The Earth Song Featuring Global News

Prelude: 

Don’t need a dollar or dime,

and one can still find

Love and bliss,

or whatever you miss

Take a walk with me

It’s the land of the free

Freedom to do, 

freedom to be

When it rains,

it can pour incessantly

And teardrops don’t count, 

won’t be noticed really

Beyond the silhouette cloud,

when the sun lights up the sky

The tiny droplets unveil,

kaleidoscopic colours so bright…

From the deep dark woods
you can hear the voices:

“What a beautiful day,

there’s a rainbow in the sky

Rain has washed away all sins,

and the sun now shines”

Global News:

Ray went downtown one day 

with his kids in tow

Not your blue-eyed boy 

but ya, was a joly good bloke

The little ones were happy

with a visit to the toy shop

And Ray had always liked 

the drive to Sunset Boulevard

He could see the cop car

in the rearview mirror

And then the wailing sirens

asked to pull over

Made to step out,

Ray was frisked to the bone

“Is there a problem officer?”

Was answered with an odious grin

The blue uniform men

and their prejudice

Might be having a bad day,

and they could hardly resist

Suspicious activity

are the charges pressed

And the color of your skin 

can be reason enough

Guardians of the public

with their wisdom profound

Hammered and nailed

the ‘suspect’ to the ground

“I can’t breathe”,

were the last words uttered

But hey, it’s the call of duty

Dare you call it a murder…

Hallelujah!

Met my guardian angel 

underneath the rainbow…

And from the deep dark woods

you can still hear them sing:

“What a beautiful day,

there’s a rainbow in the sky

Rain has washed away all sins,

and the sun now shines”

Ali’s story O Brother 

is rather strange

He’s a native 

of thy holy land

Poets and bards 

ever since long ago

Enamored of the beauty 

of the place so pure

So many times 

has been it’s story told

Ballads and fables 

that never grow old

But hey!

Ali’s life is no fairytale

Mind you!

His hands are empty 

and face so pale

On the dark hallowed 

canvas of life

Brutal strokes 

of a violent strife

Paint a picture 

from blood and tears

It’s a far-cry 

from what many revere

It’s always been 

a constant struggle

While Ali slogs it out 

to put food on the table

The mighty have been fighting 

a bigger battle

Who owns the riches, 

who frames the law

To be the rightful heir, 

it’s been a vicious draw

Ali’s only son 

died in this commotion

Shot in the eye 

without any provocation

I can tell you,

from what I’ve seen

Ali’s never been 

the zealot kind

If you spend some time

and dig a little deeper, 

then maybe you’ll find

Just a regular guy 

with a heart and soul

Dreams of Shangri-La 

as he gets old…

Rise up and rejoice for

the truth is revealed

What the rainbow 

keeps concealed…

And the voices continue

you can hear them sing:

“What a beautiful day,

there’s a rainbow in the sky

Rain has washed away all sins,

and the sun now shines”

New Orb has been hailed

as the third world’s Tinseltown

Home to the rich and famous,

here opportunities abound

Its high-rises testify

how many dreams came true

I’ve made my millions here

and so can you

The stars lay obscured

by the grey toxic haze

And the denizens zip around

starkly unfazed

Underneath, Inaya endured 

yet another sleepless night

Languishing behind bars

But she won’t 

give up the fight

Misogyny and patriarchy 

has been the order of the day

But then sometime back, 

jingoism also entered the fray

Turns out, it’s a heady mix

for the bigoted lot

Home run for the politicos, 

when they took a shot

A bunch of regressive new laws 

were thus then framed

For those who oppose, 

severe punishment 

has been duly ordained

In the garb of saviors, 

when predators 

prowl around the land

To survive, 

you know, 

one ought to take a stand

As they say, a blind man 

cannot tell black and white

But the rational few 

always know what is right

When some vulnerable 

and few sane like Inaya

launched a protest

The wind echoed 

the songs of

fair play and righteousness

The regime

barely lost any time 

in taking their gloves off

Repression begun 

with the legislation 

that’s shamefully grotesque

In the name of law 

some were killed,

and a few got maimed 

Inaya was lucky to survive, 

but not all of her now remains

Been incarcerated and charged 

with rioting and sedition

Whatever happened

to the nation’s conscience

When parasites rule the roost

in the republic of hypocrisy

Then truth and justice 

are like chalk and cheese…

It’s all legal, 

please don’t ask me how

I wanna see 

the virtue of the rainbow now…

From the deep dark woods

you can still hear their voices:

“What a beautiful day,

there’s a rainbow in the sky

Rain has washed away all sins,

and the sun now shines”

Epilogue:

When ‘Big Brother’, the magician

casts it’s mighty spell

Misdirection at play,

hard for eyes to tell

The truth lies beneath,

under the sheets

Unless it blows in your face,

it doesn’t matter really

All you hear, 

and all you see

It’s all just make-believe

Inflated egos, 

diminished humanity

So far away 

from reality

Freedom and the rainbow

Facade! 

Charade!

Just like ‘The Truman Show’…

In the deep dark woods

they continue to croon:

“What a beautiful day,

there’s a rainbow in the sky

Rain has washed away all sins,

and the sun now shines”

– Pushpender Rathee