Day Zero by Alvin Kathembe

by Alvin Kathembe

Please restrict yourself to two minute, stop-start showers. Collect your bath and basin water and use it for flushing. Only flush when you really need to. Wash hands less frequently – use sanitizer instead. Don't leave the tap running while you brush your teeth.

Evenings, in the townships, children's feet skip in the street weaving through the queues forming outside the communal taps.

In the hotels, all the bathtub plugs have been taken out. The taps in restaurant bathrooms are blocked.

At the GrandWest Arena, Where a troupe of world-renowned illusionists are putting up a show, audiences are disappointed that they will not get to see maestro escape artist Krendl due to the logistics of his performance.

Summer's feet drag, kicking up long plumes of dust. The disas are in bloom; pretty redheads dot the side of the Mountain. All the lawns are blondes.

All the cars in Cape Town are dirty.

About the poet

Alvin Kathembe is a writer and poet from Nairobi, Kenya. His work has appeared on Omenana and various other publications. Find him on Twitter: @SofaPhilosopher.