DARE TO SUCCEED.....

Dare to run
And refuse to withdraw.
Dare to change
But refuse to be chained.

Decide to move on
And depart from stagnation.
Dare to stop grumbling
Demand for your portion
Dare to try
And refuse to be intimidated.
Dare to train 
And refuse to surrender easily.
Dare to win
The position of a loser reject.
Dare to conquer
You dare not capitulate now.
Dare to move up
The valley is too crowded.
Dare to be temperate
Intemperance is too dear.
Dare to change
It is the compass to success.
Dare your fears
Like paper-tiger, they will crumble.
Dare your doubts
Like wax, they melt away.
Dare your limitations
All barriers you will break.
Dare all devils
Angels await your bold move.
Dare! Dare! Dare!
The promised Land you will gain!

By Passy Amaraegbu (Nigeria )

photo credits; www.umc.org 

Rhythm inside the Blues....

 Rhythm inside the blues, 
 more like when molten lava meets the ocean, 
 we were like a house on fire, 
 I were yours and you were mine, 
 all smiles when I think of you, 
 I felt weak on my knees when I heard your voice, 
 rhythm inside the blues it was, 

 But not quite as the day when we stood at the end of the aisle, 
 holding your hand, the connection that was, 
 more than physical it felt, 
 more like rhythm inside the blues it was, 
 what it was when you stood besides the bed, 
 awaiting the knot in our lives, 
 through the temporary pain we held hands as it arrived, 
 like two voices on stage, 
 our cries matched as it arrived, 
 the knot in our lives, 
 it was more like rhythm inside the blues 
 and joyful our hearts were filled, 

 But I guess like that one note that spoils the rhythm, 
 we have too many, 
 my cry have turned into a melodic rhythm to your ears, 
 like once the rhythm it was when we vowed "till death do us apart", 
 that shall be the only separation between us, 
 be a good father to my son..
 *she commits suiscide*

 By Teboho Joseph Mtabane   ( South Africa ) 

picture source:www.withintheblackcommunity.blogspot.com

Tell me......

Tell me that life
Is not about waiting
For the storm to pass

But about learning to dance
In the rain

Tell me about love
That the most painful thing
In life is seeing the one you love
Love somebody else

Tell me that it is okay
To lose your pride
Over someone you love
That it is okay
Losing someone you love
Over pride

Somewhere between all
Our laughs
Long talks
Stupid little fights
I fell in love.

By Artwell Masuku (Zimbabwe )

Photo credits;

www.facebook.com/afrofutures

The Misnomer of 'Better'

Words of advice for my mirror image...

I see you, Lady In The Mirror
Ever concerned about Being Better
I’ll give you a hand then
This is what being better is Not.

Being better is not having the last say in a quarrel
Or delivering the blow that kills
Being better is not having the upper hand
Or conniving to stay that way
Being better is not owning
The appeal of a coarse voice
Or the sharpness of a sleek tongue.
Being better is not yelling the loudest
Or expertly throwing daggers with your eyes
Or how large your fist is
Or the charisma in your gait.

Being better isn’t the price of your perfume
Or its scent carrying with it pomp and circumstance
Being better isn’t in your last name
-Your tribal inheritance
Or which chunk of the country you hail from
Being better isn’t lording your wealth over others
Or using the sound of your accent
To label them lowly.

Being better isn’t in how well
You manage your high heels
Or how far you’ve travelled
From your hometown
It isn’t in being a certain race
Or boasting a certain complexion within a race
Being better isn’t reserved for those of the first world
Nor is it lodged in your background.

Being better isn’t being the best
Or being the worst
Or being mediocre for that matter
Being better isn’t about Comparison
But about Exchange.
Being better is understanding
How common you are
How fragile good fortune is
And that chance -like music- is universal
A gift awarded us by the grace of God.

Being better is stainless elation
When your best friend gets married first
Being better is admiration
When your nemesis wins the race
Being better is blameless pride
When your sister succeeds
In changing the world.

Is there someone you don’t like?
And for no particular reason?
Being better is neutrality with all
-If not outright fondness
For that stranger who could be
A beautiful person
Believing
That everybody is magnificent
Acknowledging
That your worst enemy is only so
Because of the weight of his worst days
Extract the color of discrimination from your vision
View the world in black-and-white
For you are the same as your worst enemy
And his too
-You are human.

By Tebogo G. H. Ndlovu (Zimbabwe)

photo credits; www.raymcdonald.wordpress.com 

Copyright © 2012 Tebogo Ndlovu

Gentle Breeze... Take Me Away, Please...

Gentle breeze 
Whispering winds 
Tamed gales 

Take me 
Ferry me 
I have spread my wings 
To your nature, 
My discordant voice sings 
To an Island 


Take me away 
And place me to a piece of land, 
Isolated by water 
Take me away 
And place me in a piece of solitude 
Surrounded by memories of Edward and Clarrise 
That cast a smile on my face 
And masks my tears 

Take me away 
Oh, gentle breeze 
To my fort 
Where i draw strength from the beauty of words 
Where my might lies in scribbling scrolls of thoughts at my experiences costs speaking of all those losses that transform me to a formidable force and impart beliefs I shant divorce in metaphoric courts 

Take me away 
You tamed gales 
To an island: 
Scaled gray 
Shaded in black and white 
With waves of water kissing the shores 
Gently carressing the soles 
Of my feet 
My legs immersed in the mud 
An emblem of my troubles 
Erased by bodies of water that nibble the earth and pull back 

Take me to an island 
Where a former love 
Makes merry with a little child 

Take me to an island 
So that when i get there 
I will spread my hands out 
And arm the caption with a smile 
Basking in Gods Grace 
And leave a trail of happiness 
Take flight in shades 
And keep time on my wrist 
Ask a companion to freeze this moment, 
Capture it on a picture and own it

By Ernest Mackina (Zimbabwe )

photo credits.  www.google.com

[Queen Jezebel]....

Crowned with the heads of many a fallen king,

Temptress, Jezebel, ‘tis her of whom they sing.

Many know her name, though not its origin,

Villain of the Qur’an, who dares tempt the fiend?

Wrapped in swathing night, mother of carnal sin,

Birthed of smokeless fire, she’s kin among the jiin.

Grown in the wind, and watered up with gin,

Soot painted conscience cut off like her jeans.

Infectious lips, path to her bleeding green,

They consume men whole, let the dirge begin

For there she now wades, shark without a fin,

Her target has been marked for the sting:

Armpits open wide and embrace this new lover,

Soon she’ll wash his bones in her pit of lava.

By  Philani Amadeus Nyoni  (Zimbabwe)

photo credits: www.trendhunter.com

Wipe your tears dry,my child...

From a distance so close,I see that look in your eye, I read in it,many sorrows unpublished. The many brine waters in it, profusely gushing out like violent ripples of the sea, recite the tales of misery,of your gradual emotional demise... This demise,so vile and callous as the Nile, as it swiftly sweeps everything in its' way. This abrupt end,brought about by your envious adversaries, with a burning passion to bring you down to ashes,your precious self... These,your foes,trembling and uneasy about your success, fear that which they cannot touch and have. I see you my child,wipe your tears dry...

I hear your call,your wailing I hear you search for me at night... Cry your heart out,cry because recompense,I shall give you Cry aloud,cry hysterically,because,to me,Child your cry is the cry of conquering the impossible your cry is the cry of emancipation,the liberty which you thirst for in anticipation like your next breath,breathe,breathe in the success which is at your disposal. Child of the Earth,Bossom of my existence, Jewel of my crown,Apple of my Eye Weep war no more,be jubilant forevermore! Wipe your eyes dry my child,heal your soul and let it be mild!

 

By Alex Nyasha Dube..(Zimbabwe)

photo credits: www.google.com

Lord of all creation...

Lord of faith,Lord of hope and love,

Lord who's glory gleams from above.
God who restores sight to see the light,
that shines on marvelous Earth so bright.

King of Kings who rules till tomorrow,
Rabbi of a heavenly realm of no sorrow.
True God who reigns from East to West,
genuine healer fervent than the rest.

His heavenly helm hails holy yonder,
hoisted higher to heights the eyes ponder.
Hark the herald the King dwells forever,
mark his emerald crown glows moreover.

Sing the hymn,hum to him,
sang to him the angels seem.
A chant to the blue skies aloud the seams,
allowed to worship he who rules the seas!

By Alex Nyasha Dube ( Zimbabwe )

artwork source: www.

dfly.com

For my pillar

Hourglass smashed, mantel piece dusted, curtains closed as she stood vertically amidst blatant horizontally dragged, rumours circulated, pupil dilated...
Afraid of death, yet living precariously,
retaliate

relate allegories, sing songs lip-synched on differing categories...
Verbal anhilation and word assasination of mental retardation...
She too is the daughter of the soil, the soil has laid its claim,
she too must return to the soil...

By lebohang Kuenane ( Lesotho) 

photo  credits : www.google.com

THE FIVE SENSES RENEWED

Shhh, listen my love to the wind
Hearken to her melody, the symphony of the night wind
A refrain that tells our story

One of our love, a beautiful history
Shhh, listen not with your ears
For it's a sound that only the heart hears

Look, beyond what the eyes can see
There, next to the southern star, do you see?
A story is written of two lovers
Born of thorns upon desert soil, cacti flowers
Written in the stars, of galaxies and comets
Brighter than the morning star, born of stardust and planets

Close your eyes, take a whiff
Go on, just a tiny sniff
Inhale that hint of vanilla, a delightful fragrance
A trace of potpourri, an air of jasmine, my what a heavenly fragrance
No cologne can compare
All the flowers of Eden combined in one, a scent so rare

Wait, don't open them just yet
Here, taste. I promise you won't regret
Drop of honey, dribble of caramel, nectar of the gods. It must be forbidden
Mmmm, tastes so good, makes you wonder why I kept it hidden
A kiss, a sigh an erratic heartbeat
These are its true ingredients, plus a touch of body heat

Now the final task
Let me teach you of our love, our feelings unmask
My silk scarlet scarf, your blindfold
Your hands to the bedpost, I bind. Your control I hold
Your mind my canvas, let me paint on it
Orange, red it's almost sunset. Look, do you see it?
Smell the ocean, hear the waves, feel the wind in your hair
Feel the grains of sand between your toes, conjure the picture if you dare

Hear the seagulls, taste that exotic drink
I am right beside you sharing that very drink
Anthill coloured skin, to touch it would be like playing a harp
Slowly drifting over it as you would the cords, covered in a lilac satin wrap
A matching bikini top making me seem like I am of the sea
Let's watch the sun unite with the sea

And now my love, I want you to feel
Light feather touches raising goose bumps on your skin
Soft butterfly kisses trailing every inch of your skin
Slowly, what started as a spark grows into a flame
A flame to a wild fire you cannot tame
Listen, look, smell, taste and feel
The five senses renewed. A world illusory yet so real.

#HAPPY BELATED ANNIVERSARY BWALYA. MWAH.

By Subila Esperanza Chilupula  

 ( Zambia )

picture source ;news1.ghananation.com

Unfaithful

Rage builds up inside and my blood boils
A whirlwind of emotions overwhelm me like a flash flood
How could you?

Don't you know I will always remain true?
Flashbacks of the vows we made
Are blown apart by this vile indiscretion
Our blissful matrimony sacrificed
Why would you?
Don't you know I will give my all for you?
End it: I should smite you both with a single blow
Yet my love for you causes forgiveness to flow
The fury within me burns like a wild fire
Yet the love I have for you causes my hands to hang limp
The pain I feel would have me rip you limb from limb
Yet I can't forget our joy you've brought
When did you?
Don't you know I've loved you from the start?
I've been blinded by your love
When you worked late I thought it was for us
When you kept me waiting on our dates I didn't ask
When you stepped out to answer your phone I didn't suspect
When my embrace couldn't warm you I questioned myself
Now I know the answer had nothing to do with me
Where did we go wrong?
I can't hate you I built my world on loving you
I can't love you I'd be hating myself
We can't go on I've got nothing for you
We can't go back you burnt all the bridges
I don't get you
You sit here and say you owe it to me
He's gone from the land of the living
And now you feel like giving?
The bug he had now has you
And you owe it to me to tell me to get tested?

By Mandlenkosi Nkomo (Zimbabwe)
picture source: madamenoire.com