On Losing a Friend to Bigotry

I lost a friend.
He’s nowhere to be found,
In the narrowness of his mind.
I lost him,
To those wicked fanatic souls.

They took him to the land of abhorrence.
The scoundrels took him to their refuge.
In a sea of hatred, he bathed.
Lies, half-truths and misconceptions he adorned.
Armed with slurs, calumny and mockery.
Reading texts full of self-supremacy.

His thoughts, degenerated,
His intellect, no more.
His heart, so swathed in chauvinism,
that,
He hears, but he hears not others cry.
He sees, but he sees not others die.
He feels, but he feels not others grieve.
He speaks, but he speaks not for others.

It hurts to see his eyes,
The love in them diluting.
His words feel no less than a stab,
Those laughs seem to be mere pleasant dreams.
Remembering the moments we spent together,
Sometimes I scream,
I sob
And I hope.
Though dwindling, there’s still hope.
That the ‘friend’ returns.
To us,
To love, logic and sanity.
But until I’m lucky to see that day,
Adios amigo!

Mohammad Faaiz is a 17-year-old from Uttar Pradesh who recently cleared his Class 12 board exams.

Featured image credit: Gabriel Porras/Unsplash