Liberty

A poem

Beat the war drums Circle the wagons Silence all dissenters And form an allied front

Mute the televisions There’s propaganda in your airwaves Or better yet censor alternative media And let the jingoists run amuck

Warmongering despots, And fictitious democracies All jockeying for power For a global hegemony

Where in this world, I wonder Is the voice of the people heard? Or a better question to ponder What government doesn’t participate in propaganda?

Lies and fallacies Packaged and commodified Appear on our tv screens Consent manufactured, unknowingly

Sanction till the pipes are empty Dear not deal with tyranny Publicly wipe your hands clean of blood money Before you negotiate with a different devil, deceitfully

Ignore the cries of the Yemenis For their struggle is of no significance For the global battle of supremacy

What of the underlying commodity? Oil fields in the hands of autocrats Is it not time to reimagine energy?

Oh, where in this world I wonder Is the voice of the people heard? The barriers to prosperity Remain to benefit a minor few

Recently I’ve been losing faith In the hopes for a brighter day Public servants I once believed in Have abandoned and gone astray

But then I remind myself Blessed is the child that thrives In a world filled with pain and grief. I pray for all the innocents Caught in the crossfires of imperial conquests. From the Ukraine to Yemen, Palestine, Ethiopia, and the Western Sahara. May the angels guide your path On a road to eternal peace.