Monday, January 13, 2025

Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep

 
Angry people marching with strike signs.

 "March On" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
 
 

Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep

In the heart of the islands, where turquoise seas sing,
The people dream of justice, of a fairer, better thing.
But year by year, the cycles repeat,
Promises made, but never complete.

I. The Golden Words
Campaign banners line the streets, vibrant and tall,
Voices thunder in halls, hope rebounding off every wall.
“Jobs for the youth! Schools that inspire!
Hospitals equipped, and the wages higher!”

Their lips drip honey, their words gilded with gold,
The people clap and cheer, young and old.
For every tear, they offer a dream,
But dreams, we learn, are not what they seem.

II. Election Day
The ballots drop, the people choose,
A mandate of faith, but still, they lose.
The ink on promises barely dries,
Before they crumble, buried in lies.

For where are the schools, the bright new plans?
The hospitals promised to heal the land?
The jobs for the youth, the oceans restored?
The promises fade like waves on the shore.

III. The Quiet After
In the Houses of Parliament, the talk grows thin,
The same old excuses, the games begin.
The coffers are bare; the time’s not right,
They preach patience by day, then party by night.

But how do you ask a mother to wait,
When her child goes hungry, denied by fate?
Or tell a father to hope for reprieve,
When he works three jobs, and still can’t believe?

IV. The Shadow of Corruption
Behind closed doors, the whispers grow loud,
Deals are made far from the crowd.
Projects stall, the funds go astray,
Development halted, the people must pay.

The roads remain riddled with potholes and cracks,
While leaders build mansions and turn their backs.
The sea walls crumble, the tides encroach,
The leaders offer silence, no answers approach.

V. The People's Cry
Oh, politicians, in your ivory towers,
Have you forgotten the Bahamian flowers?
The workers, the dreamers, the voices so small,
Who trusted you once to answer their call?

Don’t make promises you can’t keep,
Don’t sow the seeds if you won’t reap.
For every lie, the people grow wise,
They see the truth behind your disguise.

VI. A New Dawn?
Yet hope lingers on these Bahamian isles,
Amidst the sorrow, the tears, the trials.
For the people are strong, their spirits unbowed,
And their voices will rise, fierce and proud.

One day, perhaps, the leaders will learn,
That trust is not something easily earned.
For when they promise, they must deliver,
Or be swept away, like sands in the river.

VII. The Closing Plea
So to those who stand on podiums high,
Remember the salt air, the people’s cry.
Think of the islands you vowed to defend,
And the trust you must keep until the end.

For a broken promise is like a reef that dies,
The waves crash over, but the beauty flies.
And in its place, the waters grow deep—
So don’t make promises you can’t keep.

 
 ©A. Derek Catalano/ChatGPT
 
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