REFUSE Poem by Chenjerai Hove

when the police come
and their whip dances on your back
refuse to yield.
when the scorpions come
and sting your eyes and ears
refuse to comply.
when the world whirls round
in the torture chamber
refuse to let your heart wither.



hear the voices of children
see the colours of our music
and dance in the death of devotion.



when the powerful receive titles
and the weak take crumbs of power
refuse to kneel by the footpath of deceit.