When The Prime Minister Visits Shillong Bamboo Poles Watch In Silence Poem by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih

When the Prime Minister
planned a visit to the city
bamboo poles sprang up from pavements
like a welcoming committee.

But when he came, he was
only the strident sounds of sirens
like warnings in war-time bombings.

The bamboo poles watched in silence.

He came with twin objectives
a mission for peace and progress.
But he was a rumbling in the clouds
a prattle in the air.

And some say he came
homing in like a missile
and left flying like an arrow.

In-between?
Some say he dropped
like a falling star
and was sighted by a few
disgruntled leaders.

He came like a threat
and scam-stained ministers
were in a cold sweat.
But he left like a defused bomb.

They wondered
what he could have seen
of the land
what of the people
he could have learnt
when he came
like the snapping of fingers.

They wondered
and sought answers
like little children.

Only the bamboo poles watched in silence
too used to the antics of men.