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Soweto Wedding
A large white, round wedding cake,
with black bride and groom,
covered with plastic wrap,
stands on a long, weak table
in the car port.
Inside this old clapboard house
-- barely standing --
guests sip homemade beer
strong ginger drink
waiting for
the bride and groom.
Plump, thin, medium African men, women
mirror apartheid's toll --
no South African clothes.
Ladies wear pink, yellow, blue
Western satin dresses, suits--
men lightweight grey, green Western suits.
All speak English, Swahili, Setswana
about politics, teaching
and how long they've known the couple.
Guests stream outside
as the infectious beat
of the combo's
drums
trumpet
kalimba
causes young, old
to ignore the heat
and break
into spontaneous dance.
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