Walk To Freedom (Poem Dedicated To Mahatma Gandhi) Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

He was an Indian
he was not a prime minister
he was not even a president
he went to South Africa
to practice Law;
he faced racism there
he faced discrimination
when he was thrown out of the train;
he came home
but hardly worked as a lawyer
in his home country India;
instead he worked day in and day out
to get freedom
for his own country;
he mediated between
the British and the Indians
till he succeeded;
he was born not so rich
yet he chose to live poor
he wore a plain cloth around him
which was weaved on a spinning wheel
by himself or by his wife;
they both lived a simple life
but his death was pitiful,
he died by three bullet shots
his name was Mohandas Gandhi.
After he got Independence for his country
his name changed to Mahatma Gandhi-
as countrymen called him Mahatma/great.
His principles and ideologies
are followed by many world leaders
and by many nations today.
Though he had great ambitions
and had gone to Africa
to further his career,
he came back home to India
and transformed his dreams
to see that his country wakes up in freedom.
Many religions depict a pathway to God
through worship and prayers
but Gandhi demonstrated
that the walk to freedom
is by tolerance and insistence
and not by wars and violence.