Unwarranted Pressure Poem by Kenneth Maswabi

The path to higher education is littered with obstacles
Not to examine the physical make-up of the student
But to exempt millions of poor children from a better life
"Education is the key to success, " many of them are told
Without education they are deemed to be failures
Not worthy to be given the key to success
This is a narrow-minded approach to life
Life was fully established before education was conceived
Look at the birds of the sky
They are fully educated in their own way of life
Not even a day spent in school
They have mastered the techno-savvy skills of flight
It's not a skill for those with low IQs
Yet birds have proudly adopted it
Look at wild berries
They are succulent and richly flavoured
Not out of years of education
But out of the intrinsic knowledge
Passed from generation to generation
Surely humanity is not cursed
To be without the ancient skills embedded in them
It's perfectly fine to encourage education from an early age
But first we have to provide resources
Poor countries are struggling with the adopted systems of education
Yet they are supposed to be competitors in a globalized world
Students in third world countries are put under immense pressure
To excel under squalid conditions
Inequality, for some, begins in the classroom
Without proper grooming and resources
They are already marked for the trenches of this world
Without proper allocation of resources
Inequality, human trafficking, poverty and diseases
Will continue to threaten the pedestal of hope
Humanity will never progress beyond selfishness and hopelessness
Into the vast terrain of consciousness
Where unconditional Love is a basic necessity
And sharing of resources is the only achievement worth praising

©Kenneth Maswabi