lines for tsitsi

when you crossed the limpopo river
with a shangaan bag
full of hopes
& dreams

you were unaware
that you would end up
on polly street

with your thighs
eaten
by joburg winter

chewed
by vicious men
for no pay

with no shoulder
to cry on

when the crocodile
swallowed
mugabe

your ululation cracked
the walls
of calton centre
my afrikan sister

& your dance
shook the ground
of ponte city

not knowing
that the more things change
the more they stay the same

———-
Poem © Zama Madinana
Image: Smit Patel on Unsplash