In my country
They always ask me why
I have such a long tongue
What with the system stretching it
Every day
Searching for words under it

They always ask me why we have
Such long ears
What with us compelled to
Listen to nuances
For survival

They always ask why we smile
Even in grief
What with our absolute conviction
That we shall deliver ourselves
From their clutches

2
In my country they jail you
For what they think you think
My uncle once said to me
They’ll implant a micro-chip in our minds
To flash our thoughts and dreams
Onto a screen at John Vorster square

I was scared
By day I guard my tongue
By night
My dreams

3.
In my country
Our war begins when we try
To drink the cauldron of sunset
With our bruised eyes
Hands tied to our backs
Tongues sliced at the root

Our words one with the wind
Raw material of sounds
We hear echoes before
Thoughts are uttered
Carve answers before
Words strike the eardrum
Our poems coming
In waves of whispers

4
In my country they say…..
When you see youth
Roll a tyre from Firestone, India or Pirelli
Down the road
And the urge to follow
Seizes you
You may still be with the people

And when you offer you a match
And dance around the flames and smoke
You are the people

But when
In my country
You see eleven year olds
Rolling a tyre from Michelin, Uniroyal or Dunlop
Down the street
And an urge to blaze
Across the street and houses seizes you
Know
You are no longer with the people

5.
In my country
I pointed my finger at the
Passing convoy of death
A moveable feast of metal armour
They cut off my finger

With my dripping blood
I wrote a poem of hope
Painted the sunset of their death

They chained me to a wall
In my cell
I put my lips on every link
In the chain
Whispered my dreams
Every link a poem……
And we will have a Goodyear
Of resistance!