The Police Enquiry Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

“Out of the fifteen days
I’ve only twelve days, ”
Thus Bernadette counted
The days those remained.

When she was at home,
A policeman had come,
And took her for enquiry
About her Cavern Lady.

She was taken before
A senior man, Vital Dutour,
The Imperial Prosecutor,
Who tried to corner her.

He accused, “You’ve made
This town people mad,
And they’re too crazy
To see your Lady.”

“You’re doing all this
To get more favors
From the rich people,
It appears so simple.”

“If I put you in jail
Will it not spoil
Your own good name,
And bring you shame?

“You’re a student,
But not so prudent
To better your career
And brighten your future.”

He used soft words
And also harsh words
In between his advice
For her to become wise.

But she took him lightly,
And replied him politely,
As she had nothing to fear
When the Lady was with her.

If she had told that her Lady
Resembled like Virgin Mary,
A case for blasphemy
Could be framed easily.

But she maintained
And told till the end
That never did her Lady
Look like Virgin Mary

When he told her not to go
She told him, “I’ve to go
As the Lady had invited her
Everyday to go o’er there.”

Outside, the public gathered
At the police, they jeered,
And started behaving wild,
For arresting a poor child,

Francois, in the meantime,
To the police station came,
And he begged the prosecutor,
To pardon and release her.

The prosecutor warned him
To keep her locked at home
And not to send her out
To face any police’s arrest.

As the girl was a minor,
The Imperial Prosecutor,
Couldn’t fix her up in a case
That, in fact, had no base.

The church didn’t support her,
As once the Reverend Father
Made a complaint to check her
As the Diocese couldn’t interfere.

She suffered humiliation
Yet, in her determination
She was firm to go there,
The Lady’s invitation to honor.