Bye-bye Bubu
The awesome thing
About a crisis
Is that it highlights
One's capabilities.
Some sink.
But others
Thrash about
Swallow murky water
Then rise triumphantly
To the surface
And swim like their lives
Depend on it.
Gentoo penguins
For instance
Waddle along rock faces
Stiff and clumsy on webbed feet.
Hitting water, however
They move at speeds unequalled
By other diving birds.
In their comfort zones,
Their senses are heightened
And their handiwork optimized.
Despots and their cronies
On the other hand
Are more often than not
Stuck in the distant past
Of their glory days.
They look in the mirror
And only see their younger
Dashing, more agile selves
Dapper in uniform
Or three piece suit.
The lines blur, and
Suddenly
70 is the new 40
And with it new opportunities
To subjugate at will.
Those whippersnappers
Will definitely have
To wait their turn.
But this is where
The best laid plans
Fall apart.
Forget to factor in
The digital age
At your peril.
With smartphones, SIM cards
Solar panels & bitcoin
Whippersnappers
Rule the world.
Nineteen eighty four
The year of WAI.
Twenty twenty
The year of COS.
Cos when we hummed
You hawed us away.
When we cleared our throats
You let hunger
Paralyse our vocal chords.
And now that we've
Finally found our voices
You try to silence us
With a hail of bullets.
Game over?
Think again.
Because
The other awesome thing
About a crisis
Is that it shows
One's true colours.
Your punctilious speech
Coupled with the
Supercilious look on your face
Told us everything
We needed to know.
So, bye-bye Benevolent-Bubu-Bear
Welcome back Bubu-the-Bully.
You can breathe now that
The mask has slipped.
The Western world is aghast
The millenials are in shock
But we baby boomers
Have been expecting you.
True to form
You spoke like a man
Longing to shed
The feeble body
Old age endows
Reminding all and sundry
That you hold the power.
You say you hear us
Loud and clear?
Roger that, Bubu!
#5for5
Done and dusted?
Five by Five!!
Let the real games begin.