimed,

to the queers we once worshipped

that disgusts their progeny today.

no less than a century ago,

our forefathers fought to escape their captive minds-

to detach our cultures, our rivers, our mountains

from the moha, the delusion,

that one must care about the opinions

of our wardens from the west.

yet every day,

even at 10:37,

you concede your mind.

and if mind is over matter,

you concede your matter.

i have seen much of this world

and still i know nothing,

but I'd rather that

than be led astray.

I'd rather that

than have my mind held captive.

how am I to convince sheep

donned in wolf's skin

that it is better

to live as a wandering lamb

than to die

following the rules of a pack

that would beat you dead

for the Mogok rubies on your ring?