By: Zulelkha Dinath
For the women who died on the side of the road,
Were you cold
When he tore your soul
And threw you in the reeds in the dried up bush
Was there just a second,
A scaring second
Just a gasping breath
Between him and you
Did you see the white of his eyes, the sweat on his brow,
The grimace of his twisted mouth
Was there a tremble above you a moment
a hesitation
Did he stiffen at your fear
Did you smell the rush of his hate
The slacking of his arm
as you slumped at his feet
Did he feel your heartbeat
In his rapacious frenzy
Did the power surge through his body
as he snuffed
your last breath
his conquest.
By the side of the road
Just another
Road kill
Zulekha Dinath – activist, poet and writer based in Johannesburg