Have You Visited The Villages Lately? Poem by phathizwe Bradley Sono

Yet another week passes by
Our beloved village is still dry
All four corners are still the same
Improvement is still not in our dictionary
Starvation and killer diseases own our mortuary

Yet a another month passes by
Our beloved elders can no longer cry
They are now getting used to being poor
Our future heroes walk barefoot to school
Only to be taught under a tree
They tell them a school will be built soon
That is what they heard two years ago

Yet another winter season leaves them
With dry vegetables and pneumonia
You think summer will be better
Then you think of floods and malaria
Parents prepare to sleep on top of trees
To avoid being swallowed by Mother Nature
But they were promised newly developed houses

I was just passing by
When I saw people of the village
Trying to stop a fire
They say it was caused by a candle
The whole family but a one year old died
I wonder if the tragedy would have happen
If they had the promised electricity

Do you still remember the covenant
That you made with the village
They promised to vote for you
You promised a better life for all
You promised toilets, tap water and electricity
I was just passing by
And I wondered
Have you visited the village lately?