Dear Mr President
‘This poem is inspired by the events that unfolded in Tunisia recently but also born out of frustrations with our so-called leaders all across the globe who spare no expense in putting their interests first but don't think twice about the needs of their people. Mr President is an umbrella term for all the presidents – male and female – generals, prime ministers, and all who seem to rule our world with iron fists,’ writes Nebila Abdulmelik.
Dear Mr President,
Whether by bullets or ballots
You climb upon your thrones
Trampling on the backs of your people
Leaving a permanent marker of your presence
Your love for power is grander than your love for life
As we struggle for every breath,
You maintain the stranglehold
Dry as it is, you milk the system for every last drop
So much so that the pips have no more squeak left in them
You’ve built a system that fattens no-one but itself
You feed your own pockets before you would even think
of doing the same for the bellies of your people
Your palaces are built on mountains of gold & silver
You bathe in lakes of oil
Unable to wash away the blood stains
So you conceal them with diamonds & pearls
You entice us with democracy
But we find our democracies silenced
You entice us with equality
But we find our equalities segregated
You entice us with freedom
But we find our freedoms imprisoned
You entice us with justice
But we find our justices lawless & unjustified
You entice us with peace
But we find our peace constantly at war
You entice us with riches & prosperity
But we find our riches impoverished
You entice us with progress
But we find our progress stalled indefinitely
You promise us health care
But we find our health in desperate need of urgent care
You promise us scholars
But we find our students in desperate need of schooling
We’re still starving
After consuming all of your empty promises
We’re tired of being sick
We’re sick of being tired
We’re sick & tired of being sick & tired
I’ve heard it said that power corrupts
But it’s obvious that absolute power corrupts absolutely
Seeing as the house only stands
As long as the people continue to prop it up
This is to tell you we’ve decided to bring the house down
And you along with it
Sincerely,
Your disgruntled citizens
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS