Fires of discontent glow all over
Life is a ceaseless hustle
It is here
Where six families scramble for a single dingy bathroom
And a sole putrid pit latrine
It is here
Where despondent drunks endlessly soak their brains in the lethal kachasu*
With no prospects of unshackling themselves from the throes of misery
It is here
Where little ‘fatherless’ boys swiftly graduate into rascals
While the girl-child gives birth to a fellow child
Such is the tattered portrait of life in the slums of Mbayani
Where hope is as elusive as the wind.
*Kachasu is a type of locally distilled gin
This poem won the 2022 African Writers Award in the Poetry category.
Click to see a full list of winners
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