walking in this city of diamonds,
gold deep beneath my feet,
sleeping under her rainy skies,
embracing my newspaper sheet.
i had a life long ago, a woman too,
now I’m just a huddle of rags
while the women walk past
never reaching into their Gucci bags.
she left me, or i left myself,
on these bleak Jo’burg roads,
searching for that fix
at these desolate crossroads.
now i stand alone,
these empty streets my bed,
my blood soaking the earth
with drops of beaten red.
so i wish you well, friends,
i wish you gold dust amidst the fray,
all of you who walk on and away,
leaving me to beg or borrow,
to get through another Jo’burg day.