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 Dr. Teedzani Thapelo Kabelo closed the thick case file and rubbed his eyes. Another not guilty plea for another client whose innocence he doubted. Through the window of his small law office, Gaborone’s late afternoon sun cast long rectangles of light across the cluttered desk. Dust motes swirled in the beams, dancing idly above stacks of... 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 Priscilla Makaeko When I close my eyes and listen to the whisper of the Okavango winds moving across the mokolwane palms, I feel the heartbeat of my people. I am Priscilla Makaeko, a daughter of Beetsha Village in the northwest corner of Botswana, and a proud descendant of the Hambukushu. Ours is a people... 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 Neelo Lentebanye A letter to my younger self-and to every boy child still running. Inspired by the story of a friend. Dear Lebang, You were five. Just a little boy with dust-coated heels and a wild imagination, growing up in Mosetse village, where the air always smelled of wood-smoke and cow dung. You often... 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 Moffat Matenge When he left the moody village of Motlhabaneng, Choza had not the slightest idea that this trip had in store for him precious memories that he would cherish for eons to come. It was during his last year at primary school, precisely the last weekend before the scheduled commencement of the final... 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 →
