Poem
Julius Chingono
My Uniform
My Uniform
My Uniform
When the bread binIs empty
I put on my uniform
My police officer’s uniform
Medals dangling
Down my chest
To the rowdy bread queue
To maintain order
To buy bread
Without a hassle
When the maize-meal tin
Is low
I put on my uniform
My army officer’s uniform
With sergeant’s gold stars
Pinned on my shoulders
To quickstep
To the warlike mealie-meal queue
To buy mealie-meal
Without joining the queue
When I am out of fuel
I wear my army colonel’s garb
With its conspicuous badges
Swinging around me
To ghost walk
To the bumper-to-bumper fuel queue
To buy the fuel
From behind the queue
When the family says
Sugar is spent
I wear my uniform
My constabulary tunic
To march
To the anxiety-charged sugar queue
To suppress all dissent
When I jump the queue
When I go window-shopping
I wear my uniform
My petrol officer’s reflector vest
Weighed down by silver, service medals
Clanking noisily
To gain quick entry
And to travel free
On public transport
© 2008, Julius Chingono
Poems
Poems of Julius Chingono
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My Uniform
When the bread binIs empty
I put on my uniform
My police officer’s uniform
Medals dangling
Down my chest
To the rowdy bread queue
To maintain order
To buy bread
Without a hassle
When the maize-meal tin
Is low
I put on my uniform
My army officer’s uniform
With sergeant’s gold stars
Pinned on my shoulders
To quickstep
To the warlike mealie-meal queue
To buy mealie-meal
Without joining the queue
When I am out of fuel
I wear my army colonel’s garb
With its conspicuous badges
Swinging around me
To ghost walk
To the bumper-to-bumper fuel queue
To buy the fuel
From behind the queue
When the family says
Sugar is spent
I wear my uniform
My constabulary tunic
To march
To the anxiety-charged sugar queue
To suppress all dissent
When I jump the queue
When I go window-shopping
I wear my uniform
My petrol officer’s reflector vest
Weighed down by silver, service medals
Clanking noisily
To gain quick entry
And to travel free
On public transport
My Uniform
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