Poetry

Strike, call a strike
Gung-ho!
Clamour, clamour, clamour
Acuteness trails behind
Listen, listen, listen
Everyone runs away
Silence looms large
Strike, strike now…
Clash, lathi charges
Tear gas. Clashes.
Listen, listen, listen
Everyone runs away
Silence looms large
 
Hospitals are shut down
Doctors, nurses and others demand
RAISE in wages
CUT in working hours
 
At present the working hours
Are T-O-O  L-O-N-G!
Four hours a day!
And wages too small
Ten thousand per day!
Now they demand salary
To be paid in advance
Well before the month begins
And recess to be altered with working hours
They’d work only in between
During tea breaks and lunch period
Patients are writhing in pain
Some have schedule for operations
Some need immediate attention
Some have broken heart, some broken bones
Strike, strike, strike
They cannot operate or attend
Until their demand is met
 
Strike, strike, strike
Until some patients die
They do not see a ray of hope
So some must sacrifice their life
 
Strike, strike, strike
Listen, listen, listen
Everyone runs away
Silence looms large.

Source: The Applicant