Haikus 7 and 8
¶ 1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 World Cup Haiku 7
¶ 2
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“People of the Grass”,
Hear the Setswana language,
See the Bafokeng.
¶ 3
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Edible grasses,
Once grown by the Bafokeng
To feed their cattle.
¶ 4
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Now the Kikuyu,
Hardy grass seed from Kenya,
Then strong rye grass grown.
¶ 5
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Listen to the words!
Poems in the grass and wind
Mock English hubris.
¶ 6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 (The Bafokeng sports complex where England have their training base – the best grass in South Africa and how superior to that wretched surface at our own national stadium.)
¶ 7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 Haiku 8
¶ 8
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Near the football grounds,
Only FIFA’s rich sponsors
Hawk their costly wares.
¶ 9
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All local traders,
Who buy and sell to exist;
Are simply turfed out.
¶ 10
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Global capital
Rides roughshod across the world
To crush seeds of life.
¶ 11
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Watch the spectacle!
The World Cup’s rich narrative!
Miss the injustice.
¶ 12
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See 18 giraffes,
Mbombela Stadium:
For this, schools close down.
¶ 13
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Art of the future,
Just outside a shanty town,
For just 4 matches.
¶ 14
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Outside you will find
No mains electricity,
Nor running water.
¶ 15
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The Mduli Clan
Did not expect this bargain:
But FIFA is pleased.
¶ 16
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Mduli land sold
For “mirrors and shiny buttons”:
But FIFA is pleased.
¶ 17
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The deceit of wealth,
Colonial heritage:
But FIFA is pleased.
¶ 18
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Near the football grounds,
Only FIFA’s rich sponsors
Hawk their costly wares.
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