Two Cities Two Protests Poem by Shirani Rajapakse

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

The police have taken over, a law unto
themselves while sanity flies out to

be trampled in the dust of protest
worldwide. Across cultures and fault lines.

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

The people want more. The freedom to
live the life they choose. Jobs and money.

Freedom from servitude to the few. They rise
up as one, the time has come.

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

The students protest in line. Sitting silently
with heads bowed low as the symbol of law

stands before them spraying pepper in their
faces. Laughing silently at their discomfort.

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

The people clash with black-clad police.
The dreaded symbol of Mubarak’s regime that

remains to protect another regime. The Generals
who now rule. What was won in February?

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

The media clicks for posterity while the
students remain silent watching, waiting

for the law to do their deed as the men
in high towers look the other way.

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

They shoot at their heads. A bullet
enters his eye. That’s the last he will

see. They pull him away bleeding and
the police move in for the kill.

Pepper spray for Wall Street
Rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

When will the madness end? Freedom
to protest in peace is no longer guaranteed

anywhere. The constitution is laughed at,
trampled upon by those elected to save it.

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.

The police rule. The politicians rule, hunger
for power rises. More power. But at what cost?

The masses stand up but are beaten down.
Democracy died this weekend.

Pepper spray for Wall Street,
rubber bullets for Tahrir Square.