When Lizo Said He Was Going Away Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

Each time Lizo said he was going away,
I wondered how far he was really going,
For I had not been even to the town nearest,
Our village.

When Lizo said he was going away,
He polished his shoes so shiny
And tied his shoe laces so tight,
That I wondered what happened in the big world,
That made him want his shoes so secure.

When Lizo said he was not returning,
He had a suitcase full of clothes,
I only had a dress and a petticoat,
That I wore to our Sunday service,
And took off when we returned.
What place was it where people wore,
Clothes that filled a whole suitcase?

When I went away I got to know,
The place far away from parents ours,
Where the children wore designer clothes,
Shoes with a brand names from far away,
That I had to tell them my family was rich,
Rather then say we were just orphans,
Raised in the orphanage called the village.

I saw lights that shone above me,
And saw girls who loved nail paint,
For such I had never wished for once,
For it was way above the life,
That Lizo had said happened far away.

If I had known how boys behave,
When their feet hit the city,
I would have known I did not have,
To polish my shoes and tie my laces,
But just buy a pair that didn't need any of those.

When Lizo asked what I had done,
When I took the first trip to the city,
I told him I had seen children in shoes,
That did not need these things we have,
Pointing at the laces on our shoes.


When Lizo heard me speak disdain,
Of the laced shoes that had been faithful,
To our feet all these years,
Causing us corns on little toes,
He was so angry you could write a story
About his mouth and his red eyes. Such
anger I had not seen nor heard of.
His was that the shoes had been faithful,
Laces, tied and polish smeared and all
That they made people think we were rich,
For our feet certainly looked,
Better than the feet of the villagers,
Who worked unshod and swept the yard,
With deep cuts in their heels,
You could secure a penny in,
And steal it without anyone seeing,
He walked away angrily.