Garth Rattray | Reading this is a total waste of time

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Nothing that has been penned has prevented any crime.

Nothing that has been written has righted any wrong,

Not one single change of heart, it’s been futile all along.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

All the words, pleading and cajoling have not dissolved institutional grime.

Cantankerous, cliquish, complicit, conspirators, continue coveting,

Perfidious, pandering, pedantic politicians prolong pontificating.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

The future that they secure is theirs, it’s not yours and it’s not mine.

Society’s ills are everywhere, they are very plain to see,

If you make a fuss, you expose yourself, so most say, let it be.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Hard-working, innocent citizens are being cut down in their prime.

The police are doing all that they can, but there’s just so much that they can do,

Social inequities and disenfranchisement are restocking the deadly crew.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Indiscipline is all about and it’s spreading like malodorous slime.

There are simple ways to deal with it but the measures they will not take,

Perhaps their promises of a better society are empty, only fake.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Corruption has infiltrated our core, but people are silenced like mime.

If self-sacrifice would save our country, their lives they might give,

But what’s the use if nothing comes of it and the evil continues to live?

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Autocracies within institutions, from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Atrocities occur anywhere, any time of day or night,

Citizens live in fear, worrying about their plight.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

When people no longer trust those in charge, our death knell doth chime,

When news of mistakes, misdeeds, and misappropriations abound,

The longer they remain unresolved, the longer they take to turn around.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Sanctities of homes destroyed; it has become the modern-day paradigm.

People can construct whatever they want, next door, right beside you,

Don’t bother to complain, you’ll be confused, confounded, and rejected too.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Honesty and truth are now shunned and treated as the sourest lime.

It’s no longer about what’s good or bad or right or wrong that counts,

It’s all about connections, power, and the money in your bank accounts.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

The silent, surreptitiously, spreading anarchy is like a corrosive enzyme.

There’s hardly any accountability, civil servants are rarely brought to book,

For funds that fall outside the public coffers, taxpayers are left on the hook.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Gunmen terrorise communities for no reason and no rhyme.

And when they’ve found their gumption to kill, we will never know why,

They terrorise the nation, to slaughter fellow citizens, they are not shy.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Orange and green flags fly high and proud but none of them is benign.

Many sins of commission and of omission lay beneath their feet,

Finger pointing leads to divisiveness, our country needs one heartbeat.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Aggression, violence, and hate, it seems to them we must resign.

Until we get down in the trenches and work side by side,

With our poor and suffering abandoned class from violence we cannot hide.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

You know that things are bad when your life isn’t worth a dime.

Enough is not being done to restore respect for one another,

We have a very far way to go before we treat each man as our brother.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Citizens breaking laws and doing whatever they want is a very bad sign.

We always begin zero tolerance campaigns, but then there is a long pause,

We must maintain control of society by consistent enforcement of the laws.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Allowing our fragile ecology to be destroyed is simply asinine.

They’re building here and there, and deforesting without enough care,

Obviously, the heat, prolonged droughts, and failing crops illicit no fear.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

They are focusing on the big things, while underestimating the fine.

But from little things big things come, we must never lose sight,

Of the little things, we must take care, and for them we must fight.

There’s no point in reading this because it’s a total waste of time,

Important projects are getting done, but not everything is divine.

Many things are being left behind, essential though they be,

Ignoring them will only blight our future, just you wait, and you will see.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com