Zama Madinana
we sunbathe our hopes
at traffic lights
we are all zama-zama here
we dig & drill
our chances
we are all here
with our genocidal scars
tutsi & hutu
we seek for warmth
between the great rocks
of the drakensberg mountain
we all here to wash
our wounds
from the healing waters
of uthukela
we are all here
bathed in grey dust
of johannesburg’s deserted
mines
we are all here
with our tattered
dignity
scrubbing
the dance floors
of hillbrow brothels
with our big bums
we are all here
with no passport
no id
& no asylum
funerals
here in ladysmith
rifles cough out
angry
waves of fire
coffins befriend
the weekends
o, taxi wars that never end
& taverns
are homes of violence
here in ladysmith
whoonga addicts
ravage & mutilate
grannies’ private parts
