(for Zimbabwe)
armageddon on our doorstep
diplomats floundering like zombies
devoured like a hollywood movie
an auspicious beginning
a predictable, gory ending
mugabe refuses to go quietly
mbeki dances softly softly
zimbabweans plead for mercy, mercy mercy
mwalimu julius nyerere of tanzania
turns in multiples of 100 in his grave
no sweet surrender for a silver-tongued despot
a banana republic whose sell-by date is past
the used-by date is coated with peasants’ blood
a trickle, a torrent, now a red sea of anti-depressants
where illusion meets delusion, then madness
obasanjo and mbeki negotiate
mugabe’s pension in US doiiars
zim dollar now toilet paper
no petrol for the solitary reaper
in harare’s wastelands,
low-grade tobacco the new ecstasy
cloaked in perverse self-righteous liberator’s robes
self-anointed voodoo prince of darkness
tormented soul charred beyond redemption
illusions of grandeur reign, held no salvation
royal seal of approval by SADC
in a vortex of despair
coterie of praise singers
insinuating themselves
into mugabe’s affectations
a deranged court jester
an opaque club of dictators
a dime a dozen in afrika
delusions of grandeur
swimming in a sea of sour milk
no honey, no money
all rage no remorse
no method only madness
creme de la creme of scorpions
stinging prostrate zim activists
ravaged by the heartless sun and aids
silently praying from mountain tops
prayers drowned by victoria falls
“mosi oa thunya”
your smoke’s lost its thunder
the commonwealth plays poker
suspends the joker in the pack
reckless with a nation’s destiny
pimps its gold & silver on the altar of tyranny
zimbabweans chorus timidly
where is our common wealth
lord have mercy, mercy, mercy …
*UHURU SASA Kiswahili for Freedom Now*