Sparrows dance across
A neglected road
Chickens cross its potholes
The pavement
If that is a pavement
Is an overgrowth
Of weeds and shrubs
Brushing feet and rims
What was a gutter
Is now a bushveld
Creeping where tar
Is eroding
Drivers complain
“Why don’t the robots work?”
In a fury they drive over them
They collect the scraps
Might as well sell them back
To none other than the government
For a profit at that
Council knows
Of our neglected roads
They wait until
Their tyres burst before
They send workers
To do a week’s job in a month
And a month’s job in a year
So traffic is always growing
Everyone complains
Even the labourers under the sun
And the chinaman watching them run
Machines and signposts, saying
“SLOW DOWN — Construction Ahead”
Speeding is necessary
To survive
The chinamans tumbling bridge
To avoid
The hijackers trapping at stop streets
To prevent
The kombi that slowly merges
In and out of lanes
With a wave of his hand
And no indicators
Green lights mean GO
Orange lights mean GO FASTER
Red lights mean GO FAST ENOUGH
- TO NOT BE T-BONED
A cop might pull the driver over
If he feels hungry or thirsty
He might go with you at the red light
To skip traffic
Hooting with you in celebration
On these roads
4WDs are kings
SUVs are lords
Everything else — peasantry
Which Mercs and BMERs deny
While speed bumps scrap their chassis
And flash floods drown their wheels
It does not take a visionary
To plan a city
But it takes a madman
To let it run like a circus
And say:
“That’s just Gabz for you.”
To any soul that dares brave our roads
Here’re some pointers:
Watch out for cows
They can kill
Avoid the goats
That’s our dinner
Please bump the dogs
And flatten the cats
They can fill the craters
Of our neglected roads
And most importantly
Always have some cash
Since bribes are cheaper than fines
And ‘Cool Time’ calms road rage
Of a driver sitting in traffic too long
First Published in The Kalahari Review
Samuel Rubadiri 