Empty Wallet Poem by Nkosilathi Zinyane

Empty wallet

Day in day out
With you saddled about
I walk round and round
Proud without a shadow of doubt
Inseparable like famine and drought
From childhood and now we are adults

You are now old, I am too
You have been with me, and I with you
Together without anything in between
As my wife breathes her last
I'm still here with you
Caressing my hands, giving me regrets
Widening my veins, There's no more ground
Where my tears haven't fallen
I shed them no more

Your mouth is open mine spreads bad breath
You help me choose what my children will
Eat
There's no friend that I have that sticks closer than you

As my stomach becomes empty
Your becomes full
As I become full
You become empty.