Bitter Need
who decided to take this course
one gets lost so easily here
among spongers and criminals
help which by default fails
being present manifold
strangers come and go
mocking in this robbed land
and those who do stay
are far gone anyway
deeming to be free of stains
a king without a throne
seeing gems in grains
followed by hundreds of virgins
all hoping for a foreign ring
for what they willingly bend
even while aids is threatening
hunger and greed stop questioning
why all norms are fading
gumption is painfully lacking
as long as foreign money rolls
lemons being sold for gold
the screw grasping a child’s hand
moral can’t hold its stand
while false dollars swirl in the streets
police is engaged in foul deals
power is about enriching oneself
murders take place out of greed
a wasp’s nest in which all courage slips
this country living of kickback and gifts
About this poem
Published in Dutch in "Op de ruïnes van een rijk", 2008 (60 poems reflecting experiences in Cambodia)
Font size:
Submitted by ludy_b on October 08, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 9 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXXXA XBCCDXD XEXE EE EXABB XXXX XX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 840 |
Words | 153 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 7, 4, 2, 5, 4, 2 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Bitter Need" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/111627/bitter-need>.
Discuss the poem Bitter Need with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In