Any honest introduction to this poem would only make me controversial or a hypocrite. This poem is my take on the ongoing elections in India. Happy reading!
It's that time of the year again
When you realise you are in a democracy
When you have to take up your weapon of choice
The vote
There is a gift box
There is a lotus
There is a torch
There is a sun
There is a ring
There are leaves
Which one do you want?
One says "Let's save democracy"
One says "We will give monthly salary for the poor"
One says "Main bhi chowkidhar"
One says nothing and simply hands out Gandhis
They attempt to capture voters
Laying a bait waiting for them to walk into the trap
And every five years the voters walk in
With a smile on their face and faith in their hearts
That this time it will be different
First they start speaking
The crowd gapes as the leader speaks in a foreign language
Maybe Hindi
The translator is no good either
Then the memes galore
Then the accusations flow in
"They are corrupt!"
"He is supporting criminals"
"He is just an actor. What does he know?"
Defamation cases galore
Then they hit the street
They sing songs about dead leaders
Who would roll in their graves if they heard them
A politician begs somewhere
His son somewhere else
His wife talks about her husband in one place
His uncle's second son's daughter in another place
One has been accused of nepotism
One has been accused of corruption
One has acted in movies against corruption
One has been accused of rape
The other murder
Another one of black money
Raids, flying squads, investigations, vehicle checks
But an eagle cannot eye the whole world however high it flies
Then the newspaper reports galore
Flags of red and black
Orange, white and green
Red, blue and white
A smiling face of a leader
Shaking hands with the American president
Being a superhero
Speaking on the phone
Walking
When you realise you are in a democracy
When you have to take up your weapon of choice
The vote
There is a gift box
There is a lotus
There is a torch
There is a sun
There is a ring
There are leaves
Which one do you want?
One says "Let's save democracy"
One says "We will give monthly salary for the poor"
One says "Main bhi chowkidhar"
One says nothing and simply hands out Gandhis
They attempt to capture voters
Laying a bait waiting for them to walk into the trap
And every five years the voters walk in
With a smile on their face and faith in their hearts
That this time it will be different
First they start speaking
The crowd gapes as the leader speaks in a foreign language
Maybe Hindi
The translator is no good either
Then the memes galore
Then the accusations flow in
"They are corrupt!"
"He is supporting criminals"
"He is just an actor. What does he know?"
Defamation cases galore
Then they hit the street
They sing songs about dead leaders
Who would roll in their graves if they heard them
A politician begs somewhere
His son somewhere else
His wife talks about her husband in one place
His uncle's second son's daughter in another place
One has been accused of nepotism
One has been accused of corruption
One has acted in movies against corruption
One has been accused of rape
The other murder
Another one of black money
Raids, flying squads, investigations, vehicle checks
But an eagle cannot eye the whole world however high it flies
Then the newspaper reports galore
Flags of red and black
Orange, white and green
Red, blue and white
A smiling face of a leader
Shaking hands with the American president
Being a superhero
Speaking on the phone
Walking
Kissing a baby
Talking to an old lady
Talking to an old lady
With a skeletal frame and a betel stained smile
Our heartbeat
Our hero
Our mother
Our aunt
Our grandfather
Our God
The posters galore
But they are all the same
When two mirrors face each other
You can see infinite reflections of yourself
But here the reflections are of different politicians
Who are just mirror versions of each other
Doing the same old thing
But you still vote
You believe that by your vote
A new day would dawn
And everything would change
But does it?
Our hero
Our mother
Our aunt
Our grandfather
Our God
The posters galore
But they are all the same
When two mirrors face each other
You can see infinite reflections of yourself
But here the reflections are of different politicians
Who are just mirror versions of each other
Doing the same old thing
But you still vote
You believe that by your vote
A new day would dawn
And everything would change
But does it?
Democracy goes to the dogs when we believe a voters only right and duty is in the polling booth. All our says and obligations doesn't end there, in that one day. When this is realized... Things may begin to take a lazy step in the right direction. �� Keep writing love. Thought provoking. ♥️
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