With freedom
I walk the streets.
With joy
My body bouncing like a brand new ball.
That suddenly feels flattened as I freeze,
Fixing my eyes on the side-street.
Packed with petrified
Brothers and sisters,
Who like demons were driven
Out of shacks and flats,
Taxis and trains,
Houses and hostels.
Brothers and sisters isolated
Till surrounded by stink and soil.
Brothers and sisters
Brutally beaten and bullied,
Cold and confused.
Refused the right
To fend for food a while,
To find refuge a while.
While war and poverty
Rules and reigns
In their home lands.
While disease and death
Dominates and don’t discriminate.
Brothers and sisters
Seeking the same while
South Africans sought
While fighting for freedom and equality.
The same freedom you now have
To walk the streets
With joy your body bouncing like a brand new ball,
That not long ago felt flattened as you froze.
Due to being restricted and imprisoned.
Due to being looked down upon and ignored.
Due to being bullied and abused.
Why so quickly then
look down upon another?
Why call another with names,
You refused to be called with?
Why refuse another freedom
Fought so hard and so long for
By Africans for Africans?
Freedom you longed and so much for?
Why shed blood for bread?
Why sacrifice a sibling for opportunities?