Now that the new Dark Age has come, I have no more fear. I have learnt to see in the dark and think through noxious fumes. The growling of diesel generators, the long lines at fuel pumps, the unending obituaries of nameless, faceless compatriots, and interminable emergencies in this troubled land do not distract me anymore. I was born in this cacophony and will die with it.
Now with new vision, I see with a new clarity. I see the one who promised transformation and fresh air himself transformed into a lethal toxin, smothering millions into the depths of despair and death. In this new age of gloom, I can see my homes are dark; my industries are hushed and one knows if they will ever echo with activity again. Through the fumes of mechanical pollutants, I see the cults and power poltergeist coming and going, hither and thither, reaping billions even as the darkness thickens.
Now that the last hope has flickered out, I see in the dark, a putrid plate spiced and spliced by further billions stolen in the name of phantom subsidies and Second Bridges that lead nowhere. Through the mind-numbing, metallic monotony, I make out the tragedy of a family of six. They celebrated their elevation from the pits of daily darkness with a new generator. It turned out to be their last feast, because the morning stillness was sheared by the moaning of neighbours mourning their death, choked to death on the fumes of their new generator.
Now that a new age of doom has dawned, I see another family that was also downed – burnt to death when a power surge overwhelmed an appliance. They all came out soles first. There was no explanation, no compensation, just anemic commiseration; one more dead family. I see the artisan who can find no work, and when he does, can get no power to do his chore. I see the repairman, sallow with sorrow. Every soul in the land is broken by the burden of presidential fairy tales; every spirit shackled by the weight of eternal darkness.
Now that the last wick can give no more light, I see with a new clarity the brave entrepreneur whose courage was crushed by the dearth of power; I see the millions of homes dying slowly from the noise, the fumes and the price of generating power to light a few misty bulbs or drive the blades of antique fans. I see the offices where no work gets done and the tall building no one can get into.
Now that the last glare has sputtered out, I await the release of sleep. I think of today’s brood whose first sights in this world are the miasma of darkness. They do not know what it means to wake up to the sounds of birdsongs at first light, or the simple silence that sighs from nature. This generation breeds on the blare of generators, grows with the fumes of fossil fuels and thrives with the flames of a million flares. Without the drones of generators, they are restless; without the fumes of fossils, breathless; without the burden of darkness, clueless.
Now that the last beam has waned, I have no more worries. I have learnt to sleep through the heat and through the noise that seems to spring from just outside the transom; mean medallion for many midnights murdered. I sleep through it all. I see the dreams that got stolen; I hush the hearts that got broken; I speak the truths never spoken; I flash with ideas never proven and curse the crooks that keep this nation craven. I see everything ever so clearly in the dark.
Now that the last light has faded out, I cringe inside my heart about the jokes on my country, rubbed in by the antics of he of the fedora. Even old Mugabe, down yonder, now has a reference point. Where else in the world, but in this realm of darkness and avarice, would $20 billion grew wings and no one can be bothered, a land where the reward for honesty is wretchedness, but where thieving knaves are knighted. Ours is a land where we claim God everywhere, but eyes are unseeing, ears unhearing and hearts unfeeling.
Now that this great land has been sold into a new dark age, blighted by the ambition of a clueless, spineless ghoul and greased by greedy aides with dubious intents, we must reach for the ultimate reality. And that reality is, even as they pull the levers of power, obfuscate all reason with matchless thievery and plunder the country to poverty, this land, this people, this nation, will remain. The darkness will pass, the feckless fedoras will fade and reason will prevail. That is the definitive truth. We have seen it all before.