No Where No Trace Can I Discover
-- Faiz Ahamed Faiz
Nowhere, No trace can I discover
Of spilt blood,
not on the murderer's hand nor on his sleeve;
no daggers with red lips nor scarlet-pointed swords.
I see not blots on the dust,
no stains on the walls.
Nowhere, nowhere
does the blood reveal its darkness
Not spilt in grandeur
nor as ritual sacrifice,
it was not shed on the field of battle,
it did not raise a martyr's banner.
Screaming loudly the orphan blood flowed on.
No-one had the time or sense,
none bothered to listen.
No witness, no defence;
the case is closed.
The blood of the downtrodden
seeped mutely into the dust.
