New Language

One by one,
the words of conscience
were declared criminal
by language itself.

Then they were hanged together.
No one opposed.
No court could take cognizance.
Good for them—
otherwise,
they would have been used as jokes.

People everywhere
wrote new laws on the streets
and recited them
in places of worship.
By a majority vote of cultural words,
the words of conscience
were disgraced,
stripped even of the name ‘word’.
They were branded traitors.

The survivors -- guardians of culture
were enshrined for worship.
The left hand was accused of being useless;
the right hand was granted authority
to write the new law.