Who was Pash?
Sab Ton Khatarnak [The Most Dangerous of All]
Pash, [Crudely] Translated into English from Punjabi by me
The exploitation of labour is not the most dangerous thing of all
Neither is torture at the hands of the police
Boundless greed is not the most dangerous of all.
Betrayal spurred by greed is unfortunate
And arrest without warning:
Terrible-- but not the most dangerous of all.
To be frightened into silence is unfortunate
But devoid of true danger.
To be silenced by the clangor of corruption
Even when you speak the truth-- it is unfortunate.
Squinting at pages in the pale light of a firefly-- Unfortunate.
But these things are not the most dangerous of all.
The most dangerous is silence
The man who is detached and apathetic
Who bears everything
And calls it routine.
The most dangerous of all is the demise of our dreams.
The most dangerous of all is the watch
That ticks on your wrist
But whose hands freeze under your gaze.
The most dangerous is the eye
That looks but does not see
That ignores all love and sees only
A lifeless haze in the mundane.
The most dangerous is the moon
That after a slaughter
Silently illuminates the scene
But does not bring tears to your eyes.
The most dangerous is the night
That falls on the sky of living souls
And smothers them all
In which only the cries of the innocent and snap of the oppressor's whip echo
And an eternal darkness clings at closed windows.
The exploitation of labour is not the most dangerous thing of all
Neither is torture at the hands of the police
Boundless greed is not the most dangerous of all.