FREEDOM

Freedom grows out of bonny limbs
It grows to what it can
The beasts are chained controlled and tamed
Can this be done to man?

God did not chain His primal foe
God did not torture man
The Almighty gave him freedom
He put no holy ban.

Freedom’s the real source of truth
It lives within the soul
The great virtue of sacrifice
Defines its noble goal.

Freedom inspires the heart within
With purest love of truth
Greed and animal passion may sport
Their quarry for dumb youth.

Freedom’s found in both good and bad
It breathes in every pore
It shines on all both great and small
It knocks on every door.

True freedom’s eternity
That has no brassy bands
Mankind basks in its glorious light
And feasts upon its lands.

Despair is offspring of thought
It fumes on human brow
Freedom sweeps away that pall
And liberates the prow.

Mahmood Pervez Alam
2002