A thought was born in the dark shadows of a colony,
In the cradle of European imperialism,
In countries where people were in darkness all year,
Even as the sun never set on the empire.

And the thought was not of revenge,
Not of retribution, not of vengeance,
It carried a tender humanness,
About fighting for rights without violence.

And the thought spread with the breeze,
Through villages, towns and cities,
And the empire built on years of wars,
Couldn’t stand the litmus test of peace.

The empire crumbled succumbing to the human spirit,
But the thought died with it too,
And today we wait for another atrocity,
That shall light the torch of non-violence