Starting on a clean slate so late
Is chalk and cheese on a dirty plate
Where they canvass popular votes
Not to self-uplift
But to undress old wounds
To settle old scores
Like thumbing a lift to hijack
The good Samaritan
In a banana republic of public transport
Towing companies cause bloody accidents
On purpose
Your loss is their traffic gain
Over and above the ones they’ve slain
No one held accountable
There’s a race riot on sheet street
And paranoia is skin colour wearing thin
Neighbours for centuries
But no common ground
Past masters and mistresses live in caravans
Permanently camping in theme parks
The rich are poor
We are all equal under the law
Mbongeni Khumalo: Author of poetry collection apocrypha