just like yesterday
the ink on my thumb
vanished
together with manifestos
the crossed ballot papers
had grown into statistics;
they say –
who won, who lost,
who gained and who dropped,
but none says
“who delivers”.
they all blink eyes and move on
as if they’ve grown wings by themselves
to climb statistics.
the skwatta camps are as lousy,
stinky
and crowded with sewerage spills –
just like yesterday;
none that a politician’s tongue could wipe,
but only to be left forgotten
erased within the history of campaigning.
the streets are as calm as caves
in the ghetto, pay me if you see
a subset of politician’s cars again,
pay me if they come knocking
at your door for rescue, pay me
if no load-shedding tie your hands
just like few weeks before elections,
drive me around the world on a free hike
if no petrol prices hikes.
I would like to sing a praise song about post elections
a song that would speak less about the election day
a song that would speak more about the flowers
that comes with it,
but my lips remains
sewed,
because no song about elections
had ever made the difference since 1994.
Nkwana Joshua Serutle is a poet and performer, who was born and raised outside Burgersfort in a small village called Ga-Kgwete. His work draws more attention on the streets and shifting paradigms on social issues. In 2017 he enrolled at Mzansi Poetry Academy to enhance his writing skills. Some of his highlights in 2017 include being on theTop 10 finalists for Leleme La Mme poetry competition. He won the CSP 2018 Open Slam King of the Mic. His poems had been published on Poetry Potion, Odd Magazine, Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Anthology Vol 8, MuseIndia, Avbob Poetry Competition and Africa Best “New” Poets Anthology 2018.