Poetry

Before the Flood

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Yahya Naqvi

Before the flood that covered the nation two thirds there was a flood of empty words. Broken promises and broken hearts. A flood of tears from the shore to the frontier caught off guard, dreams submerged.

Yahya Naqvi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the flood
That covered the nation two thirds
There was a flood of empty words
Broken promises and broken hearts
A flood of tears from the shore to the frontier
Caught off guard, dreams submerged
From Kashmiri mountains to where rivers merged
Near Parachinar, where betrayal emerged
Before the nation was covered two thirds
Before the flood

 

We had already drowned
We were dead inside
Just hadn’t been put in the ground
We heard slogans of Islam all around
Yet every where the train stopped
Every village you found
Feudal lord oppressive systems
Set up by the British crown

 

Before tides of the monsoon
Every time we saw the Eid moon
Fathers bought kids brand new clothes
But wallets became thinner as inflation rose
So we bargained and bartered ’till the stores closed
Mothers sold their gold to get their daughters married
And everyone showed up when a loved one was buried

 

Until slavery to our corrupt leaders became so hard
Those products of bribery didn’t hold the honest in high regard
So we drowned in memories of yesterday
As we prayed for a better tomorrow

 

Those traitors called Prime Ministers didn’t notice our plight
America and Russia bought them out right
Merciless murderers, abandoned their people, disobeyed their Lord
They bought villas in Dubai and London and a piece of bread we couldn’t afford
Widows and orphans begged on  streets, as they cashed foreign rewards

 

They sold their souls and left us to suffer
So we drowned in our grief as times only got tougher
As we slept, they schemed and sold our dreams
So we drowned in exploitation flowing downstream
In the heap of our rulers’ oppression
We drowned in sorrows and depression
We raise money for an actual flood today
But we had drowned in bills with no salary to pay

 

Before the flood
That covered the nation two thirds
There was a flood of empty words
Broken promises and broken hearts
A flood of tears from the shore to the frontier
Caught off guard, dreams submerged
From Kashmiri mountains to where rivers merged
Near Parachinar, where betrayal emerged
Before the nation was covered two thirds
Before the flood

 

Dedicated to the neglected citizens of Pakistan

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