Basil Fernando

(Ed. Note: This poem is dedicated to the Emperor Asoka of India who came to abhor war and embraced Buddhism and non-violence.)

Killing the spirit
This is the way power survives.
Intimidate the person
To accept untruth as truth
This is what power is all about.
The capacity to impose interpretations
That suit power
Is the way of power.
The will to defy
False interpretation
Is the only way
Open to the powerless.

It is not wealth that is
The source of power.
It is falsehood presented as truth
That keeps power
Every hour, each day.
When the truth
Merges with power
That is humanity's
Greatest hour.
Asoka's time
The perfect example.