They Called Him Diamond

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The wealth of colonists in South Africa was built on gold (Johannesburg) and diamonds (Kimberley) where you can still see the gold mine dumps and the Big Hole of Kimberley.

Traffic lights are indeed called robots in South African Lingo.

Alex and Thembisa are townships in Johannesburg.

'Native' children, men and women suffered and suffer enormously under the God of Money, not only in South Africa. It is true, that 'servants', 'maids', gardeners and migrant workers were given pronounce-able names and names like Blessing or Destiny are quite common today and of course today they are not directly allocated by the colonisers. I like those, they may express hope and my step-daughter's second name is Moon. But I also appreciate that words are colonisers just as deeds are.

They Called Him Diamond

They called him Diamond still do and his colour is black like 
scorched earth frozen shadows of hell shafted and grafted on 
his scarred broken shoulders deprived of not only his name 
made void and exploited for jewels in the crown of the Queen

They could not pronounce even his name ‘Nkanyezi’ meaning 
‘star’ for whose fortunes ‘Bhekumbuso’ or ‘kingdom dominion’
carved out ground down and exploited in the mines or ‘Gazini’
‘blood’ of the nation ‘Msizi’ the ‘helper’ or aid of glory extortion

We do not know better so we call you boy not ‘Sibongiseni’ ‘be
thankful with us’ John Cyril Edward like the seventh king by that 
name who was given the precious black diamond not that long 
ago that is still in the coffers of lost Empire still clenching its claws

Today you still hovel in tin shackled shacks in places like ‘Alex’ 
or ‘Thembisa’ if you are fortunate enough to have a creaky roof
over your families’ head trickling some minor possessions down 
from above the hierarchy of class gender race arrested in time

Many of you still have foreign names imprinted like tattoos on
the canvas of history bestowing identity stolen forged lost like
Fortune Blessing Happiness Destiny when Misery might sound
more truthful appropriate with appropriation still strife and alive

At the traffic lights here called ‘robots’ you beg like untouchables
soles blackened like the diamonds and souls glued to the bottom
of the line outcast from what others have taken for their malign 
depiction delusion of savages dark continent neo-liberal justice

Foreign travellers bask in the sunshine ascend Table Mountain
towering over the ‘Rainbow Nation’ only in name still allocating
power marginalisation disenfranchisement while they marvel at 
Game Reserves with near extinct rhinos another picture of greed

Diversity so many origins tribes barely surviving cultures ancestral
beliefs and traditions viewed from abroad sometimes like in a zoo 
when the tourists spend Pounds Dollars Euros derived from blood
sweat depravation deprivation and the Holy Grail of diamonds

They call it diamond and I call it the black hole of Kimberley in
South Africa where they first found what they deem precious
what adorns the Emperor’s clothes and stark naked oppression
and I call it 'Die-versity' identity theft rape pillage and plunder 


03rd August 2016

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