The Covenant of the Soil

I gave my breath to the gallows’ rope, I gave my youth to a flicker of hope. Not for a map, or a crown, or a name, But to light in your heart a different flame. "Sovereign," we whispered in the face of the lash, Rising like phoenix from the colonial ash. But are you truly free, or just unchained? When the ghost of the master has still remained? We swore a Secular vow to the sky, Where the temple bells and the minarets lie. A garden of colors, not a desert of grey, Don’t let the blossoms be withered away. Justice was the promise, deep and wide, For the girl in the village, for the man cast aside. If the scales are tilted by power or gold, Then the soul of our struggle has been cheaply sold. Equality isn't a word on a page, It’s the breaking of bars, the end of the cage. When the plate of the hungry is empty and bare, The "Republic" we built is a castle of air. Fraternity calls! Can you hear the old song The thread of the brother, the bond that is strong. If you hate by the border, or hate by the creed, You water the poison, you plant the wrong seed. This soil is my body, this flag is my soul, But only your courage can make the dream whole. The Pledge isn't spoken, it’s lived every day, In the kindness you show, in the words that you say. I left you the torch, though my hands were in pain, Don’t let the sacrifice be offered in vain. India is more than a lines on a chart, She’s the mirror of light in the depths of your heart. "Liberty is not a gift of the gods; it is a task that must be earned every single day by those who dare to be just." -Armina