Page 45 - LockDown Poetry
P. 45

--------  lockdown poetry  --------



               Sometimes


               Sipho M




               sometimes,

               we, participate

               in our own debasing

               we, contribute

               in our own degrading

               we, spearhead

               our own termination


               white people:  I miss you

               black people: ke o kwatetse

               our jokes are self-mutilating tools

               hanging ourselves as objects of ridicule

               to nations that have never loved us


               we provide dossiers of evidence

               in the case they made against us

               on a charge of stupidity of proportions

               we, mock in disdain

               those whose English is amiss

               we, demand they explain


               those who can’t define the hard words we speak

               yet our own languages gather dust

               in the museums of our forgotten shelves

               we meet for drinks with anyone who thinks

               our kid who only speaks English is a feat

               we, wear with pride the great international brands





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