Creative Writing
I am a fan of the literal arts, so to encourage some creativity
from ASFers I have added a “Creative Writing” column… the
only unedited column in this newsletter. Hopefully this will
be a regular feature beyond my ASF days. To start things off I
will pen the first poem, I mean how hard could it be?
Stories of love and submission to kings crowned by
God
Banqobanjalo, Nokuphila, Khanyisile¹
Your sons are symbols of freedom and healing
And all the beauty between birth and sadness
Poetry
Siwela ol’hlaza cwe njenge ndon’yamanzi²
Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
This poem writing thing is easy
I think you should try it too.
Source of water, life, healing
That bubbles from deep within
To soothe and fill the empty crevices
Of the souls around you
Goje, Mdlanyoka³
Okay maybe this poem writing thing is not just about putting
a few words on a piece of paper… lets see what someone
who has been writing poems since before I was MPO
Absorbing the pains and nightmares
Life sends out to haunt me
The serpents that seek to perverse my purity,
African Beauty
You are black,
By: Nqobile Ndlangamandla
Black because
The stars would not shine so bright
Against a blue sky
As your eyes do at sunrise
See the black of your skin is not a curse
But a sign of being forged in a powerful furnace
So the curve of your hips
Oh! Black daughter of sunrise, sunset and history!
You blend in with the night so as to echo the wolf’s
Moon worship
Away from the sun’s stark exposure
Of man’s evil and weakness
Because, the black of your skin is not a curse
See the black of your skin is not a curse,
But a love letter from The One who touched
Breath into your bosom,
Form pillars to hold you firm
Ask your lover why he says your name like it were a
prayer.
Against the battering winds of gender and colour
See, the darker the berry
It is not that you are thicker,
The sweeter the juice
But stronger,
Ask your lips at sunset
Bearing the burden of being
As every lover who didn’t stay
Humanity’s backbone and doormat
Lies awake, counting ways to calm his regrets
Bringing them into the world
That they may cut you with fistfuls of curses
But the black of your skin is not a curse
The names you give your daughters
Tell stories of wars and victories throughout history
¹ Swazi girl names meaning ‘eternal conquerors’, ‘life
source’, ‘the illuminator’
² Ndlangamandla clan praise, ‘Siwela you are dark as
the water spring’
³ Nsibandze clan praise, ‘eats snakes/evil’
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