Lament Poem by Lethabo Chabalala

There have been no genocides here!
There have been no men cloaked in the name of
of revolutions and the jungle's benevolence,
waiting, stalking their prey
To empty their glands and forcibly take their
innocence,
Demanding 'long or short sleeves' and
poisoning love and the heart of its conception,
not here.

No eunuch's have been re-elected to perpetuate
inequality in a darker shade of despotism,
political reformation disguised.
Democracy has always been an option.

The west's wind has blown no greed for uranium our way
bleeding the hands of our grandfathers and
irreparably disfiguring the family unit

No children solicit full stomachs, offering their
palms to the streets in exchange, hopelessness
written on their faces...
They have not been made soldiers, not here.

No mothers curse their wombs fearing their
nation's sons.

The ground has not purged out its satiation
explosions leaving lifeless limbs strewn on its
surface and better yet crippling a country's
confident stride. From it's belly only abundance is
reaped.

Neither has the expanse of the land been
quenched by blood from brothers' hands, never
Not here.

We'd never allow it
Never not here
Peace abounds
Peace abounds
Peace abounds.