Poverty
I
You sound ugly
Just as a word
Your only equivalent is death
You crawl in Unmanned
Unnoticed
Uninvited
Deadly and poisonous
Like a snake
In preparation for an attack
Poverty,
You are … a snake
Or aren’t you
II
You are a deadly virus
Like HIV
You expose one to attack
Insults
Indecency
Insecurity
You make decent families
To live among drunkards
Wife beaters
Prostitutes
And in degrading habitat
Won’t you say no?
III
You signify hunger
Like a bagger
You bring one to shame
You make one to be preached at
Frustrated
Confused
After starving
You left you victims explored
Corrupted and dishonored
Poverty,
You are a betrayer
Or are you denying?
IV
You stink
Just like dirt - your king
With you a whole family and grand parents
Live together in one room
Eating and sleeping
Defecating and fornicating
Sickening and then dying
Privacy is unthinkable
Hygienic food is forgotten
You pollute the air with filth
Filth from cheap tobacco smoke
A suffocating filth?
V
You kill finally
Just like AIDS
You can ask Mbeki
Whether there is any difference
You kill softly
Slowly
Silently
Yet spreading rapidly
You lead to death
The only exit
To our forefathers
Will they welcome you?
