Pawns in a Rigged Game
by Paulette Beatrice T. Malicay
I’m just a voter, one among many.
A name on a list, a thumbprint on a ballot.
They tell me my voice matters,
That I hold the power to change.
But how can that be true?
In a system where the rich preside
Over a system where the poor are denied?
How can that be true,
In a system where money speaks louder than votes,
Where influence is bought, not earned,
Where leadership is a prize (that’s) rarely discerned.
This is a rigged system, a crooked game,
A spectacle of power,
This is a puppet show.
In this country, they say, “Vote wisely,”
But how can I vote wisely
When are the votes already sold?
When candidates walk on stages like its a runaway,
Dressed in power, not purpose to actually serve
Just mere show-offs in suits.
Winning not because they care but because they’re heard.
Influential, not insightful,
Masters of appearance but strangers to change.
But what about the ones who rise for the poor?
The ones who come with dirt on their hands,
With hearts worn heavy from the weight of struggles,
Who speak for the voiceless, and fight for the forgotten?
They stand on the same stage,
But society doesn’t hear them—
Because their speeches aren’t paid for.
These are the leaders who lose.
Not because they lack vision,
But because they lack the shine that society demands.
Running for the poor, but losing to the rich.
Their purpose is pure,
But the game was never fair.
What about the poor that are just mere pawns of the game of the rich
Moved around, Sacrificed,
While politicians sit safe behind their walls,
Making policies that never touch them,
But cut the poor deep.
And when the rich makes a policy,
It’s not for the poor,.
It’s not for the poeple.
It was built to keep them in power,
To keep us in our place.
I am just a voter, one among millions,
Drowning in the noise of campaign slogans and empty voices.
They tell me, “Trust the system”.
But how can I trust it
When the candidates I see dont represent me?
This is not a democracy,
Not when the power is concentrated
In the hands of a few,
Not when the poor—the majority—
Are given no real choice,
No real representation.
It’s a game rigged from the start,
And we are the collateral damage.
I am just a voter,
But I refuse to be just a pawn.
But to demand a system
That truly serves the people
I raise my voice,
In a chorus of change,
For equality, for justice,
For a future that includes everyone.
