U S A 2020 Poem by Sachidananda Panda

The day is here
It's 3rd November 2020
Million minds on ballot paper
Some trillion eyes worldwide
Fixed to the down slide
From the heights of manifestos
Manifestations, promises,
Accusations, and counter-accusations
Beating of drum, claps and gunshots
Muscle flexing on matters
Of domestic and on strategic corners

After all it's the Oldest Democracy
Land of freedom and individual liberty
Mudslinging and potshots at each other
Russian Trump or Chinese Biden
On debates amid the pandemic
Finally, has come to an end
For another four years

Gun sells have surged
Like never before
Amid fears and apprehensions
Of clash and the aftermath
Between two warring factions
The world is watching in silence
With a hope that things don't escalate

Economy is on ventilator,
Warrants oxygen and not slogans
Life matters! Be it black grey or white
Quite easy to fuel the fire of civil strife
For one's nefarious politics
The sound of a coin is louder now
Than the bell of the church
Rats have made deep cuts in pockets
In the elephants fight, the grass suffers

Throats are being cut for cartoons everyday
Freedom of speech is at stake
Fanaticism, authoritarianism, prowls peak
On archipelagoes and on blue waters
Unsettling the turban of weaker heads

Are in wait for things to settle early
Agog to find means of a torch-bearer
When the continents are in shambles
Brexit or fix it,
It requires one TO LIVE UP TO IT
That Demands ‘Leadership'


©Sachi-3rd Nov.2020