The Other Side of the Limpopo

The shape and currents that defines my direction and our segregation Serene meanders that sets my limitations and our alienation The hippos and crocodiles that swim in your wild waters in ambivalence To protect me from illusions of grandeur and safeguard my prejudice This aqueous wall separating our dreams and carrying them beyond reach My children dejected, their future abandoned, dying to get rich From enemies within, I once found refuge and a confidant northward The distorted mirror I view now, I export the same friend without From afar, tranquil and hiding millions in your ever widening banks Seemingly wealthy, but poor in administration and overinflated flanks In truth, you are polluted, corrupted and nauseating to be quiet frank To drink is to vomit, and to navigate your waters, is to walk the plank Limpopo, I can’t escape the feeling that you are flowing in a dug trench Something man made, keeping us estranged on either side of the fence Ironically, permanently imprisoned by self-doubt in this unchained country Blind hatred, ignorance and fear keeping us from the gains of unity Limpopo, I fear you will nourish the other side more for prosperity For there are two dried-up mounts to your flow of consistency Watching from this side the wasted opportunities you carry to the shores Never having learnt how to, I can never swim across to walk in your shoes