Why Liberation from Dictatorship May Take Some Time
Our Great and Fearless Leader
(may His Name be forever praised!)
like a wise farmer has planted
many fields full of ears

In the particles of dust
from the sandstorms
He is also present; if we would breathe
we must do so very carefully

In those distant clouds
in the heavens above us
hidden cameras record
our every activity

Even the birds on the city rooftops
as well as those in the distant villages
cock beady eyes and fly swiftly
to inform Him of all that we say

Now foreigners come, bearing (they tell us) freedom
– but freedom is only a word we have heard fluttering like a feather
on the lips of the dying

— Bruce Dawe. The Australian, 14-15 Jan 06

(Picture from “What to do about Mugabe” by Peter Roebuck, in Eureka Street 17(5), 20 Mar 2007.)