Streetwise Poem by Artwell Masuku

Everywhere you turn
An army badge
A police baton
A threatening militia
Machete brandished
The streetwise know
When it's time
To maintain silence
And watch the damage
In advance

Anger doesn't help
Neither does complacency
I will not plead
Beg to be heard
It is my right
Monitoring my every cough
Won’t get you nowhere

I'm against violence
Against anything
That is against me
I will not run around
Trying to make friends
With someone
Who's depriving me
Of my rights

I did not graduate
With a crippled mind
I've got a right
To register
And vote
Without being
Murdered.