Meanwhile (Nov 2005)

I’m back, with recycling, trash and more.
Meanwhile, plastic bags blow over fields again - each side of Great East Road.

I’m back, complaining ‘bout the weather.
Meanwhile, in each Lusaka street, rains fall, and cholera looms again.

I’m back, showering every morning.
Meanwhile, rains stop, dust blows and crops fail again, around Simukanka.

I’m back, with happy loving families.
Meanwhile, in Kanyama households, uncles rape a virgin niece again.

I’m back, with girls playing schoolyard games.
Meanwhile, small, bent and crippled boys die again, in Our Lady’s Hospice.

I’m back, where boys laugh and shout and sing.
Meanwhile, along the Cairo Road, some pretty girls sell themselves again.

I’m back, and taking church collections.
Meanwhile, hungry children starve to death again, even in N’gombe.

I’m back, with cradled babies burbles.
Meanwhile, on Kasisi’s doorstep, new born infants left with AIDS again.

I’m back, where our doctors vaccinate.
Meanwhile, girls with TB smile or cry again, in Chawama Compound.

I’m back, where moms and dads hug children.
Meanwhile, in our Linda Compound, parents die from “sore throats” once again.

I’m back, in my white US suburb.
Meanwhile, white skinned neighbors pay for sex again, right in Mulungushi.

I’m back, eating burgers, bread and fries.
Meanwhile, in the Garden Township, a woman’s strength feeds the kids again.

I’m back, watching TV and movies.
Meanwhile, youthful actors teach their peers again, around Mtendere.

I’m back, grumbling and complaining.
Meanwhile, kids laugh, women dance, everyone smiles, all across Zambia.

I’m back, here, now.
Meanwhile, over there?