Daily Times

The blurry line, where the land meets the sea

Weightless words, hang in thin air,

Unguided, directionless, just hot air.

The face of humiliation,

The face of shame,

The face of conceit, a web of deceit,

The face of treachery,

The face of pretense,

The face of cunning, an artifice,

The endless faces of jiggery-pokery,

How many more faces does the narrative uncover?

How many faces do these people wear?

It’s her face, the faithless victim,

Suffering your indiscretions,

This tyranny has to cease,

Voiceless, oppressed, murdered dreams.

Do you see the angels weeping in heaven?

Do you hear them chant: Allah Hu- Allah Hu?

A sick reflection of this society,

What a horrific face of humanity,

Clothes torn, flesh eaten by vultures,

Raped, strangled, discarded in a garbage heap.

Your face, my face, the face of this Town!

The veneer of our civilisation, our respectability,

It’s the diseased reflection of this society,

Even the silent waters have begun to cry,

Our rivers are murky, like our lives,

Is it not time to dredge our souls?

Yet your tongues don’t move,

Our spirits, like our gaze stand vacant,

Why do we remain quiet in the face of injustice?

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

How many faces do you people have?

How many masks have you acquired?

One for the jury, one for the authority,

One for the party workers,

One for the trailers, parked in our city,

One for the world leaders,

One for Davos

One for the World Bank

One for the IMF

One for joy

One for the kill.

Beneath all these facades, lies shame and guilt,

Yet, you are not even moved,

You hold your head up high,

As though the atrocities don’t bother you,

Shame, shame, shame, bleeds the sky!

Shame, shame, shame cries the earth!

Shame, shame, shame on our garments

We proudly display, for the world to see.

The ships refuse to sail today,

The birds are in mourning,

Their song is a wail of despair,

Why can’t I hear their jingles?

Have they fled this town?

For pasture new.

Why don’t you cry?

Maybe tears will cleanse you,

You have no tears to share, that is true,

How do you mask your expressionless face?

What icy heart resides within your chest?

Cry! Cry, for heaven’s sake Cry!

Or you will become a brick wall,

Go leave this town, now the time has come,

Leave this town,

Here, everyone has a dagger in their pocket,

They have a new face for each dawn,

Such is the way of our world.

Rest in Peace

Published in Daily Times, May 31^th 2018.