Truly The Child Is Not Dead Poem by Gert Strydom

(with apology to Ingrid Jonker.After Bernard Odendaal)

I
Truly the child is not dead,
the child hits the mother from who it drinks,
clench fists where the child lives in a shack
around them there is rubbish and seepage from the sewer
and the child walks with a swollen stomach,
is constantly hungry and at times homeless,
screams wild:"Africa! "

II
Truly the child is not dead,
where penises with AIDS do tear the child
and believe that like this they will get healed from the illness,
where the child lays streched out in a sewerage ditch
and the voice of the child goes to the heavens
as the child still wants to live,
screams wild:"Africa! "

III
The child does rob its father
and the child throws rocks at him,
the child arrives with busses and minibus taxis at schools
to cause amok right there,
do go to political gatherings,
are tired of eructation without a outcome,
the child does scream at universities and do burn cars,
does assault anyone that wants to attend classes,
event those that want to get education and are paying for themselves
that in groups together stands and prays,
screams wild:"Africa! "

IV
The child is corrupt and incapable at work,
do claim that others that want to earn a living must strike,
burn down buildings to rubble.
The child is angry with its ancestors that emigrated
from eMbo at the great lake to South Africa,
that they did not as pioneers erect infrastructure,
that they did not start farming commercially,
that they did not think of erecting mines and factories,
that they did not bring forth technology,
but only wanted to rob and kill,
screams wild:"Africa! "

V
Silently the child looks at the bureaucrats,
who take care that their pockets are filled,
does notices all departments of the State
that worse than third worldly does fall apart,
how awkward and ignorant everything is controlled,
but for the tax where the money still does roll in
and know that there never was days of innocence for the child,

VII
but the child does study in a foreign country,
returns to Africa
to take it into possession
and does not want to know or honour any ancestor,
(as for the child they do not exist) ,
screams wild:"Africa! "

[References:"Die kind" (The child)by Ingrid Jonker."Die kind is steeds nie dood nie" (Still the child is not dead)by Bernard Odendaal.]

© Gert Strydom