Unprepared

Even when our fathers were not there They penned the edicts on their behalf And decreed how the people should live So, like sheep we followed their lead Hoping for fields of lush pasture Full of dreams where honey drips Noble lies told on the eve of liberation From the strangers’ imperialism did not last We, the people, were unprepared for The freedom obtained without sword Though children waved flags with smiles And the bards sang songs of redemption Deep within, we were not prepared Unlike the neighbours whose blood was shed In the quest to fend off manacles We scrambled for the remnants Left behind by the sojourners And never learnt how to cook the broth The statute was blemished from the beginning Doling out unequal laws to the people Ascribing to each tribe its own destiny Though we never cease to journey Ours has been that of cyclical progress From where the stranger left us Because we were unprepared Though ingredients rut in the storehouse Weary hearts roam the streets united in hunger But their anger is not fiery enough to melt The adhesive that binds together Inheritors of the power We are tired of the untruths that themselves Have reached the age of retirement But we are unprepared to chart that path