campaigners climbed on rooftops
preaching & proclaiming
the Gospel according to
their party manifestos,
promising the poor of the poorest
imminent wealth and good health
where jobs would drop from heaven
like manna,
where every citizen
would put bread
on their tables,
where the elderly
and children
would get fat grants,
where unemployed youth
would harvest
lots and lots of jobs
the wise ‘spiders’ spun a web of lies
to catch voters like careless flies
swirling in circles in voting stations,
they spread message of hope to all citizens,
‘Vote for us, we’d build heaven on earth for you!’
as usual,
they stood on
snaking queues
like leaf blade carrying ants
to make their mark
on ballot paper
that would open
the gates of heaven
or revolving door
of hell!
ballots dropped
into ballot boxes
like a nation of bees
carrying nectarine grains
to bake honeycombs
of better future
or sting voters
who stirred the
their nest
and grabbed
the Queen bee
by her
stout tail!
within ballot boxes
ballots swarmed
like bees scrambling
and humming like
contesting choristers
on the voting stage(stations)
where some made a mark
to keep afloat like Noah’s Ark
and others dared enthroning
their own oppressors
who drag their lives
through the mud
of poverty!
votes were counted,
voters have spat their voices
ANC and DA
should share the bed
like newly wedded couple
on honeymoon night
they should pull
together like a donkey
and a mule
and take our nation
to the promised land
flowing with milk
and honey!
can a donkey
and Brahman ox
pull the plow
in harmony
and till political
field?
let’s wait patiently
for the bees to assemble
in parliament where
special security guards
protect the ‘Queen Bee’
on his throne
when red Ants
in ‘Red Berets’
want to bite and
topple him
off the throne!
campaigners’ voices died
in electioneering marathon
Amos Tebeila is a published poetry and novel author residing in Middelburg, Mpumalanga province.