“Life rebuilds from the centre of the ruins.”
Mazisi Kunene
Hopes are pot-holed in this hot air political sea
Dreary stormy seasons reign in brute winter country
No one told us the Madiba dance would die this early
Dreams a teary sea that freezes freedom’s testicles at will
No road signage warning of rainbow thrills dying this early
Mountains folding their skirts ready for a fight
Brutal fissures of ghostly dances on a hungry lip
Maddened wretchedness ditties in Lenge’s hauntings
Yes, Cape Town’s streets are manicured and perfumed well
But come see people cough blood in these tourist streets
Come check out blood screams in their stools
See them walk and beg for change and leftover gwayi
Forlorn humans feeling small and smelly like old handkerchiefs.
Sandile Ngidi
Sandile Ngidi grew up at Amahlongwa on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast of Durban, South Africa. His MA thesis at the University of Cape Town’s historical studies department is on eminent Zulu poet, freedom fighter and Pan-Africanist scholar, Mazisi Kunene. Sandile recently guest-edited an English in Africa special edition dedicated to iconic South African novelist, Bessie Head, published in May 2024. He writes in Zulu and English and lives in Cape Town. On X, he is Mahlephula, and on LinkedIn, he is Sandile Ngidi.
