A gem I uncovered while going through the shelves of the school library.


do not say my people are lazy
because you do not know
you are only a critic, an onlooker
you cannot know or judge

do not think my people are weak
because they are gentle
do not think that we have only music
because we love life

do not condemn us as poor
because we have very few banks
see here the richness of our people
the brimful hearts that do not grab or grapple
we collect humanity from the sun and rain and man
transcending the business and the money

do not tell us how to live
or organise such nice associations and bodies
our society was an entity
before the advent of political philosophy

do not say -
because you do not know


Adapted in part from
Mohd. Hj. Salleh