*south africa,
we love you
our
beautiful land
let’s show the whole world
we can
bring
peace
in our land
they sang for peace
sang to simmer down
the blood boiling over
and stem the bloody river
from drowning us all
did we show them?
they had drowned in boipatong
in thokoza they had drowned
they drowned even in katlehong
South Africa was drowning.
did we show them?
when we watched the miners
being razed to the ground
did we show them?
when we set Ernesto Nhamuave
on fire
did we show them?
when we make them homeless
all over the country
when we let justice down
when we won’t answer the tough questions
won’t pay back the money
when we eat sushi off exploited skin
when we build private castles instead of
delivering textbooks
gate privileged communities and
dompas the rest
are we showing them?
*south africa
we love
you…
let’s show the whole world
we can…
*lyrics from Peace in Our Land produced by Chicco Twala released in 1993
this poem appears in our print quarterly number eight, Dear South Africa.
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