People!

People! When are we going to freaking wake up?
Our country reeks of express corruption and fraud
From leaders with ridiculous stories they make up
To malicious clerics who purport to represent God

Folks! When will we recover and open our eyes?
Our nation has been made a global laughing stock
Mentally challenged rulers wallowing in their lies
And impending demise is ticks away on the clock

People! When might we start to liberate our mind?
Our youth have suffered a barrage of false training
We left thinking and speaking for ourselves behind
So only the rich and powerful are the ones gaining

Folks! When may we clear the wax from our ear?
Our courts hear the facts and simply set them aside
So material witnesses are too frightened to appear
Too many conveniently vanish in apparent suicide

People! When will we let prudence be our guide?
Our dignity has been relegated to a mere curiosity
It appears that good and evil can no longer collide
For morality has duly succumbed to every atrocity

Folks! When will we rise and come to our senses?
Our legislature is at the mercy of foreign parasites
We have unwittingly surrendered all our defenses
As we sit idle at the eradication of our civil rights

People! When will we finally admit our descent?
Our Constitution has been repetitively desecrated
Declaration of war devoid of Congress’s consent
And our sacred Bill of Rights purposely violated

Come on! People!

Raji (Roger) Abuzalaf is a Christian Palestinian (Haifa) refugee raised in Houston, now a long-term Honolulu resident and a U.S. citizen. He is a guitarist, singer, composer, and poet. Raji participates in local progressive/activist causes, at present co-producing pro-Palestine filmfare for Oahu’s main cable provider’s public-access TV network. Read other articles by Raji.