The Government Which Ran Away

The Government Which Ran Away

 

 

They Said they defeated, the virus,

Wallowing in assumed assumptions.

It was like a seasonal flu after all,

Or so they thought.

 

The virus was back with vengeance,

the promised hospital bed, never found.

People gasped for one last breath,

But the oxygen and ventilator never came.

 

Pillar to post they ran,

Seeking the saving drug.

In markets black and white,

They were fleeced of savings, loved ones.

 

Those who could afford,

Cremated their dead.

Those who couldn’t,

Surrendered the departed, to rivers.

 

They gave away the vaccines,

Saying we don’t need them.

There is enough for everyone now,

Or so they say.

 

The high and mighty, our rulers,

Ran away from the battlefield.

Now they are back, claiming victory

Lies and deceit, all over again.

 

 Dedicated to the Indian Government

 

 Siddharth Sehgal

Siddharth Sehgal is a poet, writer and editor of Indian Periodical. His poem The Himalayas was nominated for the Best of the Net Poetry Prize, 2021