They say even
The moon turned purple
And refused to shine
That deadly night
After the carnage
As Godhra lay bleeding…

First it was
The trapped victims
Of the Sabarmati Express
Whose cries were
Drowned in red flames…

And then…
The mobs ran
Amuck in the town
Swords in hand,
Purpled with gore
Of women and children
Hounded and killed…

They say…
One was a pregnant woman
Whose womb they tore
To pluck out the foetus,
That felt the edge of hatred
Even before it was born,
They plunged mother
And child into hot flames…

Several bloody hours later
The town lay drowned
In the river of the blood
Of the innocents killed…
Their bodies lay rotting under
The hot Indian sun,
Red gore turning purple
As the moon rose that night…

They say the moon
Refused to shine that night
For the purple curtain
Of dry blood had
Covered her face
As she hung her head
In shame and I felt
Her tears wash my heart.