Big Brother’s silences
Are truly eloquent
They mean so much more
Than his speeches meant
I could stop right here
And people would know
Exactly how I feel
About Big Bro
But bear with me
Gentle reader, dear
While I go on a bit
(Go grab a beer)
When the trains derailed
And his minions blabbered
Big Brother’s silence
Was like a sword in a scabbard
One would rather deal with a scabbard
Than the sword inside
And that’s why no-one dared say
Big Brother has lied
Can silence lie?
I hear people ask
Big Bro’s silence can:
That is its task
The wrestlers protested
And decibels were high
But Big Brother didn’t utter
So much as a sigh
His silence is total
He weaponises silence
His silence is amazing
His silence is violence
People like us are
Too scared to speak
Nobody dares to
So much as squeak
So silence is the response
To Big Brother’s silence
And, well, both silences really
Are different sorts of violence
In the east of the country
There’s riot after riot
Big Brother’s response:
He just stays quiet
People cry themselves hoarse
Asking him to speak
“Say something, anything, Big Brother
Should we just turn the other cheek?”
Big Brother dresses up
And gets ready to go
He’ll fly to the west
Where they’ll put on a big show
He’ll be welcomed and felicitated
And made much of
He’ll condescend to speak
Perhaps about Beti bachao
Back home his minions
Who are waiting for this
Will say, “Look, Big Bro spoke”
About this non sequitur of his
Between his silence and speech
There’s not much to choose
And whichever he picks
It’s you who will lose
So perhaps if he is silent
You should shout till you are hoarse
And whenever he speaks
You should outshout his roars
What he says needs rebutting
That goes without saying
But his silence, too, needs contradicting
As if he were braying
So step up and speak
As much as you are able
And hopefully, together
We’ll all turn the table