Dissent

Word of the day: Dissent

Disagreement with the philosophy, methods, goals, etc. of a political party or government

They say the aragalaya is dead or distracted

Far from reaching its goal of sending Gota home

And perhaps Galle Face is no more a Gama

But a sparsely populated desert, tents still erect

But you will still hear a voice screaming into a microphone

Protest chants that fill the air

Mixing with the salt of the ocean and tears of desperation

A struggle exhausted, but unrelenting

And one may criticise the apathy

The lack of participation

The disintegration of dissent

And from them, we must ask if they do not hear

The wails of a woman who watched her husband fall dead to the ground

After standing in line for days hoping for fuel, praying for kerosene

The anguish of a father who holds the lifeless body of his child

Who died because they couldn't get to a hospital in time

(And one wonders if there would have been a point in going to

A hospital with no medicine and no staff and no electricity)

The sighs of exhaustion, beads of sweat

Of men and women, young and old, packed into buses and trains

Praying it doesn't rain, hoping the streets are not in darkness

Knowing the money in their wallet would only get them through a meal at most

(But what does one do with rotting vegetables, weevil-infested rice

When there is no gas to cook a simple curry or two)

And as we are stripped of what little joy, what little hope we had

As we listen to lie after lie, promises of better days to come

If only we can get through the toughest of weeks that never seem to end

They sit in their air-conditioned rooms, fill their stomachs with the finest food

Laugh and joke about the sorry state of affairs in the country they set fire to

Not a thought given to anyone but themselves