SOCIAL COMMENTRY: "OPEN HANDS, EMPTY CONSCIENCE" BY DR RICHARD OYIBO

They dial across oceans without shame, 

Voices dipped and thickly coated in sugar, 

Guilt is carefully crafted through cables, 

The cry of pretence is cleverly concealed.   

“Just a little to survive,” is their whisper, 

“Times are hard… you know how it is.” 

But their hardship has no calluses, 

They sit on hands that refuse to work.   

For those abroad, the day breaks early, 

Aching backs and fingers split by cold. 

Every dream eaten from the lunchbox, 

Is the sweat we seal into every transfer.   

Back home, the chairs take on shapes, 

Bottles blossom like flowers on tables, 

High spirits grow from sipping on spirits, 

And a laughter louder than conscience.     

The last drops of currency begin to dry, 

Spending all night, forgetting the price. 

And the calls come again, well-rehearsed, 

The urgency in the delight of their need.   

The day will come when lines fall silent, 

When love is no longer an endless well, 

Idleness will have to wear a new attire, 

So the abuse on merciful minds will end.

© DR RICHARD OYIBO (The Passionate Poet)

-Nigeria

This poem, Open Hands, Empty Conscience, is a scathing critique of exploitation and dependency. It contrasts the hardship of migrant workers abroad with the reckless spending back home, exposing the guilt-ridden cycle of remittances and dependency. The speaker uses irony ("Voices dipped... in sugar", "laughter louder than conscience") to highlight the disparity between harsh realities and sugarcoated pleas. The poem builds towards a stark warning: exploitation has limits ("the day will come when lines fall silent"). The overall tone is one of bitter indictment and urgency.