Two Voices One Symphony
Karachi, Pakistan
2021, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Location: Makran Coast, Pakistan
A goldfish swims in circles lost in the caverns of a pristine bowl
If it could speak, angry bubbles would spew forth out of control
It flaps against the waves or rather, the absence of them
A depiction of man and why his downfall will stem
Miles away from that bustling city, a village is flailing and helpless
Plunging slowly neck-deep into the water. which is rising and relentless
Constantly plagued by thunderstorms raining down
Tormented and tortured as crops flood and cattle drown
The city folk, with their jaunty ties and polished fishbowls will never understand
The wrath of the sea on a coastal community’s homeland
The coast is their calling; their livelihood; their wealth
The swell of the mighty waves, once their home and their health
The real horrors begin, after the nightmare rains ends
With salt-seeped waters and no profit to spend
Drying wells and sunken hearts they scream as if without a sound
Dry spells and aching body parts; each lick of water is shared around
And the promised relief funds never seem to arrive
so, they carry on with only the will to thrive
Toiling day and night, to earn a daily wage
Boys and girls, working even underage
They lift weathered hands towards the sky
And pray, and pray, and pray, and pray,
But God is not the one withholding their water supply
God is not to blame for their withering lips; crackled and dry
They wonder and wait and think and cry
When will the government realize?
When will water distribution equalize?
Will the city folk always hold on to the water that’s been privatized?
Remain deaf to the mournful song for the prices that they charge too high
Will their taxes ever be used to make pipelines?
Or will they balance someone else’s ledger, all their lives
Will they sit, parched and croaking,
Watching the problem increase in size
Trying to live but barely getting by
Silent sitting ducks,
watching the water rise
Rise
Rise
Location: Flint, USA
Children with lead poisoning are seven times more likely to drop out of school
“Mom, I’m going to college” That’s what so many children said they were going to do
before they became statistics, just numbers in a world so cruel
before the Flint water crisis; drowning in death and disease; Flint became a cesspool
“Mom, I’m going to college”; last words; Amadou Diallo; 1999
Cause of death: gunshot wound
But look around. Your racism doesn’t need a gun to be fatal
It just needs the face of a government that switches the water access of a city
From a clean lake to a lead-polluted river
All to cut corners and make some money
Cash and filthy coins of silver
They changed the city’s water supply
Ignored each wail, each scream, each cry
ignoring the agony of the racial minority
Which was making up the population majority
They ignored the protests of all those who suffered
Just because their skin was colored
How foolish,
A world where water is distributed based on your background and your bank account
And when you demand your god given rights, there is no one who will hear you out
People treat this world like it’s a tall drink of water
Always destined to be half empty;
Some born, to wander thirsty
But it’s time to change that narrative, to rewrite that story
the problem is the supply but also, the distribution
Both are inadequate because of policies as well as pollution
We are to blame but we are also the solution
The true enemy is climate change
these other issues are all manmade
Things like marginalization and discrimination
Weaving our ruinations net
We fight amongst each other
Spilling even the little fresh water we have left
Our disunity will aid our human race
To a painful shameful death
How soon till
it’s the last drink
the last drop
the last breath
Before then
wake up, watch the morning sun rise
Look at your aquarium and see, the captivity of the coastal community dwellers
Feel pity for the village by the raging sea
Feel sorrow for the unfortunate at mankind’s mercy
wake up
Look at the mirror and decide to be the change you want to see
Listen out the window
Listen
Two voices
the same symphony
Reflection
Reflection
My poem is a painful and eye-opening portrayal of how the water crisis is a worldwide problem. I took the example of Pakistan and USA because I am a dual citizen, and I have always felt a close affiliation to both countries. The inspiration for the first voice was based on the tragic coastal floodings of 2010 in Pakistan. Before researching this topic, I had no idea environmental racism existed, and now I cannot stop thinking about it. I chose the Flint water crisis because it intrigued me. I wanted to show what I myself had learned, that racism isn’t always in the form of outright violence, as with the shooting of Amadou Diallo in 1999, but ever-present even in our legal system. After learning about all these problems, I also realized how the water crisis can be dealt with if all of us united our efforts towards ending global warming and towards proper management of water resources. I look forward to giving back to my community and solving this crisis in any way I can.