By Barolong Seboni The boss is my shepherdAnd he does not want nonsonso!I am his herdboy and backyard gardenerAnd car washer and gravediggerWhenever there is a funeral.He makes me lie all the timeAbout pastures greenWhen in fact no rain has been seenFor the past few weeks,Perhaps he needs more money for backyard gardening.He also teaches... Continue Reading →
By Boletilemang Gabokgatlhe I study my two sisters and my nephew, one by one. We are sitting around an open fire having our breakfast of motogo, home-made bread, boiled eggs and tea. The June morning is somehow harsh and uninviting. The atmosphere is loaded with dread, guilt and sadness. Except for the incessant barking of... Continue Reading →
By Fika Why do I feel so lostTrying to find my home but engulfed in frost?The relentless uncertainty overwhelming,Am I living in a simulation?Am I prey to emotional blackmail and manipulation?Why do I feel like a slaveTrying to stand but all I do is cave?The excruciating helplessness crippling… Maybe it’s all a nightmare.I desperately hold... Continue Reading →
By Gae Maduo “Here lies our beloved”It was meant to outlive usA legacy was cut shortBy one word on a white screen,Typed in red and ALL CAPSThen the sky knelt down.It became one with our pain. Tell me where dreams go,When they find out thatThey are brokenTell me where visions collapse and die.They are buried... Continue Reading →
By Godfrey Sephala Kalanke It is after midnight and several hours have passed since the ordeal, but I am still very angry at Mike the mechanic. Of late I have come to feel like I am just letting people do as they wish with me and my property. My late uncle once got very irritated... Continue Reading →
By Kate Mangope You were my homeYour arms my safety net that I came home to each nightYour fingers that swept my tearsYour lips that whispered me reassurance and promises of your love My heart cracks more each day I don't get to call out to youMomIt cracks more as I have to figure things... Continue Reading →
By Cynthia Thanda Dear Dunya, I spent countless hours drafting this letter. I didn't even know whether to pen it as a letter or as a poignant entry within my diary's sacred pages. You are well aware of my lifelong ardour for the written word and my aspiration to be Amir Nour. Alas, fate took... Continue Reading →
By Pearl Mokgatlhane I wondered whether anyone had told his mother she carried a bundle of joy,Whether the transgressions of her life had passed to him through the umbilical cordOr perhaps he suckled those from her bosom.I wondered whether anyone had attended his naming ceremony,He carried such a morbid name with glee. We sat side... Continue Reading →
By Boago Benedict Samakabadi Raisin Mafora Chabatsotlhe was worried. When the first discernible lightning cracked a while ago, something activated in his brain, automatically and subconsciously. Thunder, in muzzled tones, grumbled out of rhythm with the crack of the lightning, yet still in oneness with it. The teacher was unmoved by this commonplace sequence of... Continue Reading →
By Laone J. Mangwa I used to think fate was my friend. I used to think I understood its fickle ways. Not anymore. Last year was the first Christmas I spent without the loves of my life. When spring arrived, instead of blossoming with the rest of the flowers, I wilted and fell into this... Continue Reading →
Petlwana Journal of Creative Literature and the Arts 