Wake up, Wake up, Children of the Land!—Poem by Tombi

Wake up, wake up, Children of the Land!

You hear and hear, yet turn a deaf ear.
You see and see, yet close your eyes.
You know, you know, but pretend not to know.

Wake up, wake up, Children of the Land!
The world has seen the light of science.
Has your time not come?
Are you still chasing ghosts of old history?
Have you forgotten?
Do you not remember?

Who are you?
Where do you come from?
To which place do you belong?
Who are you to ignore the past that shaped you?
Is your behaviour still human nature?

Wake up, wake up, Children of the Land!
There will be rain.
There will be flood.
Does fear still dwell in your heart?
A tiger does not spare a deer.
Have you forgotten?
Do you not wish to write a new history?
Do you not wish to be brave?

Be wary, even as you sleep,
Your own blood has turned cold.
Like seeks like, and power pairs with power.

That history, written by the mighty,
Do you wish to let it rule again?
Do you not wish to end it?

Do you not wish to become
Our fathers’ and mothers’
Brave Sons and Daughters?

Tombi is my twelve-year-old neighbour. She wrote this poem, and I wanted to share it here on my blog. Yes, she knows and is pleased to be published. This is the translated version, worked by me. She wrote in the Meitei language which is our mother tongue and I have her handwritten copy with me. 

While the poem may not be flawless, even my translation a little sloppy, here's to celebrating the start of Tombi's writing journey. May be one day she'll be a well known poet or author like Arundhati Roy. That's what I said to her while asking her to write a story next. ;-)