SATIRE: "PLUTOCRACY HAS COOKED OUR DEMOCRACY" BY AKAN ESSIEN
They told us
manna would come
that our land
would breathe
bread and butter
that rivers
of happiness
would run
behind our homes.
They told us
we would
sit loosely
on thrones of iron
yawning
without fear
while wealth walked
into our huts
smiling like a fish.
They told us
the sun would
never stop
shining into
our huts
that we would
eat our cassava
in peace
without haste.
They told us
lions and foxes
would obey
as we traveled
within and without.
But lizards
now hold
us captive
even in our holes.
Alas! Plutocracy
has deceived us.
He has turned
us into zombies
our mouths
gasping
running
rivers of poverty
our hands and legs
shackled
with
thorns of terror.
Plutocracy has
ruined us.
We are
deaf and dumb.
Our denuded lips
are bound
by bags of rice
by a few Naira notes
that make
us look
democratic.
But we are
the living dead
wishing to
die
and no death is near.
© Akan Essien
- Uyo, Nigeria.
"Plutocracy Has Cooked Our Democracy" by Alan ESSIEN, is a political protest poem that condemns the betrayal of democratic ideals by a wealthy and self-serving ruling class. The speaker recalls the grand promises of prosperity, security, and freedom made to the people, only to reveal that these hopes have been replaced by poverty, fear, and oppression. Instead of enjoying the benefits of democracy, the masses are trapped in hardship and manipulated through token gifts and small sums of money.
The poem portrays ordinary citizens as victims of political deception, reduced to silence and helplessness while their rights and dignity are undermined. Through vivid imagery and powerful metaphors, the poet criticizes corruption, vote-buying, and economic inequality, warning that a democracy controlled by the rich has left the people spiritually and socially impoverished. Ultimately, the poem is a call to recognize and resist the forces that have corrupted true democratic governance.
Post a Comment