Zimbabwe (2007) Poem by Dellas Chitekwe

In this country
You need a miracle
To drink a milk-less cup of tea
And eat a few slices of bread;
A phone line costs one hundred dollars
So a Nokia 1100 is still a luxury in these parts.

You need a miracle
To stand in a bank queue
And find money in the bank.

You will be very lucky
If you walk into a supermarket
And find a packet of sugar,
Or if you manage to obtain an ID
Or a passport
Not to mention the price.

Stretched to the limit
By the challenges of urban life
I find myself at Mbare
Where I need yet another miracle
To get a seat on the bus to Mutoko.

On the bus...

I am wondering
If they still sell seven days in the villages,
Legal brands of alcohol are difficult to come across these days.

I am also thinking
About the teenage single moms
Who are now trading their bodies for stomach-sake
And next year's elections
Which will, of course, be ‘free and fair'.

I don't know who ZANU PF will blame
For the empty shelves and the hyperinflation
Or the plummeting educational standards.

They will probably blame MDC
And, of course, the ‘illegal sanctions'
Or perhaps...
They will blame the drought - again.