Independence Day

Celebrations rule the air,
This is a period for rejoicing,
Celebrations rent the air,
We have hoisted our flag
Throughout the tortuous road.

Celebrate !
Let us celebrate our flag freedom,
Celebrate !
Let us celebrate our economic bondage.
Beat those drums !
Murder the drums !
Dance the independence dance,
Yes, feast and dance:
No cause for alarm in
This land of the absurd
Where a few green patches thrive
In the scorching desert.
Every year we hire an orchestra
And a choir,
So as to celebrate our hunger:
We have become wealthy beggars,
We have become farmers who starve
In the midst of bountiful harvests,
We have become cowardly generals !
How we are running round in a daze,
Searching for all-cure potions
From foreign witchdoctors:

Our pretty maiden has gone barren,
Our rich soil is consuming all crops,
And hoe was buried with many dreams,
Seasons ago.
But, can the sick cure the sick?
Can the river dam back the ocean?

But must dreams midwife nightmares?
We seek for truth buried in freedom,
We seek to uproot chains masquerading as liberty,
Will happy hopes live again?

The war front calls,
The noise of battle is loud,
And weak hearts must stay by the fireside:
Surgical knives must not miss
The cancerous heart,
The axe must not miss the roots
Of the dying tree.

So let drums beat,
Let flutes play,
Let trumpets blast,
Let cocks crow,
This time,
To herald the new dawn.