By Tapiwa. If only I could build four wallsTo surround meA sanctuaryMy personal monasteryTo sit in silence and seek retributionFor my tainted soulTo understand this esoteric natureThat resides within meTo lay to restThis suffocating feeling of disdainTo be one with every elementAnd nothing that exists in this dimensionSilence in isolationBirthing complete peace If only I... Continue Reading →
By Kewagamang Dakamo I am the river that refused the ocean,the wanderer who chose the desert’s ribs.Others rush to the seabut I paused,to teach sand how to dream of water. I am the mouth of elephants,drinking me like scripture at dawn.Their tusks shine with my lilies,their thunder shakes my channelswhile I wear their memory like... Continue Reading →
By Mirrors I was raised where the cattle roam free,In a village where we sat under treesTaught to be quiet, taught to obey,Told who to be but not what to say. I smiled through the rules and the Sunday dress,But inside me was chaos, longing, and stress.A girl who could feel more than she spoke,Who... Continue Reading →
By Charity Modise, The Poetic Survivor Wild dogs howl at the dying sunWelcoming the face of the moon.Dark sky adorned with stars,The earth's ears finally know peace.Birds of the night leap with ease,Flapping their wings in jubilation. Dreams come out to play in the mind.Worn out souls find rest.Spirits of the dead live again,Renewal pours... Continue Reading →
By Kgosi Aleck Ntshetlho As wild as it sounds, it is an establishmentlike hell, only without the sulphur and brimstone.In a region where tradition, norm and customs are the steering wheel,it’s quite hard to breathe and walk around the marketplace freelyas they are watching. In almost all cultures it’s considered a western evil brought by... Continue Reading →
By Tapiwa. May it be real, authenticMay I not beg for onceI need to feel its genuineRaw nature. Many faces have proclaimed their loveMasks harbouring grisly intentionsMy heart is tetheredIt moves through my bones and skin too. Anguished by guiltI pity thyselfBecause here I am asking from the universe"Let it be different.” I wish not... Continue Reading →
By Mirrors I never planned this… not the pen, not the page,Not the flood of truth at this age.I was healing in silence, suppressing the rage,Till the words broke through like a bird from a cage. I never chose the stanzas, they just rose from my chest,Where memory lingered and longing found rest.Each line was... Continue Reading →
By Lee Letsogile My body is not mine.I’m clay and he's a potter,Bending only to his touch.On some days he lovingly holds me,Like a flower in his calloused hands.On most days I’m an autumn leaf crackling under his firm grip,He sews me with half baked promises, and feeds me apologies that pile up on my... Continue Reading →
By Poetic Posh I come from a place where the sun wakes early,Its rays kissing hills that carry stories,Where children’s laughter echoes through dusty roads,And women wear strength like head wraps bold. I come from soil that remembers footsteps,From lands that bloom even through drought,Where cows graze slow and peaceful songsRise from throats that never... Continue Reading →
By Dr. Teedzani Thapelo upon the hill, where shadows creep,a house awakens, never asleep. its shingles curl, like brittle bone,its walls moan softly, a hollow tone. windows gape, unblinking eyes,reflecting pallor of ashen skies. the air within is stale and thick,a charnel breath, fetid and sick. the stairs sag low, their joints decayed,steps of marrow,... Continue Reading →
Petlwana Journal of Creative Literature and the Arts 