by B. R. GOWANI
IMAGE/BBC
the media-supported candidate, the corporate-sponsored gal
the one we had waited for so long, that woman she was not
the reformer progressives wanted to see, she was not that pal
of our quest, who could fulfill the dreams we have long sought
capitalistan‘s sad ones wanted a decent politician for sure
who would be honest, empathic, noncorrupt, and pure
in whom, the wretched ones would find some cure
the basementers asked us to join with devotion dire
their luring manisfesto created a dilemma for our vote
revolutionaries explained their program to us with fire
with open arms and love, several invitations they wrote
but intense was the urge to see the first woman in milky house
in possession of omnipotent power would be the first spouse
leaks from WikiLeaks couldn’t deter us from this louse
the revolutionary stabbed his own comrades in broad daylight
then allowed himself to be swallowed down by a liberal lord
the propaganda’s magic had people suffer from brain-blight
sexual lewdness was exposed but war crimes were ignored
tax evaders, lobbyists, US multinational exploiters
none of them are going to feel the hand of the law
tossing around great promises is a ruling class flaw
but we should be on our guard and in control of our awe
egalitarian distribution of wealth is not in sight yet
the moment of economic justice to all hasn’t arrived yet
continue the struggle ’cause we haven’t attained the aim yet
Note:
The exultation over the defeat of the hellish woman is in no way an endorsement of a billionaire who pretends to be a messiah of the common people. This racist/sexist/xenophobic/communalist with fascistic tendencies is out to mint money. For him, the White House will be the printing machine to reach at the top of the Forbes listing of wealthy people where he is #324, sharing that spot with thirteen others. His children and his son-in-law will be part of the government and, directly or indirectly, help him fully in that endeavor.
His friendship with Russia is a good omen which may result in a warm relationship with that country, rather than create a second cold war. Chances are this will translate in less US involvements in other countries’ affairs, except the Middle East. He is against the nuclear deal with Iran and so there is a chance of his going to war with that nation. Then there is his anti-Muslim venom and the Islamic State’s happiness at the US election result. Both are itching to initiate a war; it’s hard to predict who’ll win the lunacy contest.
Looking at the people (white nationalist, anti-Muslims, thugs) chosen by the Supreme Leader to assist him in running the “great country,” it is definite that things within the US will turn extremely bad. We hope that the new leader screws people up so badly that Green Party or some other party emerges to bring some real change, otherwise the two parties, Democratic and Republican, will continue the same crap for a long time under the facade of “democracy.”
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com
*The above piece was inspired by Faiz Ahmed Faiz‘s famous poem Freedom’s Dawn, written in August 1947, on the partition of India and Pakistan. The poem, transliteration, and translation by V. G. Kiernan can be found here and here. Also see translations by Qurratulain Hyder, Sarvat Rahman, and Agha Shahid Ali’s interpretive translation; and, Zehra Nigah, Naseeruddin Shah, Zia Mohyeddin, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz recitations. For the musical versions, see Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan and Madhurani, with an introduction by Dilip Kumar.
The above piece first appeared in Counterpunch edition of December 13, 2016.