the dutch colony ascended on our shores
replacing traditional african education on culture
with teaching slaves how to pray

we saw the deterioration of black schools
and state-mandated segregated curricula
whites being taught better than blacks
who was only destined for subservient jobs

policies of apartheid birthed the bantu education
and later forced us to learn languages
which was not our native tongue
the youth could no longer be silenced
soweto uprising saw them dying for the cause

we have protested throughout the decades
silenced by the apartheid government
simply ignored

with Mandela’s release we saw liberation, freedom, democracy
and a single education system, we were finally equal
however the legacy of black inferior education left a deep scar
which has still not healed
our parents not able to give us the education they were denied

now students are holding the government accountable
who promised free education for a vote
the movement trending as #feesmustfall

anger expressed by burning premises, striking and rioting
i believe in the cause but who are you really hurting?
why destroy the very universities that you are fighting for?

They should fall. no question.
This has become ridiculous too long 'cause now it's debt'ning.
Becoming blacklisted before forty ain't legit man,
And this being a result of our continued sorrow stories gets me lit - ****.
We're proving that we are more the turn up,
So get the fees moving if you don't want some riots turning up
Listen to the kids bruh, I swear you'll hear the message
that the world needs to listen to for the future not to perish.
We are no Boxers but
hard we work and know our worth and its perks,
And so - like Donald - we deserve all the benefits
We are evidently the scorned for these greedy leaders
Who make empty promises and want more of the nothing we receive it's,
Sickening how the greed has got to their heads so the truth's a blur,
And the reasoning heads to a 0, back to being a baby.
The only 0 that's needed is the percentage of the increase
of fees and the brutality of the police is really of no need,
We fight peacefully and you go around killing and crippling our peeps.
But we won't stop, we the black sheep and donkeys that refuse to listen
to the bull unless it's what we want and it's a continued vision.
Although it may take a bit longer for you to see it,
It'll happen eventually, you'll 20/20 see, the whole thing,
But for now we shall protest and fight for our right
'Cause we're tired - #FeesMustFall - and we shant listen to any Squealer's plight

These Black Kids,
Loitering these streets.
Shattering my white kid's dreams.

These Black Kids,
Shouting empty speeches,
Their words falling into dark, grimy ditches.
Ha!

These Black Kids,
Sweating it out,
In chants and animal-like dance;
Let's give them a chance,
To wear themselves out.

And when the time comes,
We'll silence them; this fight.

Litter varsity entrances with empty bullet cases and teargase cans.
Pack them up in mobile shacks.
Let's stack them up in numbered packs.....

Of our years rises, thinly, ominously—profound. We
Are flames holding tallow truths, keeping guard
Over these sleeping futures. Grahamstown

Rises in pylon energies. I levitate,
Broomstick as afflatus, and galvanize
The unsullied words of night. The virginal morning

Comes in whispers. Earthworms dread the gawky
Commuter. As students shout FeesMustFall,
Billowing abdominal surges bawl as bitter abiku.

These truths are milked from noted black holes,
Where Fanon’s skins wipe the tears from the eyes. I
Tremble, having anointed more than my restive hands.

Hidden things are not the soul of the stars—somewhere,
Somewhere over the mocked rainbow. Rains fall
On stuffed human throats. And ours is to peck
At the interstices of welt-ridden memory.

Their hands no longer occupied by books,
Pens and thoughts of hypotheses.
Now bricks and fire destroy, their angered looks
Their minds racing with empty promises.
Their shouts cry out in the night #feesmustfall
Like echoes down empty halls
Desolate, scorched earth become their battleground
With clicks, hisses and flashing calls,
The media like hyenas abound
“We demand to be heard”, angrily protest
Against our government that they so detest.
Where are the promises? only broken dreams
Replaced by violence and frustrated screams.
For in the end, who will fall…silence fades,
Rubber bullets, pierce the air, stun grenades
Trigger-happy bravado only displayed
The air, left smouldering burning down
“Down, down, down to the ground”
Where will it end?
When a political tyrant, with their diplomatic rhetoric tries to mend?
Down the barrel of a gun like karma
Our memories flock to scenes of Marikana
Or ’76, the struggle songs, where heroes fought
They fall, we fall, we all fall, so spare a thought