Assembly Sessions- Is Prevention Not Better Than Cure? Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Go watch a drama, a live theatre
in that apex auditorium,
hear and see how they scream at
each other with glee,
pointing out fingers to one another,
or seeking explanations for money spent and mis-placed,
or trying to correct each other for delays and damages;
and as they do that, one feels more heroic than the other,
one thinks he is more vigilant than the other,
one appreciates his own efforts to gain credibility
for himself and his party.
Who are these people who shout and demand
that errors be rectified and never be repeated?
Who are these people who want to remind
the other of his unfulfilled promises?
they all are ministers and representatives
who have been chosen by our society
they have themselves forgotten
after they were elected
that when many sticks were tied together
the stronger was their force of strength and victory;
but now the chosen one stands alone and talks alone
questioning the other of his errors and blunders
and in that action, he forgets
that he himself is that blade of grass
on which has fallen a spark of public duty and responsibility,
he has either to glow or flicker, brighten or burn
but abstain from igniting that flame of corruption
he has to help the society which has voted for him;
but in that assembly, in that theatre of reality
where his own actions, his own words echo,
the expectations of his people lie forgotten
as, the common man sleeps in his home
lurking in the darkness of injustice, corruption and
persistent mal-practices
as the roof over his head, the clothes on his body,
the food in his plate are all from his own efforts
while the Ministers have cars with sirens and guided portfolios
to display their greatness of position and power.