Chingwa Ne Maruva
My belly wakes me again
Ndomuka nafour dze makuseni
Ndoenda kumsika
The life of a vendor
Selling rape and tomatoes
And tomatoes and rape ’cause every day is rape
And stolen dignity
Ask me for my ID and vending licence
Is that not violence?
Do I need a licence to live
Is life theirs to give?
Chingwa ne maruva
Bread and roses, mama
Chingwa ne maruva
Bread and roses, mama
He smashes the tomatoes
Uses baton sticks for avocados
All he knows is how to break
’Cause he breaks for the law’s sake
It’s a neverending process of cleaning
Cleansing
Like a frenzy
Mai vake vanotengesa maveggie
But she sells them in a council place
So she should be legal and safe
So smash tomotaoes
Crush avocados
Destroy the table
Destroy what’s illegal
Smash tomatoes
Crush avocados
Destroy the table
Destroy what’s illegal
Chingwa ne maruva
Bread and roses, mama
Chingwa ne maruva
Bread and roses, mama
Here come the forces of good
Those who wage war on food
I thought ours was the land and the fruits
Now crushed by these blind boots
Saying my food is dirty
No, my food is dignity
It sends my children to school you see
Chinobhadara mabills angu ne renti
From now on handichatengese maveggie
You’ll see me in the streets demanding two things
Love and dignity
‘Cause I’m a mother gone wild
Today my fruits were destroyed by my own child
by Comrade Fatso
from House of Hunger, © 2008
Chingwa ne maruva = Bread and roses
Ndomuka nafour dze makuseni / Ndoenda kumsika = I wake at four in the morning / And go to the market
Rape = traditional vegetable
Mai vake vanotengesa maveggie = His mother sells vegetables
Chinobhadara mabills angu ne renti / From now on handichatengese maveggie = It pays my bills and my rent / From now on I will no longer sell vegetables