Watch: ‘Dear Malta, We’re Tired’ – Local Creator Goes Viral With Powerful Poem ‘From The Heart’
A local creator has gone viral after posting a video with stunning visuals of the Maltese Islands… but which also includes some stern words for the place he calls home.
“This came from the heart,” Johann Agius (known online as @iminheresaveme) wrote three days ago, sharing a poem in Maltese addressed to “dear Malta”. In the poem, Agius laments the loss of the islands’ natural environment, the overly-fast-paced modern lifestyle that we’ve sadly become accustomed to, and the “anger, anxiety, and stress” which follow many people around.
With over 100,000 views on Facebook in mere hours, along with another 72.2k views on TikTok and 85k views on Instagram, the poem resonated deeply with many, capturing the collective frustrations and sentiments of the Maltese people.
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Here’s the English translation of the poem:
Dear Malta,
we’re tired.
Green became grey
and grey is our lives.
Catching our breath
with heavy shoulders,
hope continues to disappear.
A tree in a square is excessive,
but another concrete tower we can take.With buildings rises our cost of living,
which has now escaped our grasp
because we can no longer keep up with it.
Cars more than humans,
and humans more than flowers.
Love for money has become blind,
with leaders lacking vision.Anger
Anxiety
Stress
Instead of being the exception,
these are now the norm for all of us.
Everyone is at fault,
but no one takes the blame.
This jewel in the middle of the Mediterranean
is dirty and cracked.
Dear Malta,
what’s left?
Perhaps a flight,
but this time one-way.
Yesterday, Agius returned to social media, reflecting on the unexpected reaction to his recent video.
“These last 24 hours have been a total surprise,” he wrote. “Even though what I wrote came from the heart, I definitely was not expecting such an enormous and immediate response to the video that I posted yesterday.”
“It’s quite bittersweet how many people agreed with and related to my words, including Maltese people who now live abroad,” Agius continued. “But at the same time, I hope that this helps us all feel less alone in the midst of so much frustration.”
“For now I have nothing else to say,” he concluded, reflecting on the power of being true to yourself. “What I will conclude with is that I realised how impactful honesty can be.”
This afternoon, Johann returned to social media, not only celebrating the fact that his poem had amassed dozens upon dozens of thousands of views across different platforms (even breaking through the 100k on Facebook), but also about the “irony” of having a number of politicians resharing words from his poem without giving him credit.
“While I appreciate that my words were liked by so many people, I would also appreciate it if the simple credit I deserve is also given,” he finished.
What do you make of this powerful poem?
Cover Image Right Photo by Lindsey Bahia