Johannesburg
Pain wakes me up at night,
it gets lonely and need some company.
And as I try to dive and drown in alcohol,
it seem to have adapted and learned how to swim.
Jo’burg! With its cement trees,*
as lifeless it could be
exhales nothing but dust
that gets trapped in my lungs
I am asthmatic of these obstacles
that come whirling like a cyclone
provoking my senses, triggering depression
of insomniac nightmares, and silent screams.
Believe me, they are loud!
My own thoughts in a battle
for I fell deep into the lion’s den
and I fear for the cubs
what would be of me when the lions come?
Joburg, it is you I loathe
I found no gold or world class city
but a pit of wrecked souls in entrapment
and I fell into it, I fell into You!
It is my life you wrecked,
my soul you tormented,
my dreams you stole
and my hope you shattered!
I crawled and creeped my way out
with scavengers preying for my soul.
How I made it alive,
still amaze me.
You have made my life a living hell
City Johannesburg, it is you I salute.*
Areas marked * are referenced from City Johannesburg, by Mongane Wally Serote.
