They attacked on butterfly wings
with arrows of gold
intended for good hearts
and prayed.

Smiling they hit a child or
two or three or four maybe more
nobody cared
to keep score.

Brains exploded in rainbows
paranoiac heads protested
too much too soon
hide the sun, the moon.

The settler saviours
of the tribe thundered
‘Eat the eggs”
Many obeyed and died.

At the re-union
it was sad to see the
survivors in their parent’s
garb and legacies.

Happy birthday darling
my starling cried
and ate the moon
off my cake.

Pedro Vorster is a Namibian poet, and visual artist. He has worked in the telecommunications, publishing, and civil service fields. His satirical essays were published in a collection called Headfull by Macmillan in 2012. He has won numerous prizes for his photography and painting and has works in the Namibian National Art Gallery’s permanent collection as well as other galleries in Scotland, Germany, and the World Bank Seattle.