For 21 days I saw changes wrought by the freedom of 22 years Secrets of razor wire straight and taut Speak of those who continue to fear
I saw nature’s beauty in land and face As black heel continues to rise Via school, ambition they prep for the race Even as secretly despised
What’s changed in Soweto? I did not live But photos and newsreels survive Pictures of shanties bulldozed to give Whites room to extend their hives
Now malls; monuments to white retail Built on Mandiba’s words Polished chrome and marble hail “Happy” workers in a black-faced world
Monuments ringed with vendors tribal Carved goods for sale and cheap The rands they make do not rival What multi-nationals’ continue to reap
Happiness is shallow until sundown When the curtain of decorum lifts Showing reality’s new shanty-town Where space and plumbing are gifts
I wonder if He would be okay Seeing his people so used As pawns for labor with little say As black is seldom excused
The young know the time is now As old hatred’s in shallow graves To be unearthed by book and plow Keeping dreams from stunting and fade
It may not seem as such, but I had a terrific if not educational time in South Africa. The Kruger animal photo opts, the Swaziland kindergarten where half of the five and six-year-olds are orphaned due to the aides epidemic. The glassmaking co-op where exquisite glass figurines are all hand blown from recycled glass. I witnessed the resilience of a proud people even as I was saddened at the extreme draught nature has visited upon man and beast alike.