The edge of winter
The planet tipped north
celebrating equinox in a pink flush at dawn and dusk
Already the sun sends shafts of rainbows through the crystal on the A-frame
and cold fingers reach out and touch
my cheek in the early morning the manikins have returned to the seed holder
the bush babies to the fruit tray
the tall summer grasses begin to fall
It has been some time now, to find words to speak of the present
We watch our own chaos with a strange compassion
who else could understand all is the same all is different
The dictator still waves his fist
takes the last farms with brutal violence
arrests the opposition
controls the media
the army
the police
and the new ministers drive their Mercedes
in a show of wealth
in the face of the people who voted them in
there is no currency below 1 US$ (R10)
change is bartered and bargained
given in eggs or sweets
SADC tells the west to pay for our salvation
despite the evidence of continued abuse and corruption
Noel and his small family have been evicted from their one room
Wadzi and her children have been evicted from their cottage
rents are exorbitant as landlords try to make a living out of small rooms
hundreds of dollars beyond what is possible
dignified and hard working people back on the street – without jobs
the intensity and immediacy in which life unravels
shakes the system
so we wait in a stunned silence
still with dignity
where there should be devastation
still with humour
where there should be despair
counting the rainbows