Dr. Roopali’s poem, on a socio-economic issue, sharpens the North-South divide. An exclusive for Different Truths.

Ask and thou shalt receive, they said
and turned me away at the door
the Holy Book had lied
I now look for morsels on the floor.

Bring me your hungry and your poor 
She held out the lamp of liberty.
But the immigration officer laughed
and said he really had no such memory. 
He stamped a NO on my passport
and turned me away saying “No More!”

Every night huddled and hungry
I had dreamt of a fairy land
and now the place of milk and honey
is only a castle of sand.

The Congressman from Florida screamed
“These wretched refugees will snatch our bread
We just cannot let them in.”

The billionaire guests at his campaign
sipped champagne
and nodded their heads.
as they merrily nibbled black caviar                                                                
on paper thin slices of bread.

Visuals by Different Truths

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.

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