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OIL IS GOLD

 


OIL IS GOLD

(A POEM WRITTEN IN A BANKRUPT COUNTRY)

 

- Kamala Wijeratne (Sri Lanka)

 

Oil is gold

SO it is told

But not believed

For it was burnt

In streetlamps

Along the road

All day long,

 

Worked out in ACs

And fans that turned

Full circle in offices

Where

The tables and chairs basked in glory

Their owners roamed the premises

Paid due respects to the powers that be

Or had a cup of tea

Oil was spent

On neon signs and rich fiestas

On multitudes of cars

Owned by the leaders

Of a bankrupt country

The motherland mortgaged

And signed away as surety

They spill the oil gold on the highways

 

 

****