Gently on my door she knocked

Gently on my door she knocked
by Azly Rahman

Poetry has come to me again
i do not know from where
       did it knock at my door softly?
       did it rage out of my fireplace and engulf me entirely?
       did it rain on me when i was out walking?
       did it whisper like a night of thousand stars
it comes when it knows i need her
when she knows
     i am in flames
when she knows
     i am as calm as a walden pond

Poetry comes to me when I am angry
At the world that has no mercy
       for those trampled by systems
          designed by human insensitivities
when iron hands in soft velvet gloves pound mercilessly
          on those fighting for basic human dignity
when black-robed men in the court of law preside
          over the fate of fellow men
stinking voices of higher justice
          whispering judgments into their ears
when men spewing religious verses in parliament houses
          rob fellow men in broad daylight
those horrifying faces of politics still running around
          spewing venoms calling for crusades
poetry comes to me in times that try men’s soul … in times like this