Juxtaposing the working class and the wealthy
The view from the skate park is lovely
Perusing plaques about the Amsterdam Battery
Have we told our children Gallows Hill isn’t named as such for nothing?
We stroll atop a multitude of worlds
Notwithstanding those between us
It takes intention to deconstruct and comprehend anew
Can we do this, build a fresh reality on the foundations of disquieting truths?
My family name stands in upper case before me
Free man, subjugator, ally, slave, emancipator, beneficiary, warden of misery?
Seven things can be true at the same time
At the threshold of dying, which were you at J.C.?
As I consider the implication of, “on this spot stood the old slave tree”*
Which, today, predominates the kaleidoscope within?
*The inscription on a plaque at the site of the old slave tree in Spin Street, Cape Town
Bernadette Richards is from Cape Town. She writes bits and bobs, including songs, and appreciates diverse forms of art.