Light up a dark roomOr burn down the whole thing-The choice is yours.Coming from povertyIs not a prelude to corruption,Broken families don’t singularly serve as the substrateFor a broken life-It is only paraffin.Cards dealt,Not destiny secured.In the end He will not ask usWhat brand of paraffin was usedOr how fairly it was distributedBut only what […]
Read more "Paraffin"Is not an invitation to mediocrity.It is not a call to experimentation.Or a visit to the zoo.It is not a corporate social responsibility exerciseOr an activity for a university applicationIt is not a by-product for the humanitarian industryNor is it pornography for our guilty consciencesOr an opportunity for self-cleansingOr making ourselves feel better about our […]
Read more "Service to the poor"There are two homeless menSleeping in the doorwayFor the nightTugging at their jacketsBraving the coldLying all too comfortablyOn the cold hard floor.Just upstairsThere’s two powerful professionalsGrinding through the nightTheir faces glowing in the lightOf their MacBooksAs they plan their ascentTo even greater heights.What boggles me mostAbout inequalityIs how such astronomically distant fortunesCan co-existJust a few […]
Read more "Just downstairs"She never thought she would climb.She’d always watched her brothers climb-Climb treesClimb wallsClimb up to the roof of their dilapidatedChildhood homeAnd later she watched themClimb up ladders of successReaching ever higherAs though the gravity of their upbringingHad insulted themAnd they were hellbentOn teaching it a lesson.They climbed so highShe could barely recognise themFor while they […]
Read more "On becoming middle class"The time we spendSeeking the Face of GodIs not time taken awayFrom ‘practical’ things.It is not a waste of down timeTo spend our SundaysIn the house of God,Nor is it a misuse of resourcesTo give money to the church.The visions and propheciesWe read in scriptureAre not delusionsNor are they opiates of the people.Like Moses, when […]
Read more "Burning Bush"“Maybe the poor deserve their lot.And the rich their loot.A simple story about what happens in this lifeWhen you don’t make an effortAnd when you do.Maybe the chips have fallen in a wayThat need not be contended.Maybe inequality is actually fairAnd everyone should stop whining.If you look closelyYou might see that it forms a symmetrical […]
Read more "‘Maybe inequality is symmetrical’"Is definitely going to be underwhelming.After all the undoingAnd all the disorientationThe virus will take a less prominent seatBut the havoc it wreakedWill not be easily forgotten-At least not at first.But it will fade from viewAs all things do.Disaster will once againBe a local experience,Bad news will seem far awayAs it once didAnd we may […]
Read more "The end of the pandemic"Privilege does not necessarily make us foolsBut it easily can.Not because it dimishes our intellectOr erodes our common sense,But because our advantagesHave simplified our daily experiences,Reducing the enormity of lifeTo bite-size chunks,Taming our existence,Shielding us from harsh realitiesThat others know as commonplace.These are not sins to repent ofOr blessings to overlook,But a lens to be […]
Read more "Privileged fools"Post-colonial statesAre nations of miracles,With historical baggageThat is far deeperThan any one of us can unpack,And ongoing structural violenceThat seems to mutate itselfEven in the absence of an obvious perpetrator:Riddled with poverty,Overshadowed by inequalityDrowning in preventable diseaseAnd grappling a perpetual identity crisis-Post colonial statesHave enough pressureTo fully implode.And yet they don’t.They seem to find a […]
Read more "A nation of miracles"In a world of ever increasingSocial ills,The promise of entrepreneurshipGradually inflates in size and scopeUntil it becomes the only way forwardWe imagine possible.In a milieu of poor alternativesThe private businessHas become the magic bullet,The pure blade,The weapon of choiceTo slay our giantsAnd make us whole.But how can we expect businessTo solve the problems the StateHas […]
Read more "The business panacea"
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