SATIRE: "GHANA @ 69: THE BITTER COCKTAIL" BY KARIM MAN DE POET

Sixty-nine years, and the story is a cycle,

We are walking in circles while our rivals take the title,

I see my people posting flags, drowning the truth in filters,

But the foundation of our "Independence" is shaking on its pillars.

I look at Singapore—no gold to dig, no cocoa to pod,

Yet they built a paradise while we only pray to God,

Their per capita is a mountain, ours is a shallow grave,

Because we sold our "Black Star" to be a "Galamsey" slave.

The heat is in the market, not just in the sun.

The Cedi is a ghost, always on a losing run.

A mother goes to the stall with a bag full of cash,

But comes back with a handful of salt and a heart turned to ash.

Petrol prices are climbing like they’re trying to reach heaven,

While our wages are stuck back in nineteen-fifty-seven!

How do we celebrate "Freedom" on an empty stomach?

When the price of bread is a mountain we can no longer summit?

Look at the waters!

The Pra, the Ankobra, the Birim once so clear,

Now they flow like thick, brown poison—a river of our fear.

An artist doesn't need paint; he just dips his brush in the stream,

That is the "development" that murdered the Ghanaian dream.

We are trading our

children’s water for a few ounces of dust,

Turning the "Gateway to Africa" into a gateway of rust.

But wait—I see 2030 in the eyes of the youth.

They say they are "leaders of tomorrow," but that’s a half-truth.

The youth are the power now, the digital spark in the dark,

The ones who will reclaim the forest and the national park,

By 2030, we don't want a "stabilized" hunger,

We want a nation where the old don't feed on the younger.

We want a Ghana Beyond Aid that isn't

just a slogan on a wall,

But a digital fortress where no graduate has to crawl,

Leaders, if you can’t see the vision, then step out of the light,

Because sixty-nine is too old to still be afraid of the night.

The "Voice of the Voiceless" is no longer a plea,

It is a demand for the Ghana that was always meant to be.

I am Yours Modern Quintilian 🗣️

© KARIM MAN DE POET ✍️

DE SENIOR CITYZYN

LIT_WURA

GHANA 🇬🇭

The poem reflects on Ghana’s 69 years of independence while criticizing the nation’s economic struggles, environmental destruction, and political failures. Through comparisons with countries like Singapore and references to galamsey, inflation, and polluted rivers, the poet exposes the gap between national pride and harsh reality. However, the poem ends with hope, calling on the youth to reclaim the nation and build a stronger, self-reliant Ghana.