The following poem by Navjyot Kaur won the third prize of Fifteen Thousand Rupees in Wingword Poetry Competition 2022

There is a barren land

Void of nerve, nurture and virtue

Dry to its core

Hollowed by its crime of apathy

Vacant of blood, liberty and fire

Its guardian

The parasites of power

Force-feed pandemic narratives of truth

And tall tales of terror

Driving dependance, fear and submission

Into desperate minds and paralysed mouths

“Hush now little ones, you are protected”

From their custom cloak of authority

They camouflage and veil

Spineless they rise and claw

Feeding upon the censored dreams of the masses

The eyes of monstrous greed devour

These anti-Gods feast upon dried spirits and dread

Spreading clinical dialogue, generic sermons

The perfect power pill for obedience and control

“Made with Universal Love” for the sterile and subdued

And “The Solution” for a problem that never was

The land of the spiritless lies unawakened

Their callings abandoned by the monotony of their doing

And dying and doing and dying and doing

They crucify and tear the flesh of their depressed and withered pain

For they no longer bleed

Self-destruction their only approved pleasure

An emblem of endorsement and pride

“ Hail the half life !

For it sings of wealth, fortune and bondage

To the rhythm of currency, capital and crime

Hail the half life ”

Upon the torn landscape breath is denied

Only collective sighs form the hymn of the hostage

Sung by limp souls

“ Hush now little ones

Keep craving

Keep needing

Keep fearing

Keep hating

Keep needing

Don’t you cry, trust in me,

For the era of denial will father your misery

Will engineer the magical formula

Of instant pleasure, instant dreams, instant truth ”

The dutiful dose of demise, fear and malice

Death on the dotted line

Engineered by The Authority of Greed

Administered by The Protector

Do not ask why

Do not ask

Do not.

About the poet

Navjyot is a poet of Indian origin, born in the UK and living in rural France. She writes poetry that digs deep within the individual to shine a light upon and reveal one's inner landscape, bringing the sub-conscious into the conscious mind. Her spiritual path is her guiding compass to bring transformation of the Self and deep-seated change into the world. This is is profoundly felt within her poetry.

Her poetry has been published in Kindred Spirit Magazine, ROAR Feminine Rising Magazine and Braided Way as well as stage performances across Europe including the Brighton Fringe Festival, England's largest arts festival, the Antic Teatre in Barcelona and others. With an active spirituality at its heart, her words and imagery question, prompt and most certainly empower and will never leave you indifferent.