For How Much Longer?

''One cannot both feast and become rich.'' African Proverb


Im not calling you a thief, just don't steal from me,
Im rich yet so poor,
My tax you hide in sacks,
Public funds, your family spends,
You steal maize so that my children die of hunger?
For how much longer?

I'm not calling you a murderer, just don't kill me,
When I speak against injustice, Im silenced with a gun,
When I strive for change, for better leadership, my death is orchestrated,
When I lead others in civil injustice, our right, we are shot at because we pose danger,
For how much longer?

I'm not calling you a dealer, just don't sell me drugs,
My back is tired from carrying, ferrying your drugs,
My arms are aching from carrying many of my dying little ones,
My eyes sore from crying all these years,
My ears numb from hearing my children's cries,
My feet, aching and full of blisters from running away from your evils,
For how much longer?

For how much longer must I suffer?
Suffer for the pain you inflict on me,
For the woes you afflict on my children,
Oh, why am I guilty for the love I have for you?
I am your mother, yet you shame me, disgust me with your greed,
Your unfathomable hate for your brother's and sister's from whom you steal with zeal,
For how much longer?