Civil Servant Poem by Daniel Trevelyn Joseph

Proposed as new Chief Secretary
By his predecessor: the new
Chief Minister when I met him in Delhi
Says, “ I’ll let you know “.
He thinks, “He is perhaps good,
But he belongs to the S.P. camp”.
Never does he get back
I read in papers about the appointment.
Balance of power is shifting
Certainly not in favor of bureaucrats
Who cannot help in devious ways.

XYZ meets me, very friendly,
And says “Don’t accept the offer
That is coming your way
To be the head of that Institution”.

Somebody else, maybe more fitting, gets it;
Time passes swiftly, I am out of Government
Sitting at home, superannuated
With no offer from State.

Then, my Minister from Centre drops in at my home
And requests on his own that I be the Advisor,
Changes headquarters to where I live,
Floors the family, I accept the offer.

XYZ has grown up in public life,
Along with me, knows me since 1972,
As a straight civil servant
Tough and responsive, resolving problems.
But then, thinks “What is the use?
He does good to everyone, or says no to all;
Doesn’t do anything special
For my people. Farewell.”

No regrets. PPP is up-and-coming,
This mode searches for experience,
Business is growing, and civil servants
Are useful in more than one way.
Where one would have helped
In policy-making, affecting millions,
Now the civil servant helps to make
Millions for the private developer.

Yeah, but does that make difference?
Values keep changing;
Power is to make money,
And dispense favors to do that.
Civil servants have also to adapt
In a maturing democracy;
If that is how people bend,
He has to make do with what sways.

And yet, if he can say yes or no,
And convince people in power
That it is in their and voters’ interest,
He can be happy he has done his best.

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