Blue Sky Horizon

Blue sky horizon

An African afternoon

Woman and men work

On the road

In the hot sun

Personalities hidden

Beneath orange boiler suits

Faces melt

covered in black woollen hats

We view from afar

Our eyes never meet

We too are hidden

White faces

Peering from a white refrigerated car

The sun deflects our stare

The sign says stop

The workers spread the tar

Road building takes time

And this is Africa

How we wish

To go further on our journey

Impatient before the sign

A car behind revs

It’s a single track

We must wait for others

To come through

Before we go

It’s s hard job building roads

In the hot sun

It’s even harder building lives

Little huts scattered on the roadside

Men and boys herd cattle home

Children walking back from school

All in their colourful dress code

They pass the funeral parlour signs

Death is big business

Living with AIDS

The day draws to a close

Softer sunlight

makes the jaggy hills look magical

This is Africa as evening falls

Such beauty

A blue sky sinking

in the midst of such poverty

Sadness and Joy

Road buildings is a costly pursuit