BETTER THAN THAT

"is it fair, father?
should they end my life at will?
not one did i harm
not one did i kill.
why then must i ingloriously die
in a low cold prison cell,
hidden from loving eyes?"

"i confess, father.
my intention was flawed
but my invention was a genius.
it was a weapon that could empower my nation -
and cut away the stagnation
and free us of humiliation
and overthrow every other oppression."
Father said, "an attempt to disfigure creation?"


"but as a child, father -
no mother pulled me to her breast
with no family was i blessed.
the only love i had ever known
was the affectionate spit or the fond curse
that the Workers at the Factory hurled,
when they were pleased at
the gunpowder i curled
around curiously coloured wires."

" i tried, father -
to sneak and listen to the lessons at the village school.
i tried, father -
to make of myself, a better fool -
i heard the master say,
GIVE YOUR BEST TO ALL YOU DO
and that i did, father."

"we packed bombs
we made guns
we burned homes
we had fun, o dear father..
and all i ever wanted was
to give my best to all i did,
and be better than that
just keep at it
and be better than that."

and so, father
one day i mastered my art
but the Workers, jealous in the heart,
took away my child from me
and raped me of my rights
and sent me here to fight
through the last days of my noble life.

tell me please, father -
was it fair?"