nine times
a student leader shot
in the back
nine times
not Sharpeville
not Langa
not Thormton
or Belgravia Roads
on the Cape Flats
not under apartheid
but right here and now
students’ residences raided
teargas and rubber bullets fired
doors knocked down
post-apartheid
post-1994
under democracy
a constitution lauded
everywhere
a student leader shot
in the back
nine times
a woman to boot
(what will be said
when 16 Days of Activism
for No Violence against
Women and Children
is ritually celebrated)
so much has changed
so much transformed
so much
not
“Student leader shot in the back nine times” and “Sasco to ANC: Test free education” (Mail and Guardian, October 21 to 27 2016)
About David Kapp