North and South - Marí Peté

the sun has touched the leaves
soft dipped brush
september days shrink here
inch by inch

I sip morning tea
by the window
with a mad hatter
and a mouse

scrunch the first leaves
beneath my socks
sense signals
from chimneys above:

in the south
trees blossom
bodies burn
in streets

tears of a mock turtle,
spring rains down
on those who beseech and pray
for wonderlands
where words
come true

(upon receiving news of Chris Hani’s murder)

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Marí Peté (born 1964) South Africa
Source: Badilisha Poetry
Chris Hani was chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce opponent of the apartheid government, and was assassinated on 10 April 1993