you beat down farmers
you beat down the old
you beat down students
you beat down the young
you beat down the believers
who believe differently, who believe
you beat down the non-believers
who don’t believe in you or yours
you beat down women, children, lovers
you beat down Dalit, Muslims, tribals,
you beat down the proud, the poor, the different,
you render them naked, powerless
you beat histories and the constitution into retreat
you beat with sticks, lies, feet
how long will this phallic falsifying power stand
when it stands upon the quicksand of untruth
silences, deaths, fear and injury?
the illusion of its enduring erectness
is only a myopia caused after all
by the narrow width of your stick
the one your hand holds up
when truth dares to speak
before your eyes, ready to beat.