They got the monthlies
not journals not magazines
or books even given
the state of our literateness

They got the monthlies
for how shall we say
so as not to be accused
of scandal or melodrama

their co-operation assistance
their partnership association
(for looking at a gift horse)

Might we call a spade
what it is looks like
what it appears to be
to the naked eye

an inducement
an enticement
a sweetener
a payoff
a bung

Might we wonder
at the whistle-blower
a snitch simply said
a tattletale who grassed
on former buddies

(when thieves
have a fall-out
they tend to sing

is it any different
from here to Cairo
Washington and beyond)

We hear of a Party-cake
from its very designer
made for the nation’s ex-
a player who plays chess too

Now might those fingered
get their just desserts

Many a raised eyebrow there is, at the Zondo Commission.