JUSTICE SERVED

Picture Courtesy: www.africaheritagerivonia.com


He stood at the feet of the traffic lights,
At a busy intersection,
Arms outstretched,
Handing out leaflets,
Clad in colours,
Those of the one to whom
He bore allegiance.


Preaching change,
Questioning their politics,
He had embraced democracy,
A bit too wholeheartedly,
He took it all at face value.


Day’s before Election Day,
His campaign was at a crescendo,
Lips throbbing like talking drums
At the height of an African festival,
Oblivious to incumbency,
And tainted elections,
All he could see,
Was change,
Braving the wilderness,
Charging into the city streets,
Marching straight into the seat of government.


When the dust settled,
Results declared,
He was left with egg on his face
And a sour taste for dessert,
The incumbent had won by a landslide.
This caused him great pain
But a far greater pain
Was to befall him,


Wielding the reigns of power,
They set something elaborate in motion,
They said he had defaulted on a loan,
The hotel he was building was auctioned off,
Together with his home,
Tore him limb from limb,
Till all he had left were,
The shirt he wore,
A pair of shorts,
And his bathroom slippers,
Injustice,
Witnesses?
Many,
Even the birds give testimony.


His wife left him,
With children in tow,
Homeless,
Penniless
And destitute,
Insanity overtook him,
Swallowed him whole.


On hot afternoons,
You would find him,
Seated at the very spot where
Had campaigned months on end,
Surrounded by nothing more than pieces of paper,
No one really knew what they
Had written on them,
No one bothered ask,
For he was unkempt,
Looked rabid
And had lost his mind,
A pale shadow of a man,
Who once was
More than in touch with his senses,
So much so,
He could discern change,
Cry out change.


After months had passed,
We never saw him again,
We let his leaflets be at that very spot,
Some sort of shrine,
A memorial to a man,
Who embraced democracy,
Reaping injustice as just response
To calls for change,
Thanks to courts riddled with rats,
Holidaying in pigeon holes,
With pigeons out in the cold,
Surrounded by mountains of Swiss cheese,
And a political process,
Majestically adorned,
In colourful attires of white greed
And selfishness on angel wings,
Singing out loud the “Gloria”.


Gloria(n) - A hymn or set of words in Latin that begins with the word "Gloria" and is used in the Christian liturgy to praise God.

Talking Drums - The talking drums of Africa imitate the pitch patterns of language and transmit messages over many miles.