I won the very first raffle prize of my life at the Index on Censorship awards in London last night – a framed poem by the former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion, written for the occasion and in his own hand. Although the copyright remains his, I hope he won't mind if I reproduce the poem in honour of the occasion and the extraordinary bravery these awards mark.

To hear the stories of people who have fought for freedom of expression and suffered for it in such places as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Turkey, Cuba and Israel reminds me of the extraordinary luxury that we have in this country where someone like me can make a risk-free, pain-free living from saying pretty much what he pleases. These days it is a privilege we have to guard, as Heather Brooke, the journalist who was commended for uncovering the scandal of MPs' expenses, reminded us.

The Google-sponsored evening was a big success for Index, which has been energised by the arrival of John Kampfner as chief executive, a revamped online presence and new publishers for Jo Glanville's beautifully produced Index magazine.

However, there was something that stuck in my throat and that was the comedians' contribution to the evening, especially that of Natalie Haynes, who thought the best demonstration of free speech was to say the word "cunt" a dozen times. I suppose I see the point, and I don't wish to deny anyone the right to say it, but it just seemed a bit undignified in front of people who had suffered arrest and persecution for exercising their right to express themselves on crucial political issues of freedom. Perhaps the fact that this highly intelligent and articulate woman couldn't think of much else to say to be funny underlines the privileged circumstances of a free society.

Anyway here is Andrew Motion's poem – I hope I have transcribed it correctly.