The Political Circus

The Circus Begins

Crowd gathering-in to hear speech of their politician

Democracy or dictatorship, it's always about sustenance

Nation's pride is but a false pretense

Right wing or Left wing, take a second glance
Ideologies are hypocrisies sugar-coated to finesse

They care for you is what they always pretend
Brainwashing gullible minds to meet own ends

Rhetoric and clichés though meant for the political class
Insensitivity to the citizens brushed aside as faux pass

But opinions are divided, and the truth has a cost
More like saying one politician is evil, other is not

Either way, whoever gets the power wouldn't want to lose it
That's where the corruption—then they just abuse it


Elections then come along like a big bang
Hyped as a change we crave, though never fully comprehend

But once done, it's a different game—a different day
All gets lost in what was yesterday

Electoral promises soon become yesterday's talk
New dreams being force-fed, and new paths we need to walk

Pumping and chest thumping—for a new nation, we are told
Pretty much same old junk, just repackaged as gold

With great powers though comes even a greater responsibility
But what does a leader do when there's no accountability?


Every resource gets aptly utilized and there lies the irony
Despite what it looks, this is what they call turnkey-tyranny

Soon the government into sniffing mode
From phones to television—payables and even what's in one's refrigerator

Diktat on media-content, the cancel-culture and bans
This moral policing mere conservative farce, for selective ends

Taxes just got hefty, but that's not what was told
Unnecessary hullabaloo created and the idea just got sold


The news is always breaking even though nothing's broken
Judiciary punishing criminals with conscientious tokens

The prime-time debates are only cacophony
Pushing narratives—no less than phony

Buffoonery and Jingoism have set new benchmarks
Hashtags keep trending and trolls walking the talk


Once foot soldiers, now cavalcades
The corrupted now own enclaves

While society continues to remain enslaved
Into customs so archaic and this hyper-sensitive craze

Nationalism being preached by those that disrespect the flag
Won't take any names, for it's a fact

Fight against black money is on slippery grounds
While demonetization woes are still echoing around


Terrorism still hasn't gone down
While soldiers are still being gunned down

Prostitution still illegal, but brothels operate openly
Pimps of flesh trade targeting poor and lonely

Cows are definitely safer—women are not

Rape—now a cliché, but vigilantism is hot


The reserved filling up for the deserved
Talent pool just can't be preserved

Zealots in town have all got promoted
While certain affiliations have got others booted


Intolerance now on the rise, fueled by bigotry and sectarian divide
And crooks roaming everywhere, as wolves in disguise

Heinous crimes, even massacres and genocides—now have new labels
Morals and righteousness—all faded into fables

Killing in the name of religion was never considered abnormal
Doing it on pretext of phobia though seems to be the new normal


Contrary to reality—utopia being served on the platter
Our opinions, they don't even matter

Just praises all around without an ounce of understanding
Madness and euphoria, critique not withstanding

Eventually it all comes down to scoring brownie points
Whether loudmouths or those sycophant joints


Some call it upliftment, some call it uprising—while some say it's just temperament rising
Whatever be the case, we are purged while they're thriving.

© 2018 Ashutosh Joshi