Along Leopold Takawira street

Along Leopold Takawira street
(By Memory Chirere)

I was going down Leopold Takawira
in search of an affordable pair of shoes
when I saw a hulky officer
leading away a handcuffed skinny boy.
Petty pick pocket, I thought
When the officer stopped to greet acquaintances
the boy stopped too and listened.
I didn’t like the boy’s red eyes
And long trousers that went down
to his shoes with tilted heels.
But my eyes returned to the cuffs
because ‘I hate everything that diminishes
the individual’s blind impulse’
and ‘I know how the caged bird feels’.
Then as they went by
boy said to officer:
“I didn’t know you were round the corner.
I made very poor judgment!”
I wondered all day into night
why the two looked like buddies
going back home to the village of their origins.