Johannesburg Poem by Musa Gift Masombuka

I saw it all in Jo'burg,
Yes I have seen it all in Johannesburg,
From peasant workers to peanuts sellers,
Sex workers to sell people,
From a lady of easy virtue to a male gigolo.
I have seen blondes of different races and colours,
from urban blight to urban renewal,
From gold mines to gold diggers

I have seen Johannesburg becoming Jo'burg,
Jo'burg with bugs and baggage,
I have seen Rand Afrikaans Univestat,
becoming University of Johannesburg.
From high court to high way,
From Ponte city to Soccer city,
I have seen it all in Jo'burg,
I saw all kinds of lords
From war lords to drug lords,
Land lords to street lords,


From tall buildings to toll gates,
Controversial land corruption to contradictive e-tolling,
From squatter camps to holiday camps,
I have seen the Mandela bridge,
The only bridge that defies the odds.
A leap over apartheid to the democratic South Africa,
I have seen king pin and queen of the bling,
I have seen losers of all races and ages,
And loose draws of all flavours,

From different political rallies to African carnivals,
From sports legends to sports legions,
I have seen all sorts of traditional regalia and merchant insignia,
From Rand East show to a strip show,

Yes I have seen it all in Johannesburg,
I have seen celebrities of all walks of life,
And cerebral palsy patients of all races,
From Brixton to Hillbrow,
You know Hillbrow?
You must be excited to hear this name,
Now you may ask,
Have I seen enough?
No! My eyes are still wide open.