A Tingled Nation Poem by Muhammad Shanazar

We are a nation too gullible to suspect,
Deceived and tingled, time and again.
Experience imparts us no wisdom,
When we stumble, stones open not the eyes.

When the politicians approach
To canvass us to have the last chance,
To serve the problems-prone nation,
We cast ballots in favour of them;
Then they fade away from the scene,
The commodities disappear too from the market,
And we alone have to fight against the odds.

Prices have broken our necks,
The burden of loan has been laden on our backs,
We walk but with the bodies bent.

We make long queues in the sweltering hotness,
Often rip into rags the already tattered shirts,
When we fight for flour in front of the stores,
Adulterated commodities have poisoned our blood,
Frequent breakdowns
Have become fate of the down-trodden.

When I move through the streets, I come across,
The ghastly pale faces which were sanguine once,
The hopeful shining eyes lack luster,
As they are devoid of dreams,
And they stare into blankness of the spaces.

Cries pierce not ears of the sovereign characters,
Troubles of the masses shake not their hearts,
They are immersed into their own world,
Where miseries, troubles and pain get no entry,
They eat and drink, and secretly accumulate wealth
For grandsons of the grandsons, and plunder
The entrusted treasure with both of the hands,
And spend nights in hotels five-stars
Engaged stealthily in the nocturnal games.

Completing tenure of the years five or so,
They again revisit the swindled constituencies,
With lowering eyes, and polite demeanour,
To canvass the voters to grant them the last chance,
To serve the problems-prone nation,
And they again cast ballots in favour of them;
Because,
We are a nation too gullible to suspect,
Deceived and tingled, time and again.
Experience imparts us no wisdom,
When we stumble, stones open not the eyes.