Heretic Mountains

By Teedzani Thapelo

Beneath a sun cast cold by ash and smoke,
I tread these paths, where once laughter woke.
These mountains, once our haven, stand unbowed,
But echo with the silence of the shroud.
The land, once lush, lies broken, scarred, and bare,
A canvas painted with despair.
The plague, a serpent, coils in sunlit air,
A whisper of oblivion, a chilling prayer.
What will tomorrow render for survival’s plea?
Will hope rise from the ashes, set us free?
Or will the blight of sorrow hold us in its sway,
While peace and happiness forever fade away?
Yet, in the silence, where the windswept pines
Mourn with the whispers of forgotten shrines,
A fragile ember glows, a defiant spark,
A whisper in the darkness, etched in bark.
For though the mountains bear the scars of strife,
Their roots remember the pulse of life.
And in the hearts that still hold fast to grace,
A flicker of defiance finds its place.
So let us gather, by the fire’s fading light,
And mend the tattered threads of day and night.
With hands that till the earth, and voices strong,
We’ll sing a song of hope, where sorrow’s gone.
Though blight and sorrow cling, like shadows deep,
We’ll sow the seeds of peace, where they shall sleep.
And when the sun reclaims its rightful throne,
We’ll rise, renewed, and claim what we have sown.
For even in the ashes, hope remains,
A whispered promise, carried on the rains.
And though the path seems lost, the future dim,
We walk towards the dawn, and sing our hymn.
So let the mountains echo with our cry,
A testament to resilience, soaring high.
For in the broken land, where shadows fall,
Will rise a spirit, unconquerable, and tall.
Peace and happiness may yet prevail,
If we but hold the torch, and never fail.
For in the depths of sorrow, hope takes flight,
And in the darkness, we ignite the light.

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Teedzani Thapelo is a poet and novelist. He has been recognized by the Share Botswana Tourism Fiction Award (2017); Botswana Society for Human Development, Gaborone and was a Share Botswana Tourism Fiction Award (2019) winner. Thapelo is the author of Seasons of Thunder (2020), 2nd Edition, Ironmantle Books, Virginia, USA. His poem, “Okavango Delta’’ (2017), was published in the Botswana poetry collection 36 Kisses and Other Stories, Anthology of Botswana Writers, Nascali Publishers, Gaborone and his poem “Dry Heart’’ (2019), appeared in in Blue Train, Anthology of Botswana Writers, Nescali Publishers, Gaborone.