Young Africans
Chanted and toyi-toyied
Down the streets of Sharpville
With anger spilling over
As their blood boiled
For the right to equal education
The right to not be taught in Afrikaans
And the right to privileged education
Harvested by merely fair skins
Like trapped birds they lived
Their daily lives uncertain
Of what tomorrow held for them
Apartheid police bullied them
Hissing bullets kissed them deeply
Blood gushed from gaping gun wounds
Some losing their lives in these atrocities
Young people
Ran down the streets
Fighting live bullets
With mere stones
As heartless police
Got trigger happy
Soldering leads into
The skins of innocent youth
Who fought for the right
To equal education system
Young blood was spilled
To water the Freedom tree
For today’s generation
To harvest a better education
Necessary for black and white child
Colourblind to race and language
Where are human rights
When a white skin
Never smile with black skin?
Where are human rights
When a white skin
Still bullies black skin?
Where are human rights
When learners still go to school
On empty tummies
And sleep in classes like mummies?
Where are human rights
When children’s rights
Are trampled upon by elephants
Who only dose in our parliament
Awaiting their fat salaries?
Human rights are a luxury good
For those who live under
The black skins
And a privilege for those
Living under the white skins
We talk of equal rights
As some enjoy the light
While others roam in the night
With no star of hope insight
We shall never forget
Sharpeville’s songs of lamentation
Where our youth was sacrificed
Like lambs by callous cops
Who obeyed the voice of their
Draconian masters who
Mistook Blacks for baboons
And humans for humus
For their fertile fruit farms
Our grannies were buried alive
In the white man’s mielie farm
When whining of a lean wage
Today we celebrate the blood
Of our young people who
Dared to grab the manes
Of roaring lions who bayed
For their innocent blood
No need to celebrate the spillage of blood
Rather commemorate our fallen heroes
Who swallowed their pride
And fought a bloody battle
To emancipate our country
And snap off chains of oppression
Human rights are engraved
In our hearts in bold letters
Lest we forget
Phahunye Amos Tebeila is a published poetry author