notes on south africa...continued

the road to hermanus

the contrast is stark
living conditions dismal and dark
miles of square miles
peppered with shanties
and they stand against the wind
but I don’t know how
they stand in the middle of nowhere
waiting on something
a ride
a job
no bus in sight
and when they arrive uniform clad
piling out of vans and pickups
the shoppers mull around them
and the locals segregate as usual
and when their time is up
they return to the pieces of scrap
they have nailed into homes
it is a long process toward freedom