(A poem on the recent desecration of the Mathuraveerar and Muneeswarar Temples in Penang.)

Mathuraveerar!
Your name means Warrior God.
Why then did You just keep quiet;
When they smashed you to smithereens?
Your sharp sword, bow and arrow,
Your skills in archery,
Yet You kept deathly still;
While they defiled You;
And spat on You.

Muneesswarar!
Your eyes teared; pleaded with them;
But they took your head,
Laughed at You; and broke it.
While Ganesha with his arm and
Useless trunk hanging, severed,
Bled by your side.
What did You do that they hate You so?

Who are you, Temple Desecrators?
Such evil lurks in your souls.
To enter the House of God;
And detonate your bombs;
Anger rising from you like
Venom, pouring poison
Into your mouths and hearts.
The sharp spear; the trident missile
Muneeswarar held in His hand of mercy,
A broken toy in your ugly hands of hatred.

MEERA BADMANABAN is an ordinary Malaysian who believes that poetry is a powerful medium for social change.