One Day of Many

It was unusual and fateful to stop the car at the traffic light Marten was such a nostalgic renegade and abided by the law Hooting middle fingers and then what seemed like a hail storm There had been no bad weather warning just business as usual The automobile did not move an inch for bullets from both sides Another normal day in Johannesburg The night closed in on the township in Alexandra South Africa Small bands of youth roamed the streets for some ‘innocent’ fun Distraction from unemployment and high on liquor and booze Kholva did not comply and was gang raped tortured and set alight Her parents waited in vain and found her brain-dead in the field Another victim of anger and ignorance The locks and burglar bars were checked and the shutters were down Kagiso readied her children for bed while Lerato prepared dinner Their dogs started howling and tore at their strong chains in vain Windows burst into one thousand pieces shattering peace and lives One son survived with a knife in his torso and third degree burns Not only white owned farms are blazed to the ground Bavishni worshipped her home shrine of Vishnu the preserver of life Sandalwood incense frangipani petals and chanting bowl prayers Diwali spread through the suburb and fireworks were very common Yet when the shots ricocheted from the Goddesses’ intricate midriff She knew that her own violation would follow and Nirvana would not She died painfully like so many others Violence unimaginable crimes and humans only worth a few coins or a phone I have left the Rainbow Nation for good in capitulation with a sad heart Some say I have given up dreaming but pragmatic wisdom saved me from hell 20th June 2019