Orchard Of Justice Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Don't endanger the rights of ancestry
don't dis-integrate the privileges of heritage
don't empower those who are vicious
don't surrender your conscience to treachery;
you are chosen to allot justice
you are chosen to condemn or pardon;
in the deepest fear of introspection
you have to answer to your own self
have I denied the innocent of justice
have I denied the owner of his land
have I denied the woman of her matrimonial abode
have I denied the child of his legacy
have I denied the worshiper of his faith in justice,
have I denied myself the gift of heaven?
place a hand upon your conscience
and ask thyself before you rest your head
on that soft pillow to gain rest,
have I given justice to those who have waited
for decades for prudence to prevail
so that the one waiting for thy verdict
rests his soul in peace?