A Life Truly Worth Living
Dedicated to Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal
Say this, don't say that.
Write this, don't write that.
Swim with the crowd, lips sealed.
The thought police are out with swords.
If I can't think for myself,
Blindly chained to the ancient faith,
How do I walk in the digital age
Without oxygen in my head?
When I put pen to paper, I don't
Worry about who feels validated,
Vindicated, or flat out rejected
Lest my brisk Pilot grind to a halt.
The pen is mightier than the sword, as
The saying goes and every child knows.
So I dance to the tune my clear
Conscience dictates, come what may.
If nothing else, at the end of the day
I can rightly say without remorse or
Guilt, since I wasn't the cause of pain,
That was a life truly worth living.
The poet is a Professor of English at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA.