Sheep Country Poem by Navarun Mallick

This is a tale of the golden age of today.
There lies a country not very far away.

Here, there were once humans in heaps,
But now, they've all turned into sheep.

If you'll give me a few minutes of your time,
I'll tell you how this bizarre turn came by.

The country was a good enough place to live in,
But the king was such, that people were unsatisfied with him.

'Change the king! ' they said, 'and bring a better one,
Who will lead this country to its place in the sun.'

Many warriors competed for the now-vacant throne,
But one triumphed over all using a new magic sword.

'Now I am your king', the warrior said,
'By my troth, the streets soon shall flow with mead!

'And I shall fill the stomachs of the poor with rich meat,
While everyone's coffers shall be flowing with money! '

However, the new king had something else in mind,
He had no time to waste while trying to be kind.

He unsheathed his magic sword, and said,
'It is time, that I must all pretense shed

'But I cannot be hasty, or else I'll suffer
The same fate as that other old duffer.'

The new king had heard of dissenters against his rule,
So with his sword, he executed justice swift and cruel.

He whipped up the entire nation into a great frenzy,
Saying, 'The enemy lies within you! Be extremely wary! '

Soon, people were in deep doubt of each other,
And were soon hurling abuses about sisters and mothers,

Even as the king shouted, 'Above all, the mother nation is great!
Follow my religion; destroy all other faiths! '

The people readily lapped up all he said,
All the while ignoring all things bad in its stead.

Four years later, the poor were still hungry,
While others waited yet for their promised money.

But thanks to his sharp sword, the king enslaved all,
And so, no one doubted or questioned whenever he was extolled.

Then, one day, an enemy nation attacked.
The king grinned to himself, and said, 'Now is my chance! '

He defeated the enemy quickly, but did not stop.
Rather, he stoked the fire even more beneath the pot.

Those who dared question him were labeled traitors,
And the entire nation showed no mercy to these betrayers.

In unison, like organized madmen, they called out,
'We want blood, fire, murder! We want to hear the enemy shout!

'As we kill them all, and then we rend their hearts out!
Kill them! Butcher them! Come on, be a little loud! '

The king smiled; they were his masterpieces, these people,
Utmost cruel had become even those who were once feeble.

The people lost the meaning of life; they lost the power to think,
As the power of the sword of the king pushed them to the very brink.

At last, the people took a great evolutionary leap,
And all suddenly transformed into brainless, stupid sheep.

And that, dear reader, is how it came to pass,
A country full of people became the Sheep Country at last.

The king's sword (he called it 'Media')flourishes to this day,
Fuelling the fires of rage, terror and mind-numbing hate,

Emotions now embedded deep in the Sheep Country's culture,
Even as the king leads his sheep towards an uncertain future.