By Amantle Gabolekwe You’re 10 minutes old and I am exhausted. The midwife places you on my chest and steps back to continue tending to me. put my hands on you, one on your back, one cupped under your head, because that's what you're supposed to do. I've seen it in films. I hold the... Continue Reading →
By Angel Joseph I walk through the world with open eyes–Every crack in the pavement speaks,Every silence hums a secret.I wonder-Do they hear it too?The hush between footsteps,The story folded inside a sigh? A poet’s burden is noticing-To see beyond the surface,To catch the shimmer in the ordinary.But sometimes I ask myself:Is this vision mine... Continue Reading →
By Kago Boitshwarelo I am the eldest daughter –Not self-proclaimed,But it is my birthright, I carry more than just my name,I carry pride,I carry heritage and dignity,A living loom for future generations, I am the deputy mother,I am my father’s echo in higher keys,Draped in a coat of responsibility, I am strength when things fall... Continue Reading →
By Mofenyi Kesego Looking Back captures a moment in which a young man stares back at the camera that imposes its gaze on him. This moment, brief though it was, is frozen in time and has since taken on a life of its own: it's an act of resistance, a defiance of the predatory gaze... Continue Reading →
by Noah Vale She said that man touched her inappropriately.That was a problem to me. I’m conflictedmaybe it’s my mother in me,maybe my father,maybe both. I love her.But something in me kept quiet. When she asked me to speak,I said, “next week.”Or maybe, “I’ll see.” She broke a little in front of me.And I felt... Continue Reading →
By Sethunya Hlobisa Matsie We're in brown and red.When she said read, I spelt.My words coming anchored withinShame tinted cords.Sinking in my seat.Bala! Swallowing breaths and snickering.Muffled laughs breaking the stiff silence.Time is a conspirator,Private schooling accent a dagger,Sweat wetting my white shirt.Bala! At the full stop, I exhale.And pause to listen to my neighbourSpelling... Continue Reading →
By Keabetswe Molotsi Afa opens the door just as I’m about to knock. She stands before me, her ample curves clad in threadbare, pink pyjamas. The bags under her bloodshot eyes do not match her watery smile. A spike of concern shudders through me. “Are you okay?” She doesn’t answer immediately, leading me into the... Continue Reading →
By Baone Peace Moalosi We carry bodies – ours,Theirs, broken ones, blamed ones.We carry names we don’t say anymore.We carry hands we trusted,Until they turned into weapons. We carry beds too big,Doors that don’t lock,And rooms that still smell like fear. We carry “I’m fine” stitched into our lips.We carry “It’s nothing” like a shield.We... Continue Reading →
By Dr Teedzani Thapelo i wake with the weight of sixty years, the days pressed deep into my skineach wrinkle a map of lost vitality, a fading memory of strengthmy bones creak as i rise, joints groan with the labour of livingthe mirror reflects a stranger’s face, each sagging line a betrayal;once, i stood tall,... Continue Reading →
By Noah Vale She looks for a father’s love in your son’s armsravaging a spine of light in dark mattercheated out her dress by your son’s tongue After what had felt like a dreamin her innocence she’s rushed outonce the sun’s out And your son knows no betterhis hunger mistaking her body for love She... Continue Reading →
Petlwana Journal of Creative Literature and the Arts 