What is this drum of violence being beaten under the midday sun and dusk’s shadows?
What is this chorus of tribal hatred sung across the streets?
What is this unholy mantra that keeps fueling discord in our land?

How long will we allow myopic stereotypes to shape our discourse?
Religious fight today, ethnic superiority contest tomorrow.
When will a 63-year-old fool outgrow his folly?
Is it until his children’s children name him a stupid old fool?

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You said my children’s blood is tainted ’cause their father is from another clan.
You said my lineage is no longer pure.
My offence? I dared to marry a wife whose language differs from mine.
Riddle me this: which mortal is god enough to decide who is pure or not?

I heard the disgust in your voice when you said the land of my forebears belongs to nobody.
We used to be friends, but politics tore us apart;
It pushed us into a headless and endless cycle of rat race.
When will it end?

And you,
I see the disdain in your eyes when you hear my accent.
You nicknamed me a cow, but I’m a human like you.
In your mind, I’m a terrorist. You know. And I know.

Our humanity dies a painful death each day under the war of tribalism.
How long will ethnic bigotry wedge a gulf between us?
This flame of division keeps driving us further and further into doom.
When will it end?

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Though we are not kinsmen by language, the same hue of blood animates our veins.
And fate has married us under one nationality.
We might be distinct by tradition, but our ideologies are not so different:
To live a fulfilled life and to never be forgotten by posterity.

Remember,
Whether east or west, whether south or north
This land is our home.
And the hate you give will hunt you down someday.