ECHOES OF THE STREETS

Echoes of the streets wake me from my sleep

Groans of kids sleeping next to garbage bins and under bridges

With cardboard boxes folded to form mattresses

Survival of these souls is nobody’s business

None is interested in their well-being.

Echoes of the streets wake me from my sleep

Pictorial view of this young boy sniffing glue

Feels rejected hence is subjected to drug abuse at this tender age

Death of his parents saw his life change course

He dreamt of being a doctor maybe an engineer

Unfortunately the streets became his destination

Now his fate remains unclear.

Echoes of the streets wake me from my sleep

Visuals of this young boy in tattered clothes

I poignantly gaze at his toe-out shoes

As he cautiously strides through the morning dew

Looking set to take his place at the corner of this store

Where he can commence his daily chore

‘Ke kopa 50 cent ea lijo’

The sorrow-filled song he’ll sing for the rest of the day.

Echoes of the streets wake me from my sleep

Reflected images of shabby looking kids

Distinct mindsets who share a similar story

The sad story of how they ended up in the streets

The story of being abandoned and neglected by their families

Yet now they are tagged with names, lihobo mekopa-kopa

Forgotten citizens of this country.

© Letuka Verbal Saint Qabalatsane