Thursday, May 27, 2021

The Ni-ni's of Columbia

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  WORLD DEMOCRACY


The Ni-nis of Columbia

 

(Ni-ni: neither work nor school)

 

They fill the streets of protest in Columbia

Their numbers are growing in

Chile Argentina Brazil and Mexico

Young people without hope or promise

There are no jobs and those

Who cannot see past the hour

(an hour of hunger and rage)

Have no need of education

They are the disenchanted

They are the disengaged

They have lost faith in institutions

Government has failed them

Democracy has failed them

Free enterprise has failed them

The church has abandoned them

God has betrayed them

 

They have only one endeavor

One remaining purpose in this life

To fill the streets of protest

Day after day

Night after night

 

They feed on hopelessness

They feed on social media

Some say they feed on fake news

But reality is more than sufficient

You cannot beat them into submission

You cannot pound them into hope

 

Your corrupt institutions have failed

To serve the heart of your society

The time has come to step down

Let the next generation take over

Give them a place at the table

Allow them to remake the world

That you have molded in greed

Give them their due or

Face the dismal consequences

 

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