Look Again, Sir Poem by Zotena Moses

Sir… look.
‎Yes, you. I said look.
‎Not away, look here.
‎Look closely at this nation, so rich, yet so broken.
‎A land of plenty, drowning in greed.
‎A nation where corruption speaks louder than truth.
‎Where many have no jobs,
‎Yet violence seems to employ too many.

‎As you walk through the streets of Nigeria,
‎I say look.
‎Not up at the skies, look straight ahead.
‎Look into that woman's house.

‎Do you see her?
‎Once full of life, young, hopeful, strong.
‎A servant of the people, proud and bright.
‎Now… she sits in silence,
‎A friend to sickness,
‎A shadow of who she used to be.
‎Each year, promises are made in her name,
‎Yet her pain remains unchanged.

‎Sir, tell me, what do you see?
‎Look again. Look well.

‎A people led by hardened hearts,
‎Dressed in speeches of righteousness and faith.
‎Look at the preachers.
‎Look at the politicians.
‎Even look at those closest to you.
‎Too many take,
‎Too few give.

‎Sir… look at your daughter.
‎Still a child, yet already burdened,
‎Trading her future for survival,
‎For something as small as food and drink.
‎Her dreams swallowed by hunger,
‎Her tomorrow dimmed too soon.

‎This is a generation that wants to rise,
‎But is held down by helplessness.
‎A people waiting for harvest,
‎Yet afraid to touch the soil.
‎Praying for heaven,
‎But unwilling to face the earth.

‎We are divided among ourselves,
‎Bound by beliefs we barely understand.
‎Hunger has stained our hands,
‎Fear has stolen our voices.
‎And slowly, we are forgetting who we are.

‎Look again, Sir.

‎A man who feeds himself,
‎Yet forgets his children.
‎A father who secures today,
‎But destroys tomorrow.
‎A people following what they do not truly know,
‎Led without direction.

‎And there,
‎Leaders who cling to power,
‎Not to serve, but to hold on,
‎Waiting not to lead,
‎But to leave only when death takes them.

‎So I say again,
‎Look.
‎Look well.
‎Look deeply.

‎And ask yourself…
‎How much longer will we pretend not to see?