For My Teacher, Gauri Lankesh (To the Bullets Which Failed To Kill Her)

Death! Horrible Death
You left me with more life.
The bullets that killed Gauri
Made her more alive.

Can ever a Gauri be killed
Has she not been born with
a thousand lives?
When all the lights go off
The stars are born in the skies.

No teacher has taught me to dissent
Dissent is arrogance here
Everyone is a slave
We celebrate freedom
on social media status.

Who celebrates her death
Don’t know
I’m still behind
Every word I sing is of Gauri
Or of you who think Gauri is your teacher.

Death! Horrible death
You’re nothing but a pause
Tell your masters
Gauri can’t be killed
Gauri lives long
Till I have my lips to write.

Moumita Alam is a poet from West Bengal. Her poetry collection The Musings of the Dark is available on Amazon.

Featured image: Gauri Lankesh/Facebook