Free

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It is a Friday today,
a free day
because I had the day off,
and I spent it in Johannesburg,
my birthplace, Egoli, the city of gold,
also famous for its high crime rate,
syndicates, hi-jackings and e-tolls.
I love Joburg though,
because it has an energy,
a high frequency, a buzz.
It's a happening place.
Industrial, artistic, political, business-like.
From fancy cars to taxis,
black, white, colored, Chinese.
Rainbow nation is South Africa,
Joburg its heart, if not its capital.
We voted on 3 August,
a public holiday,
advertised as free and fair elections,
as a car drives away with ballot boxes in the backseat.
Ha, free indeed.
Freedom, what does that now mean?
A loaded word.
A loaded gun our common fear.
Think positive. Think ahead.
South Africa, my roots, my home, my family.
South Africa, the bush, the braai, the biltong.
Keep the dream alive, South Africa.
Born free.





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