When my teetotaler father returned from yet another trip abroad, full of promises, I stopped him in the doorway and handed him a poem. Titled My Father Is a Liar, it had won top honors at my school.
You swore never to go out, yet I wait in vain—you lie!
Why sneak in past midnight while Mum and the kids dream away? —you lie!
As the lastborn, I crave your hugs, but foreign trips are your high—you lie!
You pledged desks for a few, yet flooded every school—you lie!
Free education for some became universal—you lie!
Now even your rivals are sleepless—you lie!
You vowed to rid markets of junkies and crime—you lie!
Yet overnight, they vanished—you lie!
What magic formula did you apply? —you lie!
You promised 10,000 jobs but went near 100,000—you lie!
Swore to tame insults, yet only Why Me was arrested—you lie!
What of those who cursed the ex-king at DEC all day? —you lie!
Food security was never in doubt, you claimed—you lie!
Then you sold all reserves, and now shelves are dry—you lie!
Farmers weep while maize ships sail—you lie!
No load-shedding, you boasted, then blackouts grew—you lie!
First, you blamed the ex-king, then the weather too—you lie!
You vowed to cut the exchange rate in 14 hours—you lie!
Yet the kwacha tumbles like a drunken dancer—you lie!
A tiny CDF boost, you promised—you lie!
Then multiplied it a hundred times—you lie!
The ex-king swore he was poor, yet riches he did buy—you lie!
The new king cried he found nothing, yet he spends so high—you lie!
Thank you for being my father!
If anyone sees someone they know—you lie!
