Candle Of Wishes Poem by Phillip Nine Mafunga

It was only yesterday
The great unwashed danced for the fall of Saddam Hussein
Was it not yesterday when the military mafia
Dethroned a lesser thug: did we not hug and kiss?

What has become of the world we knew
In which simple child games back then we played
Today Russian roulette they play with our lives

They tell lies in the name of rights
So dark are our nights
Once again Khartoum and Omdurman have no lights
The streets are all wars, strife and fights

Must we forget how we lit up the streets of Harare
With joy like the Egyptians, did we not hug and kiss them in the streets
What goes on in our minds now when we look ourselves in the mirror
Only if shame had some stupid face, at least!
Phillip Nine Mafunga
17 April 2023