That Year Poem by Terrance Mawanga

That year i remember it,
We, the people were hungry i know,
We would awake ever so early,
To dance to the rumbling tune of our stomachs,
That year, i remember it,
We were hungry, i know,

Queue in long snaking lines we did,
Just to buy a loaf of bread,
To feed my ten screaming children and an 'ageing' wife,
Not to mention the 'small house',
Who demanded meat when veggies were a coveted delicacy,
That year, i remember it
We were broke i know

That year i nearly killed my little son,
Had lost a coin meant for buying a lidful of cooking oil,
Had to settle for water-dripping greens,
And exactly three mouthfuls of sadza per person,
That year, i remember it
We were hungry, i know.

Torn to rags were my children's clothes,
Revealed all nakedness for the world to see,
In better cases patches were a design,
They grew to see as fashionable,
And their feet grew to resist,
The scourge of the blazing sun on the bare earth,
So believe me when i say,
That year, we were broke, i know.