Tobi: The Cowards in the Hut

The opulence
Frightens me-
Masks of fear
Covered by rich brown talc
And designer labels

The trendy suits
Cost me-
More than a glance
More than a wish

Your fat pockets
Scare me-
A legendary sign
Of rituals, of conceit
And ignorance

Your brightly coloured hats
Blind me-
The frippery
Makes me tremble
So shallow! So shallow!

Your majestic mansions
Do not deceive me-
Inside, there's no care
Only greed
Only pain

We are not blinded by the glint
Of your diamond watch
Or the fat
In your aging bellies

We see your hearts
Full of maggots
And ambition

We are not deceived
We, hiding here in our mud huts
We are not deceived

Notes:
This poem is about how we are happy to sit idly in the face of oppression and corruption. It was inspired by a Martin Luther King Junior quote vis: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed'. But we, the oppressed are quite happy to wallow in our poverty and trials, while castigating the 'oppressors' in our bedrooms. We hide our voices in our mud huts, seeing - but dumb!