NEITHER A LENDER NOR A BORROWER
BE
(A POEM WRITTEN IN A BANKRUPT COUNTRY)
- Kamala Wijeratne
(Sri
Lanka)
O wise Shakespeare, you knew how
Penury walks hand in hand with the debtor
And we to our cost have learnt
Too late in the darkening day
, We have had the good life
On money borrowed on penal terms
It was good while it lasted
Like the female frog
WE SWELLED AND SWELLED
On gold cast before us
As before swine,
We ran to pick the pieces
And wallowed in the mud
Of vainglory
Now the payback time has come
And we like the swine
Sink deeper and deeper in the bog
And wait for the slaughter
That will surely come
****